12 CFR 622.61 - Adjustment of civil money penalties by the rate of inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... of inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. 622.61... civil money penalties by the rate of inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment... is adjusted in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as...

Attachment device for an inflatable protective cushion

DOEpatents

Nelsen, J.M.; Luna, D.A.; Gwinn, K.W.

1997-11-18

An inflatable cushion assembly for use with an inflator comprises an inflatable cushion having an inner surface, outer surface, and at least one protrusion extending from one of the inner or outer surfaces. The inflatable cushion defines an opening between the inner surface and the outer surface for receiving the inflator. An attachment member contacts the one of the inner or outer surfaces adjacent the opening and includes a groove for receiving the protrusion, the attachment member securing the inflator within the opening. 22 figs.

Attachment device for an inflatable protective cushion

DOEpatents

Nelsen, J.M.; Luna, D.A.; Gwinn, K.W.

1998-12-08

An inflatable cushion assembly for use with an inflator comprises an inflatable cushion having an inner surface, outer surface, and at least one protrusion extending from one of the inner or outer surfaces. The inflatable cushion defines an opening between the inner surface and the outer surface for receiving the inflator. An attachment member contacts the one of the inner or outer surfaces adjacent the opening and includes a groove for receiving the protrusion, the attachment member securing the inflator within the opening. 22 figs.

Comments on SUSY Inflation Models on the Brane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Lu-Yun; Cheung, Kingman; Lin, Chia-Min

In this paper we consider a class of inflation models on the brane where the dominant part of the inflaton scalar potential does not depend on the inflaton field value during inflation. In particular, we consider supernatural inflation, its hilltop version, A-term inflation, and supersymmetric (SUSY) D- and F-term hybrid inflation on the brane. We show that the parameter space can be broadened, the inflation scale generally can be lowered, and still possible to have the spectral index ns = 0.96.

Alchemical inflation: inflaton turns into Higgs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakayama, Kazunori; Takahashi, Fuminobu

2012-11-01

We propose a new inflation model in which a gauge singlet inflaton turns into the Higgs condensate after inflation. The inflationary path is characterized by a moduli space of supersymmetric vacua spanned by the inflaton and Higgs field. The inflation energy scale is related to the soft supersymmetry breaking, and the Hubble parameter during inflation is smaller than the gravitino mass. The initial condition for the successful inflation is naturally realized by the pre-inflation in which the Higgs plays a role of the waterfall field.

First-order inflation. [in cosmology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolb, Edward W.

1991-01-01

In the original proposal, inflation occurred in the process of a strongly first-order phase transition. This model was soon demonstrated to be fatally flawed. Subsequent models for inflation involved phase transitions that were second-order, or perhaps weakly first-order; some even involved no phase transition at all. Recently the possibility of inflation during a strongly first-order phase transition has been revived. In this paper, some models for first-order inflation are discussed, and unique signatures that result if inflation is realized in a first-order transition are emphasized. Some of the history of inflation is reviewed to demonstrate how first-order inflation differs from other models.

Health Sector Inflation Rate and its Determinants in Iran: A Longitudinal Study (1995–2008)

PubMed Central

TEIMOURIZAD, Abedin; HADIAN, Mohamad; REZAEI, Satar; HOMAIE RAD, Enayatollah

2014-01-01

Abstract Background Health price inflation rate is different from increasing in health expenditures. Health expenditures contain both quantity and prices but inflation rate contains prices. This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the Inflation Rate for Health Care Services (IRCPIHC) in Iran. Methods We used Central Bank of Iran data. We estimated the relationship between the inflation rate and its determinants using dynamic factor variable approach. For this purpose, we used STATA software. Results The study results revealed a positive relationship between the overall inflation as well as the number of dentists and health inflation. However, number of beds and physicians per 1000 people had a negative relationship with health inflation. Conclusion When the number of hospital beds and doctors increased, the competition between them increased, as well, thereby decreasing the inflation rate. Moreover, dentists and drug stores had the conditions of monopoly markets; therefore, they could change the prices easier compared to other health sectors. Health inflation is the subset of growth in health expenditures and the determinants of health expenditures are not similar to health inflation. PMID:26060721

Health Sector Inflation Rate and its Determinants in Iran: A Longitudinal Study (1995-2008).

PubMed

Teimourizad, Abedin; Hadian, Mohamad; Rezaei, Satar; Homaie Rad, Enayatollah

2014-11-01

Health price inflation rate is different from increasing in health expenditures. Health expenditures contain both quantity and prices but inflation rate contains prices. This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the Inflation Rate for Health Care Services (IRCPIHC) in Iran. We used Central Bank of Iran data. We estimated the relationship between the inflation rate and its determinants using dynamic factor variable approach. For this purpose, we used STATA software. The study results revealed a positive relationship between the overall inflation as well as the number of dentists and health inflation. However, number of beds and physicians per 1000 people had a negative relationship with health inflation. When the number of hospital beds and doctors increased, the competition between them increased, as well, thereby decreasing the inflation rate. Moreover, dentists and drug stores had the conditions of monopoly markets; therefore, they could change the prices easier compared to other health sectors. Health inflation is the subset of growth in health expenditures and the determinants of health expenditures are not similar to health inflation.

When Parents' Praise Inflates, Children's Self-Esteem Deflates.

PubMed

Brummelman, Eddie; Nelemans, Stefanie A; Thomaes, Sander; Orobio de Castro, Bram

2017-11-01

Western parents often give children overly positive, inflated praise. One perspective holds that inflated praise sets unattainable standards for children, eventually lowering children's self-esteem (self-deflation hypothesis). Another perspective holds that children internalize inflated praise to form narcissistic self-views (self-inflation hypothesis). These perspectives were tested in an observational-longitudinal study (120 parent-child dyads from the Netherlands) in late childhood (ages 7-11), when narcissism and self-esteem first emerge. Supporting the self-deflation hypothesis, parents' inflated praise predicted lower self-esteem in children. Partly supporting the self-inflation hypothesis, parents' inflated praise predicted higher narcissism-but only in children with high self-esteem. Noninflated praise predicted neither self-esteem nor narcissism. Thus, inflated praise may foster the self-views it seeks to prevent. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Issues on generating primordial anisotropies at the end of inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emami, Razieh; Firouzjahi, Hassan

2012-01-01

We revisit the idea of generating primordial anisotropies at the end of inflation in models of inflation with gauge fields. To be specific we consider the charged hybrid inflation model where the waterfall field is charged under a U(1) gauge field so the surface of end of inflation is controlled both by inflaton and the gauge fields. Using δN formalism properly we find that the anisotropies generated at the end of inflation from the gauge field fluctuations are exponentially suppressed on cosmological scales. This is because the gauge field evolves exponentially during inflation while in order to generate appreciable anisotropies at the end of inflation the spectator gauge field has to be frozen. We argue that this is a generic feature, that is, one can not generate observable anisotropies at the end of inflation within an FRW background.

77 FR 65100 - Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties for Inflation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-25

... Penalties for Inflation AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The... civil monetary penalties, to adjust for inflation. This rule sets forth the maximum, inflation-adjusted... Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement...

Optimization of stent implantation using a high pressure inflation protocol.

PubMed

Vallurupalli, Srikanth; Bahia, Amit; Ruiz-Rodriguez, Ernesto; Ahmed, Zubair; Hakeem, Abdul; Uretsky, Barry F

2016-01-01

High-pressure inflation is the universal standard for stent deployment but a specific protocol for its use is lacking. We developed a standardized "pressure optimization protocol" (POP) using time to inflation pressure stability as an endpoint for determining the required duration of stent inflation. The primary study purpose was to determine the stent inflation time (IT) in a large patient cohort using the standardized inflation protocol, to correlate various patient and lesion characteristics with IT, and ascertain in an in vitro study the time for pressure accommodation within an inflation system. Six hundred fifteen stent implants in 435 patients were studied. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine predictors of longer ITs. In an in vitro study, various stents and balloons were inflated in air to determine the pressure accommodation time of the inflation system. The mean stent IT was 104 ± 41 sec (range 30-380 sec). Stent length was the only predictor of prolonged stent inflation. The "accommodation time" in vitro of the stent inflation system itself was 33 ± 24 sec. The protocol was safe requiring premature inflation termination in <3% of stent implants. No serious adverse events occurred. Achieving stable inflation pressure requires on average over 100 sec and may require several minutes in individual cases. Stent length increases IT. These results suggest that the widespread practice of rapid inflation/deflation may not be sufficient to fully expand the stent and that the use of a pressure stability protocol will allow for safe, predictable, and more complete stent deployment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

33 CFR 175.23 - Serviceable condition.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (d) of this section, a properly armed inflation mechanism, complete with a full inflation medium cartridge and all status indicators showing that the inflation mechanism is properly armed; (2) Inflatable chambers that are all capable of holding air; (3) Oral inflation tubes that are not blocked, detached, or...

26 CFR 1.1286-2 - Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments... Losses § 1.1286-2 Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments. Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments. If a Treasury Inflation-Protected Security is stripped under the Department of the Treasury's...

26 CFR 1.1286-2 - Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments... Losses § 1.1286-2 Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments. Stripped inflation-protected debt instruments. If a Treasury Inflation-Protected Security is stripped under the Department of the Treasury's...

33 CFR 150.507 - How must the operator service inflatable lifesaving appliances?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... inflatable lifesaving appliances? 150.507 Section 150.507 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... Specialty Equipment Inflatable Lifesaving Appliances § 150.507 How must the operator service inflatable lifesaving appliances? (a) The operator must service each inflatable liferaft according to 46 CFR subpart 160...

46 CFR 506.3 - Civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment. 506.3... PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506.3 Civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment. The Commission shall... each civil monetary penalty provided by law within the jurisdiction of the Commission by the inflation...

26 CFR 1.1286-2 - Stripped inflation-indexed debt instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Stripped inflation-indexed debt instruments. 1....1286-2 Stripped inflation-indexed debt instruments. Stripped inflation-indexed debt instruments. If a Treasury Inflation-Indexed Security is stripped under the Department of the Treasury's Separate Trading of...

A preliminary structural analysis of space-based inflatable tubular frame structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Main, John A.; Peterson, Steven W.; Strauss, Alvin M.

1992-01-01

The use of inflatable structures has often been proposed for aerospace and planetary applications. The advantages of such structures include low launch weight and easy assembly. The use of inflatables for applications requiring very large frame structures intended for aerospace use are proposed. In order to consider using an inflated truss, the structural behavior of the inflated frame must be examined. The statics of inflated tubes as beams was discussed in the literature, but the dynamics of these elements has not received much attention. In an effort to evaluate the vibration characteristics of the inflated beam a series of free vibration tests of an inflated fabric cantilevers were performed. Results of the tests are presented and models for system behavior posed.

Advanced Structural and Inflatable Hybrid Spacecraft Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, William C. (Inventor); delaFuente, Horacio M. (Inventor); Edeen, Gregg A. (Inventor); Kennedy, Kriss J. (Inventor); Lester, James D. (Inventor); Gupta, Shalini (Inventor); Hess, Linda F. (Inventor); Lin, Chin H. (Inventor); Malecki, Richard H. (Inventor); Raboin, Jasen L. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

An inflatable module comprising a structural core and an inflatable shell, wherein the inflatable shell is sealingly attached to the structural core. In its launch configuration, the wall thickness of the inflatable shell is collapsed by vacuum. Also in this configuration, the inflatable shell is collapsed and efficiently folded around the structural core. Upon deployment, the wall thickness of the inflatable shell is inflated; whereby the inflatable shell itself, is thereby inflated around the structural core, defining therein a large enclosed volume. A plurality of removable shelves are arranged interior to the structural core in the launch configuration. The structural core also includes at least one longeron that, in conjunction with the shelves, primarily constitute the rigid, strong, and lightweight load-bearing structure of the module during launch. The removable shelves are detachable from their arrangement in the launch configuration so that, when the module is in its deployed configuration and launch loads no longer exist, the shelves can be rearranged to provide a module interior arrangement suitable for human habitation and work. In the preferred embodiment, to provide efficiency in structural load paths and attachments, the shape of the inflatable shell is a cylinder with semi-toroidal ends.

Inflatable Vessel and Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raboin, Jasen L. (Inventor); Valle, Gerard D. (Inventor); Edeen, Gregg A. (Inventor); delaFuente, Horacio M. (Inventor); Schneider, William C. (Inventor); Spexarth, Gary R. (Inventor); Pandya, Shalini Gupta (Inventor); Johnson, Christopher J. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

An inflatable module comprising a structural core and an inflatable shell, wherein the inflatable shell is sealingly attached to the structural core. In its launch or pre-deployed configuration, the wall thickness of the inflatable shell is collapsed by vacuum. Also in this configuration, the inflatable shell is collapsed and efficiently folded around the structural core. Upon deployment, the wall thickness of the inflatable shell is inflated; whereby the inflatable shell itself, is thereby inflated around the structural core, defining therein a large enclosed volume. A plurality of removable shelves are arranged interior to the structural core in the launch configuration. The structural core also includes at least one longeron that, in conjunction with the shelves, primarily constitute the rigid, strong, and lightweight load-bearing structure of the module during launch. The removable shelves are detachable from their arrangement in the launch configuration so that, when the module is in its deployed configuration and launch loads no longer exist, the shelves can be rearranged to provide a module interior arrangement suitable for human habitation and work. In the preferred embodiment, to provide efficiency in structural load paths and attachments, the shape of the inflatable shell is a cylinder with semi-toroidal ends.

Inflation data clustering of some cities in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiawan, Adi; Susanto, Bambang; Mahatma, Tundjung

2017-06-01

In this paper, it is presented how to cluster inflation data of cities in Indonesia by using k-means cluster method and fuzzy c-means method. The data that are used is limited to the monthly inflation data from 15 cities across Indonesia which have highest weight of donations and is supplemented with 5 cities used in the calculation of inflation in Indonesia. When they are applied into two clusters with k = 2 for k-means cluster method and c = 2, w = 1.25 for fuzzy c-means cluster method, Ambon, Manado and Jayapura tend to become one cluster (high inflation) meanwhile other cities tend to become members of other cluster (low inflation). However, if they are applied into two clusters with c=2, w=1.5, Surabaya, Medan, Makasar, Samarinda, Makasar, Manado, Ambon dan Jayapura tend to become one cluster (high inflation) meanwhile other cities tend to become members of other cluster (low inflation). Furthermore, when we use two clusters with k=3 for k-means cluster method and c=3, w = 1.25 for fuzzy c-means cluster method, Ambon tends to become member of first cluster (high inflation), Manado and Jayapura tend to become member of second cluster (moderate inflation), other cities tend to become members of third cluster (low inflation). If it is applied c=3, w = 1.5, Ambon, Manado and Jayapura tend to become member of first cluster (high inflation), Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Makasar, Banyuwangi, Denpasar, Samarinda dan Mataram tend to become members of second cluster (moderate inflation), meanwhile other cities tend to become members of third cluster (low inflation). Similarly, interpretation can be made to the results of applying 5 clusters.

12 CFR 19.240 - Inflation adjustments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Inflation adjustments. 19.240 Section 19.240... PROCEDURE Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments § 19.240 Inflation adjustments. (a) The maximum amount... Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note) as follows: ER10NO08.001 (b) The...

77 FR 16907 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB 505; Inflatable Side-Facing Seat Three-Point...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-23

... inflatable portion of the restraint system will rely on sensors to electronically activate the inflator for... inflatable restraint system relies on sensors to electronically activate the inflator for deployment. These sensors could be susceptible to inadvertent activation, causing deployment in a potentially unsafe manner...

Method and apparatus for advancing tethers

DOEpatents

Zollinger, W. Thor

1998-01-01

A tether puller for advancing a tether through a channel may include a bellows assembly having a leading end fixedly attached to the tether at a first position and a trailing end fixedly attached to the tether at a second position so that the leading and trailing ends of the bellows assembly are located a substantially fixed distance apart. The bellows assembly includes a plurality of independently inflatable elements each of which may be separately inflated to an extended position and deflated to a retracted position. Each of the independently inflatable elements expands radially and axially upon inflation. An inflation system connected to the independently inflatable elements inflates and deflates selected ones of the independently inflatable elements to cause the bellows assembly to apply a tractive force to the tether and advance it in the channel.

Soft inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berkin, Andrew L.; Maeda, Kei-Ichi; Yokoyama, Junichi

1990-01-01

The cosmology resulting from two coupled scalar fields was studied, one which is either a new inflation or chaotic type inflation, and the other which has an exponentially decaying potential. Such a potential may appear in the conformally transformed frame of generalized Einstein theories like the Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory. The constraints necessary for successful inflation are examined. Conventional GUT models such as SU(5) were found to be compatible with new inflation, while restrictions on the self-coupling constant are significantly loosened for chaotic inflation.

Soft inflation. [in cosmology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berkin, Andrew L.; Maeda, Kei-Ichi; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

1990-01-01

The cosmology resulting from two coupled scalar fields was studied, one which is either a new inflation or chaotic type inflation, and the other which has an exponentially decaying potential. Such a potential may appear in the conformally transformed frame of generalized Einstein theories like the Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory. The constraints necessary for successful inflation are examined. Conventional GUT models such as SU(5) were found to be compatible with new inflation, while restrictions on the self-coupling constant are significantly loosened for chaotic inflation.

Inflatable Structures Technology Handbook. Chapter 21; Inflatable Habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Kriss J.; Raboin, Jasen; Spexarth, Gary; Valle, Gerard

2000-01-01

The technologies required to design, fabricate, and utilize an inflatable module for space applications has been demonstrated and proven by the TransHab team during the development phase of the program. Through testing and hands-on development several issues about inflatable space structures have been addressed , such as: ease of manufacturing, structural integrity, micrometeorite protection, folding , and vacuum deployment. The TransHab inflatable technology development program has proven that not only are inflatable structures a viable option, but they also offer significant advantages over conventional metallic structures.

INFLATE: INFlate Landing Apparatus Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koryanov, V. V. K.; Da-Poian, V. D. P.

2018-02-01

Our project, named INFLATE (INFlatable Landing Apparatus Technology), aims at reducing space landing risks and constraints and so optimizing space missions (reducing cost, mass, and risk and in the same time improving performance).

Applicability of Newton's law of cooling in monetary economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todorović, Jadranka Đurović; Tomić, Zoran; Denić, Nebojša; Petković, Dalibor; Kojić, Nenad; Petrović, Jelena; Petković, Biljana

2018-03-01

Inflation is a phenomenon which attracts the attention of many researchers. Inflation is not a recent date phenomenon, but it has existed ever since money emerged in world's first economies. With the development of economy and market, inflation developed as well. Today, even though there is a considerable number of research papers on inflation, there is still not enough knowledge about all factors which might cause inflation, and influence its evolution and dynamics. Regression analysis is a powerful statistical tool which might help analyse a vast amount of data on inflation, and provide an answer to the question about the factors of inflation, as well as the way those factors influence it. In this article Newton's Law of Cooling was applied to determine the long-term dynamics of monetary aggregates and inflation in Serbia and Croatia.

Kähler-driven tribrid inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antusch, Stefan; Nolde, David

2012-11-01

We discuss a new class of tribrid inflation models in supergravity, where the shape of the inflaton potential is dominated by effects from the Kähler potential. Tribrid inflation is a variant of hybrid inflation which is particularly suited for connecting inflation with particle physics, since the inflaton can be a D-flat combination of charged fields from the matter sector. In models of tribrid inflation studied so far, the inflaton potential was dominated by either loop corrections or by mixing effects with the waterfall field (as in "pseudosmooth" tribrid inflation). Here we investigate the third possibility, namely that tribrid inflation is dominantly driven by effects from higher-dimensional operators of the Kähler potential. We specify for which superpotential parameters the new regime is realized and show how it can be experimentally distinguished from the other two (loop-driven and "pseudosmooth") regimes.

All puffed out: do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?

PubMed Central

McGee, Georgia Evelyn; Clark, Timothy Darren

2014-01-01

The inflation response of pufferfishes is one of the most iconic predator defence strategies in nature. Current dogma suggests that pufferfish inflation represents a breath-holding response, whereby gill oxygen uptake ceases for the duration of inflation and cutaneous respiration increases to compensate. Here, we show that the black-saddled pufferfish (Canthigaster valentini) has an excellent capacity for oxygen uptake while inflated, with uptake rates increasing to five-times that of resting levels. Moreover, we show that this species has negligible capacity for cutaneous respiration, concluding that the gills are the primary site of oxygen uptake while inflated. Despite this, post-deflation recovery of aerobic metabolism took an average of 5.6 h, suggesting a contribution of anaerobic metabolism during pre-inflation activity and during the act of ingesting water to achieve inflation. PMID:25472941

Method and apparatus for advancing tethers

DOEpatents

Zollinger, W.T.

1998-06-02

A tether puller for advancing a tether through a channel may include a bellows assembly having a leading end fixedly attached to the tether at a first position and a trailing end fixedly attached to the tether at a second position so that the leading and trailing ends of the bellows assembly are located a substantially fixed distance apart. The bellows assembly includes a plurality of independently inflatable elements each of which may be separately inflated to an extended position and deflated to a retracted position. Each of the independently inflatable elements expands radially and axially upon inflation. An inflation system connected to the independently inflatable elements inflates and deflates selected ones of the independently inflatable elements to cause the bellows assembly to apply a tractive force to the tether and advance it in the channel. 9 figs.

Inflatable Re-Entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) Design Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Stephen J.; Dillman, Robert A.; Starr, Brett R.; Stephan, Ryan A.; Lindell, Michael C.; Player, Charles J.; Cheatwood, F. McNeil

2005-01-01

Inflatable aeroshells offer several advantages over traditional rigid aeroshells for atmospheric entry. Inflatables offer increased payload volume fraction of the launch vehicle shroud and the possibility to deliver more payload mass to the surface for equivalent trajectory constraints. An inflatable s diameter is not constrained by the launch vehicle shroud. The resultant larger drag area can provide deceleration equivalent to a rigid system at higher atmospheric altitudes, thus offering access to higher landing sites. When stowed for launch and cruise, inflatable aeroshells allow access to the payload after the vehicle is integrated for launch and offer direct access to vehicle structure for structural attachment with the launch vehicle. They also offer an opportunity to eliminate system duplication between the cruise stage and entry vehicle. There are however several potential technical challenges for inflatable aeroshells. First and foremost is the fact that they are flexible structures. That flexibility could lead to unpredictable drag performance or an aerostructural dynamic instability. In addition, durability of large inflatable structures may limit their application. They are susceptible to puncture, a potentially catastrophic insult, from many possible sources. Finally, aerothermal heating during planetary entry poses a significant challenge to a thin membrane. NASA Langley Research Center and NASA's Wallops Flight Facility are jointly developing inflatable aeroshell technology for use on future NASA missions. The technology will be demonstrated in the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE). This paper will detail the development of the initial IRVE inflatable system to be launched on a Terrier/Orion sounding rocket in the fourth quarter of CY2005. The experiment will demonstrate achievable packaging efficiency of the inflatable aeroshell for launch, inflation, leak performance of the inflatable system throughout the flight regime, structural integrity when exposed to a relevant dynamic pressure and aerodynamic stability of the inflatable system. Structural integrity and structural response of the inflatable will be verified with photogrammetric measurements of the back side of the aeroshell in flight. Aerodynamic stability as well as drag performance will be verified with on board inertial measurements and radar tracking from multiple ground radar stations. The experiment will yield valuable information about zero-g vacuum deployment dynamics of the flexible inflatable structure with both inertial and photographic measurements. In addition to demonstrating inflatable technology, IRVE will validate structural, aerothermal, and trajectory modeling techniques for the inflatable. Structural response determined from photogrammetrics will validate structural models, skin temperature measurements and additional in-depth temperature measurements will validate material thermal performance models, and on board inertial measurements along with radar tracking from multiple ground radar stations will validate trajectory simulation models.

Distinguishing between extra natural inflation and natural inflation after BICEP2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kohri, Kazunori; Lim, C.S.; Lin, Chia-Min, E-mail: kohri@post.kek.jp, E-mail: lim@lab.twcu.ac.jp, E-mail: lin@chuo-u.ac.jp

2014-08-01

In this paper, we carefully calculated the tensor-to-scalar ratio, the running spectral index, and the running of running spectrum for (extra) natural inflation in order to compare with recent BICEP2 data, PLANCK satellite data and future 21 cm data. We discovered that the prediction for running spectral index and the running of running spectrum in natural inflation is different from that in the case of extra natural inflation. Near future observation for the running spectral index can only provide marginal accuracy which may not allow us distinguishing between extra natural inflation from natural inflation clearly unless the experimental accuracy canmore » be further improved.« less

46 CFR 169.849 - Posting placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... accessible to the ship's company and guests approved placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts. The number and location of such placards for a particular vessel shall be...

46 CFR 169.849 - Posting placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... accessible to the ship's company and guests approved placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts. The number and location of such placards for a particular vessel shall be...

46 CFR 169.849 - Posting placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... accessible to the ship's company and guests approved placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts. The number and location of such placards for a particular vessel shall be...

46 CFR 169.849 - Posting placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... accessible to the ship's company and guests approved placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts. The number and location of such placards for a particular vessel shall be...

Gravitational waves from warm inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xi-Bin; Wang, He; Zhu, Jian-Yang

2018-03-01

A fundamental prediction of inflation is a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of gravitational wave. The features of such a signal provide extremely important information about the physics of the early universe. In this paper, we focus on several topics about warm inflation. First, we discuss the stability property about warm inflation based on nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, which gives more fundamental physical illustrations to thermal property of such model. Then, we calculate the power spectrum of gravitational waves generated during warm inflation, in which there are three components contributing to such spectrum: thermal term, quantum term, and cross term combining the both. We also discuss some interesting properties about these terms and illustrate them in different panels. As a model different from cold inflation, warm inflation model has its individual properties in observational practice, so we finally give a discussion about the observational effect to distinguish it from cold inflation.

Cosmological perturbations and noncommutative tachyon inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu Daojun; Li Xinzhou

2004-12-15

The motivation for studying the rolling tachyon and noncommutative inflation comes from string theory. In the tachyon inflation scenario, metric perturbations are created by tachyon field fluctuations during inflation. We drive the exact mode equation for scalar perturbations of the metric and investigate the cosmological perturbations in the commutative and noncommutative inflationary spacetime driven by the tachyon field which have a Born-Infeld Lagrangian. Although at lowest order the predictions of tachyon inflation are no different than those from standard slow-roll inflation, due to the modified inflationary dynamics there exists modifications to the power spectra of fluctuations generated during inflation. Inmore » the noncommutative tachyon inflation scenario, the stringy noncommutativity of spacetime results in corrections to the primordial power spectrum that lead to a spectral index that is greater than 1 on large scales and less than 1 on small scales as the first-year results of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe indicate.« less

Estimating Mass of Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators Using Dimensionless Parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid A.

2011-01-01

This paper describes a technique for estimating mass for inflatable aerodynamic decelerators. The technique uses dimensional analysis to identify a set of dimensionless parameters for inflation pressure, mass of inflation gas, and mass of flexible material. The dimensionless parameters enable scaling of an inflatable concept with geometry parameters (e.g., diameter), environmental conditions (e.g., dynamic pressure), inflation gas properties (e.g., molecular mass), and mass growth allowance. This technique is applicable for attached (e.g., tension cone, hypercone, and stacked toroid) and trailing inflatable aerodynamic decelerators. The technique uses simple engineering approximations that were developed by NASA in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as some recent important developments. The NASA Mars Entry and Descent Landing System Analysis (EDL-SA) project used this technique to estimate the masses of the inflatable concepts that were used in the analysis. The EDL-SA results compared well with two independent sets of high-fidelity finite element analyses.

Toward inflation models compatible with the no-boundary proposal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hwang, Dong-il; Yeom, Dong-han, E-mail: dongil.j.hwang@gmail.com, E-mail: innocent.yeom@gmail.com

2014-06-01

In this paper, we investigate various inflation models in the context of the no-boundary proposal. We propose that a good inflation model should satisfy three conditions: observational constraints, plausible initial conditions, and naturalness of the model. For various inflation models, we assign the probability to each initial condition using the no-boundary proposal and define a quantitative standard, typicality, to check whether the model satisfies the observational constraints with probable initial conditions. There are three possible ways to satisfy the typicality criterion: there was pre-inflation near the high energy scale, the potential is finely tuned or the inflationary field space ismore » unbounded, or there are sufficient number of fields that contribute to inflation. The no-boundary proposal rejects some of naive inflation models, explains some of traditional doubts on inflation, and possibly, can have observational consequences.« less

Microwave background anisotropies in quasiopen inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Bellido, Juan; Garriga, Jaume; Montes, Xavier

1999-10-01

Quasiopenness seems to be generic to multifield models of single-bubble open inflation. Instead of producing infinite open universes, these models actually produce an ensemble of very large but finite inflating islands. In this paper we study the possible constraints from CMB anisotropies on existing models of open inflation. The effect of supercurvature anisotropies combined with the quasiopenness of the inflating regions make some models incompatible with observations, and severely reduces the parameter space of others. Supernatural open inflation and the uncoupled two-field model seem to be ruled out due to these constraints for values of Ω0<~0.98. Others, such as the open hybrid inflation model with suitable parameters for the slow roll potential can be made compatible with observations.

Pseudosmooth tribrid inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antusch, Stefan; Nolde, David; Rehman, Mansoor Ur

2012-08-01

We explore a new class of supersymmetric models of inflation where the inflaton is realised as a combination of a Higgs field and (gauge non-singlet) matter fields, using a ``tribrid'' structure of the superpotential. Inflation is associated with a phase transition around GUT scale energies. The inflationary trajectory already preselects the later vacuum after inflation, which has the advantage of automatically avoiding the production of dangerous topological defects at the end of inflation. While at first sight the models look similar to smooth inflation, they feature a waterfall and are therefore only pseudosmooth. The new class of models offers novel possibilities for realising inflation in close contact with particle physics, for instance with supersymmetric GUTs or with supersymmetric flavour models based on family symmetries.

Inflatable antennas for microwave pwoer transmission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Geoff

1989-01-01

Operational phase of the inflatable radiator; inflatable space structures; advantages; inflated thin-film satellites; antenna configuration; 3 meter diameter test paraboloid (HAIR program); and weight breakdown for the 100 meter diameter reflector are outlined. This presentation is represented by viewgraphs only.

Seven lessons from manyfield inflation in random potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dias, Mafalda; Frazer, Jonathan; Marsh, M. C. David

2018-01-01

We study inflation in models with many interacting fields subject to randomly generated scalar potentials. We use methods from non-equilibrium random matrix theory to construct the potentials and an adaption of the `transport method' to evolve the two-point correlators during inflation. This construction allows, for the first time, for an explicit study of models with up to 100 interacting fields supporting a period of `approximately saddle-point' inflation. We determine the statistical predictions for observables by generating over 30,000 models with 2–100 fields supporting at least 60 efolds of inflation. These studies lead us to seven lessons: i) Manyfield inflation is not single-field inflation, ii) The larger the number of fields, the simpler and sharper the predictions, iii) Planck compatibility is not rare, but future experiments may rule out this class of models, iv) The smoother the potentials, the sharper the predictions, v) Hyperparameters can transition from stiff to sloppy, vi) Despite tachyons, isocurvature can decay, vii) Eigenvalue repulsion drives the predictions. We conclude that many of the `generic predictions' of single-field inflation can be emergent features of complex inflation models.

System and method of designing a load bearing layer of an inflatable vessel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spexarth, Gary R. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

A computer-implemented method is provided for designing a restraint layer of an inflatable vessel. The restraint layer is inflatable from an initial uninflated configuration to an inflated configuration and is constructed from a plurality of interfacing longitudinal straps and hoop straps. The method involves providing computer processing means (e.g., to receive user inputs, perform calculations, and output results) and utilizing this computer processing means to implement a plurality of subsequent design steps. The computer processing means is utilized to input the load requirements of the inflated restraint layer and to specify an inflated configuration of the restraint layer. This includes specifying a desired design gap between pairs of adjacent longitudinal or hoop straps, whereby the adjacent straps interface with a plurality of transversely extending hoop or longitudinal straps at a plurality of intersections. Furthermore, an initial uninflated configuration of the restraint layer that is inflatable to achieve the specified inflated configuration is determined. This includes calculating a manufacturing gap between pairs of adjacent longitudinal or hoop straps that correspond to the specified desired gap in the inflated configuration of the restraint layer.

46 CFR 169.849 - Posting placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Inspections § 169.849 Posting placards containing instructions for launching and inflating inflatable... accessible to the ship's company and guests approved placards containing instructions for launching and... determined by the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection. ...

The Other Inflation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aristides

1976-01-01

The other inflation is grade inflation, the label affixed to the indisputable rise in the grade-point averages of undergraduates at public and private, elite and community colleges and universities across the country. The effects of grade inflation upon academic performance were assessed. (Author/RK)

Constant-roll tachyon inflation and observational constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Qing; Gong, Yungui; Fei, Qin

2018-05-01

For the constant-roll tachyon inflation, we derive the analytical expressions for the scalar and tensor power spectra, the scalar and tensor spectral tilts and the tensor to scalar ratio to the first order of epsilon1 by using the method of Bessel function approximation. The derived ns-r results are compared with the observations, we find that only the constant-roll inflation with ηH being a constant is consistent with the observations and observations constrain the constant-roll inflation to be slow-roll inflation. The tachyon potential is also reconstructed for the constant-roll inflation which is consistent with the observations.

Inflatable Vehicles for In-Situ Exploration of Titan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, J. A.

2001-01-01

Space Inflatable vehicles have been finding popularity in recent years for applications as varied as spacecraft antennas, space-based telescopes, solar sails, and manned habitats. Another branch of space inflatable technology has also considered developing ambient-filled, solar balloons for Mars as well as ambient-filled inflatable rovers. More recently, some of these inflatable technologies have been applied to the outer solar system bodies with the result that there are some rather unique and compelling inflatable mission capabilities for in situ explorations of Titan, Triton, Uranus, and Neptune. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Effect of sustained inflation duration; resuscitation of near-term asphyxiated lambs.

PubMed

Klingenberg, Claus; Sobotka, Kristina S; Ong, Tracey; Allison, Beth J; Schmölzer, Georg M; Moss, Timothy J M; Polglase, Graeme R; Dawson, Jennifer A; Davis, Peter G; Hooper, Stuart B

2013-05-01

The 2010 ILCOR neonatal resuscitation guidelines do not specify appropriate inflation times for the initial lung inflations in apnoeic newborn infants. The authors compared three ventilation strategies immediately after delivery in asphyxiated newborn lambs. Experimental animal study. Facility for animal research. Eighteen near-term lambs (weight 3.5-3.9 kg) delivered by caesarean section. Asphyxia was induced by occluding the umbilical cord and delaying ventilation onset (10-11 min) until mean carotid blood pressure (CBP) was ≤22 mm Hg. Animals were divided into three groups (n=6) and ventilation started with: (1) inflation times of 0.5 s at a ventilation rate 60/min, (2) five 3 s inflations or (3) a single 30 s inflation. Subsequent ventilation used inflations at 0.5 s at 60/min for all groups. Times to reach a heart rate (HR) of 120 bpm and a mean CBP of 40 mm Hg. Secondary outcome was change in lung compliance. Median time to reach HR 120 bpm and mean CBP 40 mm Hg was significantly shorter in the single 30 s inflation group (8 s and 74 s) versus the 5×3 s inflation group (38 s and 466 s) and the conventional ventilation group (64 s and 264 s). Lung compliance was significantly better in the single 30 s inflation group. A single sustained inflation of 30 s immediately after birth improved speed of circulatory recovery and lung compliance in near-term asphyxiated lambs. This approach for neonatal resuscitation merits further investigation.

Inflatable nested toroid structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Christopher J. (Inventor); Raboin, Jasen L. (Inventor); Spexarth, Gary R. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An inflatable structure comprises at least two generally toroidal, inflatable modules. When in a deployed mode, the first, inner module has a major diameter less than that of a second, outer module and is positioned within the inner circumference of the outer module such that the first module is nested circumferentially alongside the second module. The inflatable structure, in a non-deployed, non-inflated mode, is of compact configuration and adapted to be transported to a site of deployment. When deployed, the inflatable structure is of substantially increased interior volume. In one embodiment, access between the interior of the first module and the second module is provided by at least one port or structural pass-through. In another embodiment, the inflatable structure includes at least one additional generally toroidal module external of and circumferentially surrounding the second module.

Adiabatic regularization of the power spectrum in nonminimally coupled general single-field inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alinea, Allan L.; Kubota, Takahiro

2018-03-01

We perform adiabatic regularization of power spectrum in nonminimally coupled general single-field inflation with varying speed of sound. The subtraction is performed within the framework of earlier study by Urakawa and Starobinsky dealing with the canonical inflation. Inspired by Fakir and Unruh's model on nonminimally coupled chaotic inflation, we find upon imposing near scale-invariant condition, that the subtraction term exponentially decays with the number of e -folds. As in the result for the canonical inflation, the regularized power spectrum tends to the "bare" power spectrum as the Universe expands during (and even after) inflation. This work justifies the use of the "bare" power spectrum in standard calculation in the most general context of slow-roll single-field inflation involving nonminimal coupling and varying speed of sound.

Structure analysis of tax revenue and inflation rate in Banda Aceh using vector error correction model with multiple alpha

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sofyan, Hizir; Maulia, Eva; Miftahuddin

2017-11-01

A country has several important parameters to achieve economic prosperity, such as tax revenue and inflation rate. One of the largest revenues of the State Budget in Indonesia comes from the tax sector. Meanwhile, the rate of inflation occurring in a country can be used as an indicator, to measure the good and bad economic problems faced by the country. Given the importance of tax revenue and inflation rate control in achieving economic prosperity, it is necessary to analyze the structure of tax revenue relations and inflation rate. This study aims to produce the best VECM (Vector Error Correction Model) with optimal lag using various alpha and perform structural analysis using the Impulse Response Function (IRF) of the VECM models to examine the relationship of tax revenue, and inflation in Banda Aceh. The results showed that the best model for the data of tax revenue and inflation rate in Banda Aceh City using alpha 0.01 is VECM with optimal lag 2, while the best model for data of tax revenue and inflation rate in Banda Aceh City using alpha 0.05 and 0,1 VECM with optimal lag 3. However, the VECM model with alpha 0.01 yielded four significant models of income tax model, inflation rate of Banda Aceh, inflation rate of health and inflation rate of education in Banda Aceh. While the VECM model with alpha 0.05 and 0.1 yielded one significant model that is income tax model. Based on the VECM models, then there are two structural analysis IRF which is formed to look at the relationship of tax revenue, and inflation in Banda Aceh, the IRF with VECM (2) and IRF with VECM (3).

Prolonged high-pressure is required for optimal stent deployment as assessed by optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Cook, Jeffrey R; Mhatre, Ajay; Wang, Fen Wei; Uretsky, Barry F

2014-03-01

Optimizing stent deployment is important for both acute- and long-term outcomes. High-pressure balloon inflation is the standard for coronary stent implantation. However, there is no standardized inflation protocol. We hypothesized that prolonged high-pressure balloon inflation until stabilization of inflation pressure is superior to a rapid inflation/deflation sequence for both stent expansion and strut apposition. A high-pressure rapid inflation/deflation sequence was deployed followed by angiography to assure no residual stenosis. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was then performed followed by prolonged inflation until balloon pressure was stabilized for 30 sec using the same balloon at the same pressure as the rapid sequence. A second OCT run was then done. Thirteen thousand nine hundred thirteen stent struts were evaluated by OCT in 12 patients undergoing successful stenting. Stent expansion improved with prolonged (206 ± 115 sec) vs. rapid (28 ± 17 sec) inflation for both minimal stent diameter (3.0 ± 0.5 vs. 2.75 ± 0.44 mm, P < 0.0001) and area (7.83 ± 2.45 vs. 6.63 ± 1.85 mm(2) , P = 0.0003). The number of malapposed struts decreased (45 ± 41 vs. 88 ± 75, P = 0.005) as did the maximal malapposed strut distance (0.31 ± 0.2 vs. 0.43 ± 0.2 mm, P = 0.0001). Factors related to strut malapposition after rapid inflation included localized asymmetry in 67%, stent underexpansion in 75%, and stent undersizing in 67%. These data demonstrate that prolonged inflation is superior to a rapid inflation/deflation technique for both stent expansion and strut apposition. We recommend for routine stent deployment a prolonged inflation protocol as described above to optimize stent deployment. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Topological defects in extended inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Copeland, Edmund J.; Kolb, Edward W.; Liddle, Andrew R.

1990-01-01

The production of topological defects, especially cosmic strings, in extended inflation models was considered. In extended inflation, the Universe passes through a first-order phase transition via bubble percolation, which naturally allows defects to form at the end of inflation. The correlation length, which determines the number density of the defects, is related to the mean size of bubbles when they collide. This mechanism allows a natural combination of inflation and large scale structure via cosmic strings.

76 FR 74625 - Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-01

...-2011] RIN 1125-AA69 Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment AGENCIES: U.S. Customs and Border... adjust for inflation certain civil monetary penalties assessed under the Immigration and Nationality Act... assessed under the INA. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Adjustment Act...

Grade Inflation in Higher Education: A Comparative Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolevzon, Michael S.

1981-01-01

Ten departments with high grade inflation rates during a seven-year period were compared with 10 departments within the same university displaying lower grade inflation rates. Higher grade inflation rates were related to perceived increases in the demands placed upon the academicians' role. (Author/MLW)

Nonthermal gravitino production in tribrid inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antusch, Stefan; Dutta, Koushik

2015-10-01

We investigate nonthermal gravitino production after tribrid inflation in supergravity, which is a variant of supersymmetric hybrid inflation where three fields are involved in the inflationary model and where the inflaton field resides in the matter sector of the theory. In contrast to conventional supersymmetric hybrid inflation, where nonthermal gravitino production imposes severe constraints on the inflationary model, we find that the "nonthermal gravitino problem" is generically absent in models of tribrid inflation, mainly due to two effects: (i) With the inflaton in tribrid inflation (after inflation) being lighter than the waterfall field, the latter has a second decay channel with a much larger rate than for the decay into gravitinos. This reduces the branching ratio for the decay of the waterfall field into gravitinos. (ii) The inflaton generically decays later than the waterfall field, and it does not produce gravitinos when it decays. This leads to a dilution of the gravitino population from the decays of the waterfall field. The combination of both effects generically leads to a strongly reduced gravitino production in tribrid inflation.

Attractors, universality, and inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downes, Sean; Dutta, Bhaskar; Sinha, Kuver

2012-11-01

Studies of the initial conditions for inflation have conflicting predictions from exponential suppression to inevitability. At the level of phase space, this conflict arises from the competing intuitions of CPT invariance and thermodynamics. After reviewing this conflict, we enlarge the ensemble beyond phase space to include scalar potential data. We show how this leads to an important contribution from inflection point inflation, enhancing the likelihood of inflation to a power law, 1/Ne3. In the process, we emphasize the attractor dynamics of the gravity-scalar system and the existence of universality classes from inflection point inflation. Finally, we comment on the predictivity of inflation in light of these results.

A smooth exit from eternal inflation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawking, S. W.; Hertog, Thomas

2018-04-01

The usual theory of inflation breaks down in eternal inflation. We derive a dual description of eternal inflation in terms of a deformed Euclidean CFT located at the threshold of eternal inflation. The partition function gives the amplitude of different geometries of the threshold surface in the no-boundary state. Its local and global behavior in dual toy models shows that the amplitude is low for surfaces which are not nearly conformal to the round three-sphere and essentially zero for surfaces with negative curvature. Based on this we conjecture that the exit from eternal inflation does not produce an infinite fractal-like multiverse, but is finite and reasonably smooth.

Stochastic effects in hybrid inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jérôme; Vennin, Vincent

2012-02-01

Hybrid inflation is a two-field model where inflation ends due to an instability. In the neighborhood of the instability point, the potential is very flat and the quantum fluctuations dominate over the classical motion of the inflaton and waterfall fields. In this article, we study this regime in the framework of stochastic inflation. We numerically solve the two coupled Langevin equations controlling the evolution of the fields and compute the probability distributions of the total number of e-folds and of the inflation exit point. Then, we discuss the physical consequences of our results, in particular, the question of how the quantum diffusion can affect the observable predictions of hybrid inflation.

Deflation of the cosmological constant associated with inflation and dark energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Geng, Chao-Qiang; Lee, Chung-Chi, E-mail: geng@phys.nthu.edu.tw, E-mail: chungchi@mx.nthu.edu.tw

2016-06-01

In order to solve the fine-tuning problem of the cosmological constant, we propose a simple model with the vacuum energy non-minimally coupled to the inflaton field. In this model, the vacuum energy decays to the inflaton during pre-inflation and inflation eras, so that the cosmological constant effectively deflates from the Planck mass scale to a much smaller one after inflation and plays the role of dark energy in the late-time of the universe. We show that our deflationary scenario is applicable to arbitrary slow-roll inflation models. We also take two specific inflation potentials to illustrate our results.

Structural testing and analysis of a braided, inflatable fabric torus structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Andrew C.; Davids, William G.; Whitney, Daniel J.; Clapp, Joshua D.; Goupee, Andrew J.

2017-10-01

Inflatable structural members have military, disaster relief, aerospace and other important applications as they possess low mass, can be stored in a relatively small volume and have significant load-carrying capacity once pressurized. Of particular interest to the present research is the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) structure under development by NASA. In order to make predictions about the structural response of the HIAD system, it is necessary to understand the response of individual inflatable tori composing the HIAD structure. These inflatable members present unique challenges to structural testing and modeling due to their internal inflation pressure and relative compliance. Structural testing was performed on a braided, inflatable, toroidal structural member with axial reinforcing cords. The internal inflation pressure, magnitude of enforced displacement and loading methodology were varied. In-plane and out-of-plane experimental results were compared to model predictions using a three dimensional, corotational, flexibility-based fiber-beam finite element model including geometric and material nonlinearities, as well as the effects of inflation pressure. It was found that in order to approximate the load-deformation response observed in experimentation it is necessary to carefully control the test and model boundary conditions and loading scheme.

Robustness of inflation to inhomogeneous initial conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clough, Katy; Lim, Eugene A.; DiNunno, Brandon S.; Fischler, Willy; Flauger, Raphael; Paban, Sonia

2017-09-01

We consider the effects of inhomogeneous initial conditions in both the scalar field profile and the extrinsic curvature on different inflationary models. In particular, we compare the robustness of small field inflation to that of large field inflation, using numerical simulations with Einstein gravity in 3+1 dimensions. We find that small field inflation can fail in the presence of subdominant gradient energies, suggesting that it is much less robust to inhomogeneities than large field inflation, which withstands dominant gradient energies. However, we also show that small field inflation can be successful even if some regions of spacetime start out in the region of the potential that does not support inflation. In the large field case, we confirm previous results that inflation is robust if the inflaton occupies the inflationary part of the potential. Furthermore, we show that increasing initial scalar gradients will not form sufficiently massive inflation-ending black holes if the initial hypersurface is approximately flat. Finally, we consider the large field case with a varying extrinsic curvature K, such that some regions are initially collapsing. We find that this may again lead to local black holes, but overall the spacetime remains inflationary if the spacetime is open, which confirms previous theoretical studies.

Topological inflation with graceful exit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marunović, Anja; Prokopec, Tomislav, E-mail: a.marunovic@uu.nl, E-mail: t.prokopec@uu.nl

We investigate a class of models of topological inflation in which a super-Hubble-sized global monopole seeds inflation. These models are attractive since inflation starts from rather generic initial conditions, but their not so attractive feature is that, unless symmetry is again restored, inflation never ends. In this work we show that, in presence of another nonminimally coupled scalar field, that is both quadratically and quartically coupled to the Ricci scalar, inflation naturally ends, representing an elegant solution to the graceful exit problem of topological inflation. While the monopole core grows during inflation, the growth stops after inflation, such that themore » monopole eventually enters the Hubble radius, and shrinks to its Minkowski space size, rendering it immaterial for the subsequent Universe's dynamics. Furthermore, we find that our model can produce cosmological perturbations that source CMB temperature fluctuations and seed large scale structure statistically consistent (within one standard deviation) with all available data. In particular, for small and (in our convention) negative nonminimal couplings, the scalar spectral index can be as large as n {sub s} ≅ 0.955, which is about one standard deviation lower than the central value quoted by the most recent Planck Collaboration.« less

Ground and Flight Evaluation of a Small-Scale Inflatable-Winged Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, James E.; Pahle, Joseph W.; Thornton, Stephen V.; Vogus, Shannon; Frackowiak, Tony; Mello, Joe; Norton, Brook; Bauer, Jeff (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A small-scale, instrumented research aircraft was flown to investigate the night characteristics of innersole wings. Ground tests measured the static structural characteristics of the wing at different inflation pressures, and these results compared favorably with analytical predictions. A research-quality instrumentation system was assembled, largely from commercial off-the-shelf components, and installed in the aircraft. Initial flight operations were conducted with a conventional rigid wing having the same dimensions as the inflatable wing. Subsequent flights were conducted with the inflatable wing. Research maneuvers were executed to identify the trim, aerodynamic performance, and longitudinal stability and control characteristics of the vehicle in its different wing configurations. For the angle-of-attack range spanned in this flight program, measured flight data demonstrated that the rigid wing was an effective simulator of the lift-generating capability of the inflatable wing. In-flight inflation of the wing was demonstrated in three flight operations, and measured flight data illustrated the dynamic characteristics during wing inflation and transition to controlled lifting flight. Wing inflation was rapid and the vehicle dynamics during inflation and transition were benign. The resulting angles of attack and of sideslip ere small, and the dynamic response was limited to roll and heave motions.

A picture for the coupling of unemployment and inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safdari, H.; Hosseiny, A.; Vasheghani Farahani, S.; Jafari, G. R.

2016-02-01

The aim of this article is to illustrate the scaling features of two well heard characters in the media; unemployment and inflation. We carry out a scaling analysis on the coupling between unemployment and inflation. This work is based on the wavelet analysis as well as the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Through our analysis we state that while unemployment is time scale invariant, inflation is bi-scale. We show that inflation possess a five year time scale where it experiences different behaviours before and after this scale period. This behaviour of inflation provides basis for the coupling to inherit the stated time interval. Although inflation is bi-scale, it is unemployment that shows a strong multifractality feature. Owing to the cross wavelet analysis we provide a picture that illustrates the dynamics of coupling between unemployment and inflation regarding intensity, direction, and scale. The fact of the matter is that the coupling between inflation and unemployment is not equal in one way compared to the opposite. Regarding the scaling; coupling exhibits different features in various scales. In a sense that although in one scale its correlation behaves in a positive/negative manner, at the same time it can be negative/positive for another scale.

46 CFR 160.051-9 - Equipment required for Coastal Service inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Equipment required for Coastal Service inflatable...) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-9 Equipment required for Coastal Service inflatable liferafts. In...

46 CFR 185.518 - Inflatable survival craft placards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Inflatable survival craft placards. 185.518 Section 185... 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Preparations for Emergencies § 185.518 Inflatable survival craft placards. (a) Every vessel equipped with an inflatable survival craft must have approved placards or other...

Inflatable robotics for planetary applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Jack A.

2001-01-01

Space Inflatable vehicles have been finding popularity in recent years for applications as varied as spacecraft antennas, space-based telescopes, solar sails, and manned habitats [1]. Another branch of space inflatable technology has also considered developing ambient gasfilled, solar balloons for Mars as well as ambient gasfilled inflatable rovers [2]. More recently, some other intriguing space-inflatable vehicles have been proposed for the gas planets and Pluto, as well as for Saturn's moon, Titan, Neptune's moon, Triton, and Jupiter's moon, Io [3].

Hatch Integration Testing of a NASA TransHab Derivative Woven Inflatable Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edgecombe, John; Valle, Gerald

2009-01-01

Current options for Lunar habitat architecture include inflatable habitats and airlocks. Inflatable structures can have mass and volume advantages over conventional structures. However, inflatable structures are also perceived to carry additional risk because they are at a lower Technical Readiness Level (TRL) than more conventional metallic structures. The use of inflatable structures for habitation will require large penetrations in the inflatable structure to accommodate hatches and/or windows The Hatch Integration Test is designed to study the structural integrity of an expandable structure with an integrated hatch, and to verify mathematical models of the structure. The TransHab project developed an experimental inflatable module at Johnson Space Center in the 1990's. The TransHab design was originally envisioned for use in Mars Transits but was also studied as a potential habitat for the International Space Station (ISS).

Low-Mass Inflation Systems for Inflatable Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thunnissen, Daniel P.; Webster, Mark S.; Engelbrecht, Carl S.

1995-01-01

The use of inflatable space structures has often been proposed for aerospace and planetary applications. Communication, power generation, and very-long-baseline interferometry are just three potential applications of inflatable technology. The success of inflatable structures depends on the development of an applications of inflatable technology. This paper describes two design studies performed to develop a low mass inflation system. The first study takes advantage of existing onboard propulsion gases to reduce the overall system mass. The second study assumes that there is no onboard propulsion system. Both studies employ advanced components developed for the Pluto fast flyby spacecraft to further reduce mass. The study examined four different types of systems: hydrazine, nitrogen and water, nitrogen, and xenon. This study shows that all of these systems can be built for a small space structure with masses lower than 0.5 kilograms.

Item Response Modeling of Multivariate Count Data with Zero Inflation, Maximum Inflation, and Heaping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magnus, Brooke E.; Thissen, David

2017-01-01

Questionnaires that include items eliciting count responses are becoming increasingly common in psychology. This study proposes methodological techniques to overcome some of the challenges associated with analyzing multivariate item response data that exhibit zero inflation, maximum inflation, and heaping at preferred digits. The modeling…

33 CFR 150.506 - When must the operator service inflatable lifesaving appliances and marine evacuation systems?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... inflatable lifesaving appliances and marine evacuation systems? 150.506 Section 150.506 Navigation and...: OPERATIONS Emergency and Specialty Equipment Inflatable Lifesaving Appliances § 150.506 When must the operator service inflatable lifesaving appliances and marine evacuation systems? (a) The operator must...

31 CFR 359.12 - What happens in deflationary conditions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... deflationary situations, the semiannual inflation rate may be negative. Negative semiannual inflation rates will be used in the same way as positive semiannual inflation rates. However, if the semiannual inflation rate is negative to the extent that it completely offsets the fixed rate of return, the redemption...

5 CFR 2634.702 - Breaches by trust fiduciaries and interested parties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... accordance with the inflation adjustment procedures prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation... such violation occurring on or after that date, in accordance with the inflation adjustment procedures prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. [57 FR 11824, Apr. 7...

17 CFR 143.8 - Inflation-adjusted civil monetary penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Inflation-adjusted civil... JURISDICTION General Provisions § 143.8 Inflation-adjusted civil monetary penalties. (a) Unless otherwise amended by an act of Congress, the inflation-adjusted maximum civil monetary penalty for each violation of...

12 CFR 1780.80 - Inflation adjustments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Inflation adjustments. 1780.80 Section 1780.80... DEVELOPMENT RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments § 1780.80 Inflation adjustments. The maximum amount of each civil money penalty within OFHEO's...

8 CFR 1280.53 - Civil monetary penalties inflation adjustment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Civil monetary penalties inflation... penalties inflation adjustment. (a) In general. In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890, as amended by the Debt...

8 CFR 280.53 - Civil monetary penalties inflation adjustment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Civil monetary penalties inflation... REGULATIONS IMPOSITION AND COLLECTION OF FINES § 280.53 Civil monetary penalties inflation adjustment. (a) In general. In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of...

46 CFR 122.518 - Inflatable survival craft placards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Inflatable survival craft placards. 122.518 Section 122... Preparations for Emergencies § 122.518 Inflatable survival craft placards. (a) Every vessel equipped with an inflatable survival craft must have approved placards or other cards containing instructions for launching...

78 FR 5722 - Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-28

... our Class I penalties to account for inflation since 2004, we are making a second round of penalty... Class I civil penalties under the Clean Water Act and the National Fishing Enhancement Act to account for inflation. The adjustment of civil penalties to account for inflation is required by the Federal...

33 CFR 150.508 - What are the maintenance and repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? 150.508 Section 150.508 Navigation and Navigable Waters... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? The operator must perform the maintenance and repair of inflatable rescue boats according to the manufacturer's instructions. Operational Tests and Inspections...

33 CFR 150.508 - What are the maintenance and repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? 150.508 Section 150.508 Navigation and Navigable Waters... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? The operator must perform the maintenance and repair of inflatable rescue boats according to the manufacturer's instructions. Operational Tests and Inspections...

33 CFR 150.508 - What are the maintenance and repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? 150.508 Section 150.508 Navigation and Navigable Waters... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? The operator must perform the maintenance and repair of inflatable rescue boats according to the manufacturer's instructions. Operational Tests and Inspections...

33 CFR 150.508 - What are the maintenance and repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? 150.508 Section 150.508 Navigation and Navigable Waters... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? The operator must perform the maintenance and repair of inflatable rescue boats according to the manufacturer's instructions. Operational Tests and Inspections...

33 CFR 150.508 - What are the maintenance and repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? 150.508 Section 150.508 Navigation and Navigable Waters... repair requirements for inflatable rescue boats? The operator must perform the maintenance and repair of inflatable rescue boats according to the manufacturer's instructions. Operational Tests and Inspections...

46 CFR 160.151-13 - Fabrication of prototype inflatable liferafts for approval.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Fabrication of prototype inflatable liferafts for... Liferafts (SOLAS) § 160.151-13 Fabrication of prototype inflatable liferafts for approval. If the... Commandant, fabrication of a prototype inflatable liferaft must proceed in the following sequence: (a) The...

ISS-flation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Craig, Nathaniel J.; /SLAC /Stanford U., ITP

2008-02-06

Inflation may occur while rolling into the metastable supersymmetry-breaking vacuum of massive supersymmetric QCD. We explore the range of parameters in which slow-roll inflation and long-lived metastable supersymmetry breaking may be simultaneously realized. The end of slow-roll inflation in this context coincides with the spontaneous breaking of a global symmetry, which may give rise to significant curvature perturbations via inhomogeneous preheating. Such spontaneous symmetry breaking at the end of inflation may give rise to observable non-gaussianities, distinguishing this scenario from more conventional models of supersymmetric hybrid inflation.

Modulus D-term inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadota, Kenji; Kobayashi, Tatsuo; Saga, Ikumi; Sumita, Keigo

2018-04-01

We propose a new model of single-field D-term inflation in supergravity, where the inflation is driven by a single modulus field which transforms non-linearly under the U(1) gauge symmetry. One of the notable features of our modulus D-term inflation scenario is that the global U(1) remains unbroken in the vacuum and hence our model is not plagued by the cosmic string problem which can exclude most of the conventional D-term inflation models proposed so far due to the CMB observations.

Development of an Inflatable Head/Neck Restraint System for Ejection Seats (Update)

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-12-19

REPORT NO. NADC-78213-60 DEVELOPMENT OF AN INFLATABLE HEAD /NECK RESTRAINT SYSTEM FOR EJECTION SEATS (UPD ATE) Thomas J. Zenobi Aircraft and Crew...olde if necsesey anid dentlif hr bl0ck ma11,0s.) t Inflatable neck collar Inflatable neck ring Neck injury Head rotation ý2 .AeSSRACT (Continus on...toenes side It nec~essary mod identl)_* by block naob..) F1 A ring-shaped inflatable head /neck restraint system for ejection seats is be- ing developed at

Reconstruction of Orion Engineering Development Unit (EDU) Parachute Inflation Loads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Eric S.

2013-01-01

The process of reconstructing inflation loads of Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) has been updated as the program transitioned to testing Engineering Development Unit (EDU) hardware. The equations used to reduce the test data have been re-derived based on the same physical assumptions made by simulations. Due to instrumentation challenges, individual parachute loads are determined from complementary accelerometer and load cell measurements. Cluster inflations are now simulated by modeling each parachute individually to better represent different inflation times and non-synchronous disreefing. The reconstruction procedure is tailored to either infinite mass or finite mass events based on measurable characteristics from the test data. Inflation parameters are determined from an automated optimization routine to reduce subjectivity. Infinite mass inflation parameters have been re-defined to avoid unrealistic interactions in Monte Carlo simulations. Sample cases demonstrate how best-fit inflation parameters are used to generate simulated drag areas and loads which favorably agree with test data.

WIMP dark matter and unitarity-conserving inflation via a gauge singlet scalar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kahlhoefer, Felix; McDonald, John, E-mail: felix.kahlhoefer@desy.de, E-mail: j.mcdonald@lancaster.ac.uk

2015-11-01

A gauge singlet scalar with non-minimal coupling to gravity can drive inflation and later freeze out to become cold dark matter. We explore this idea by revisiting inflation in the singlet direction (S-inflation) and Higgs Portal Dark Matter in light of the Higgs discovery, limits from LUX and observations by Planck. We show that large regions of parameter space remain viable, so that successful inflation is possible and the dark matter relic abundance can be reproduced. Moreover, the scalar singlet can stabilise the electroweak vacuum and at the same time overcome the problem of unitarity-violation during inflation encountered by Higgsmore » Inflation, provided the singlet is a real scalar. The 2-σ Planck upper bound on n{sub s} imposes that the singlet mass is below 2 TeV, so that almost the entire allowed parameter range can be probed by XENON1T.« less

Accidental inflation from Kähler uplifting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben-Dayan, Ido; Jing, Shenglin; Westphal, Alexander; Wieck, Clemens

2014-03-01

We analyze the possibility of realizing inflation with a subsequent dS vacuum in the Käahler uplifting scenario. The inclusion of several quantum corrections to the 4d effective action evades previous no-go theorems and allows for construction of simple and successful models of string inflation. The predictions of several benchmark models are in accord with current observations, i.e., a red spectral index, negligible non-gaussianity, and spectral distortions similar to the simplest models of inflation. A particularly interesting subclass of models are ``left-rolling" ones, where the overall volume of the compactified dimensions shrinks during inflation. We call this phenomenon ``inflation by deflation" (IBD), where deflation refers to the internal manifold. This subclass has the appealing features of being insensitive to initial conditions, avoiding the overshooting problem, and allowing for observable running α ~ 0.012 and enhanced tensor-to-scalar ratio r ~ 10-5. The latter results differ significantly from many string inflation models.

"That's not just beautiful--that's incredibly beautiful!": the adverse impact of inflated praise on children with low self-esteem.

PubMed

Brummelman, Eddie; Thomaes, Sander; Orobio de Castro, Bram; Overbeek, Geertjan; Bushman, Brad J

2014-03-01

In current Western society, children are often lavished with inflated praise (e.g., "You made an incredibly beautiful drawing!"). Inflated praise is often given in an attempt to raise children's self-esteem. An experiment (Study 1) and naturalistic study (Study 2) found that adults are especially inclined to give inflated praise to children with low self-esteem. This inclination may backfire, however. Inflated praise might convey to children that they should continue to meet very high standards-a message that might discourage children with low self-esteem from taking on challenges. Another experiment (Study 3) found that inflated praise decreases challenge seeking in children with low self-esteem and has the opposite effect on children with high self-esteem. These findings show that inflated praise, although well intended, may cause children with low self-esteem to avoid crucial learning experiences.

Inflation of Unreefed and Reefed Extraction Parachutes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Eric S.; Varela, Jose G.

2015-01-01

Data from the Orion and several other test programs have been used to reconstruct inflation parameters for 28 ft Do extraction parachutes as well as the parent aircraft pitch response during extraction. The inflation force generated by extraction parachutes is recorded directly during tow tests but is usually inferred from the payload accelerometer during Low Velocity Airdrop Delivery (LVAD) flight test extractions. Inflation parameters are dependent on the type of parent aircraft, number of canopies, and standard vs. high altitude extraction conditions. For standard altitudes, single canopy inflations are modeled as infinite mass, but the non-symmetric inflations in a cluster are modeled as finite mass. High altitude extractions have necessitated reefing the extraction parachutes, which are best modeled as infinite mass for those conditions. Distributions of aircraft pitch profiles and inflation parameters have been generated for use in Monte Carlo simulations of payload extractions.

The Observational Status of Cosmic Inflation After Planck

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jérôme

The observational status of inflation after the Planck 2013 and 2015 results and the BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck joint analysis is discussed. These pedagogical lecture notes are intended to serve as a technical guide filling the gap between the theoretical articles on inflation and the experimental works on astrophysical and cosmological data. After a short discussion of the central tenets at the basis of inflation (negative self-gravitating pressure) and its experimental verifications, it reviews how the most recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy measurements constrain cosmic inflation. The fact that vanilla inflationary models are, so far, preferred by the observations is discussed and the reason why plateau-like potential versions of inflation are favored within this subclass of scenarios is explained. Finally, how well the future measurements, in particular of B-Mode CMB polarization or primordial gravity waves, will help to improve our knowledge about inflation is also investigated.

Inflation with air via a facepiece for facilitating insertion of a nasogastric tube: a prospective, randomised, double-blind study.

PubMed

Gupta, D; Agarwal, A; Nath, S S; Goswami, D; Saraswat, V; Singh, P K

2007-02-01

Insertion of a nasogastric tube is a routine procedure but during anaesthesia it is often difficult and time consuming. One hundred and sixty adults undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia were randomly divided into two groups. After induction of anaesthesia, neuromuscular blockade and tracheal intubation, a nasogastric tube was inserted through the nose with the head of the patient in the neutral position, either with or without prior inflation with air via a facepiece attached to a self-inflating bag applied firmly with the face. Insertion of the nasogastric tube was successful in 75/78 (96%) following inflation compared with 54/80 (68%) without inflation (p<0.001). In four patients receiving inflation, a fibreoptic endoscope was passed as far as the upper oesophageal sphincter; this revealed opening of the upper oesophageal sphincter during inflation.

46 CFR 160.077-30 - Spare operating components and temporary marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... components. Each recreational and commercial hybrid PFD must— (1) If it has a manual or automatic inflation mechanism and is packaged and sold with one inflation medium cartridge loaded into the inflation mechanism, have at least two additional spare inflation cartridges packaged with it. If it is sold without an...

48 CFR 1.109 - Statutory acquisition-related dollar thresholds-adjustment for inflation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...-related dollar thresholds-adjustment for inflation. 1.109 Section 1.109 Federal Acquisition Regulations..., Issuance 1.109 Statutory acquisition-related dollar thresholds—adjustment for inflation. (a) 41 U.S.C. 431a... the FAR for inflation, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. This adjustment is...

The Effects of Inflation/Recession on Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, William G.

This document discusses the effects of inflation on colleges and universities. It attempts to explain the basic nature of the current financial problem so that more informed policy decisions can be made. The document discusses the effect of inflation on costs and the effects of inflation/recession on revenues. Chart 1 indicated the Halstead Higher…

Does Education Corrupt? Theories of Grade Inflation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oleinik, Anton

2009-01-01

Several theories of grade inflation are discussed in this review article. It is argued that grade inflation results from the substitution of criteria specific to the search for truth by criteria of quality control generated outside of academia. Particular mechanisms of the grade inflation that occurs when a university is transformed into a…

46 CFR 160.051-5 - Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable... Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-5 Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts. To obtain Coast Guard approval, each Coastal Service inflatable liferaft must comply with subpart 160...

IRT-ZIP Modeling for Multivariate Zero-Inflated Count Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lijuan

2010-01-01

This study introduces an item response theory-zero-inflated Poisson (IRT-ZIP) model to investigate psychometric properties of multiple items and predict individuals' latent trait scores for multivariate zero-inflated count data. In the model, two link functions are used to capture two processes of the zero-inflated count data. Item parameters are…

Negative running can prevent eternal inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kinney, William H.; Freese, Katherine, E-mail: whkinney@buffalo.edu, E-mail: ktfreese@umich.edu

Current data from the Planck satellite and the BICEP2 telescope favor, at around the 2 σ level, negative running of the spectral index of curvature perturbations from inflation. We show that for negative running α < 0, the curvature perturbation amplitude has a maximum on scales larger than our current horizon size. A condition for the absence of eternal inflation is that the curvature perturbation amplitude always remain below unity on superhorizon scales. For current bounds on n{sub S} from Planck, this corresponds to an upper bound of the running α < −9 × 10{sup −5}, so that even tiny running of the scalar spectral index ismore » sufficient to prevent eternal inflation from occurring, as long as the running remains negative on scales outside the horizon. In single-field inflation models, negative running is associated with a finite duration of inflation: we show that eternal inflation may not occur even in cases where inflation lasts as long as 10{sup 4} e-folds.« less

Primordial anisotropies in gauged hybrid inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbar Abolhasani, Ali; Emami, Razieh; Firouzjahi, Hassan

2014-05-01

We study primordial anisotropies generated in the model of gauged hybrid inflation in which the complex waterfall field is charged under a U(1)gauge field. Primordial anisotropies are generated either actively during inflation or from inhomogeneities modulating the surface of end of inflation during waterfall transition. We present a consistent δN mechanism to calculate the anisotropic power spectrum and bispectrum. We show that the primordial anisotropies generated at the surface of end of inflation do not depend on the number of e-folds and therefore do not produce dangerously large anisotropies associated with the IR modes. Furthermore, one can find the parameter space that the anisotropies generated from the surface of end of inflation cancel the anisotropies generated during inflation, therefore relaxing the constrains on model parameters imposed from IR anisotropies. We also show that the gauge field fluctuations induce a red-tilted power spectrum so the averaged power spectrum from the gauge field can change the total power spectrum from blue to red. Therefore, hybrid inflation, once gauged under a U(1) field, can be consistent with the cosmological observations.

Evading the Lyth bound in hybrid natural inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hebecker, A.; Kraus, S. C.; Westphal, A.

2013-12-01

Generically, the gravitational-wave or tensor-mode contribution to the primordial curvature spectrum of inflation is tiny if the field range of the inflaton is much smaller than the Planck scale. We show that this pessimistic conclusion is naturally avoided in a rather broad class of small-field models. More specifically, we consider models where an axionlike shift symmetry keeps the inflaton potential flat (up to nonperturbative cosine-shaped modulations), but inflation nevertheless ends in a waterfall regime, as is typical for hybrid inflation. In such hybrid natural inflation scenarios (examples are provided by Wilson line inflation and fluxbrane inflation), the slow-roll parameter ɛ can be sizable during an early period (relevant for the cosmic microwave background spectrum). Subsequently, ɛ quickly becomes very small before the tachyonic instability eventually terminates the slow-roll regime. In this scenario, one naturally generates a considerable tensor-mode contribution in the curvature spectrum, collecting nevertheless the required amount of e-foldings during the final period of inflation. While nonobservation of tensors by Planck is certainly not a problem, a discovery in the medium- to long-term future is realistic.

Outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis associated with a swimming pool inflatable.

PubMed Central

Tate, D.; Mawer, S.; Newton, A.

2003-01-01

On 18 February 2002, the Communicable Disease Unit was notified by the local Public Health Service Laboratory of a child with a positive skin swab for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This child had attended the local swimming pool and played on an inflatable, subsequently presenting to a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with folliculitis. A total of 35 cases was identified during the outbreak. This paper describes a case-control study and microbiological sampling of the cases, the suspected inflatable and a survey of 10 swimming pool inflatables in the local area. The odds ratio for developing folliculitis following use of the inflatable was 12 (95% CI 1.05-136.80). The strain of P. aeruginosa found on the inflatable was identical to that obtained from skin swabs of cases. Nine of 10 (90%) of the inflatables sampled were colonized by P. aeruginosa. Attention should be given to the problem of routine decontamination of swimming pool inflatables. P. aeruginosa folliculitis needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of skin rashes in children, especially in Primary Care. PMID:12729186

Robustness of inflation to inhomogeneous initial conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clough, Katy; Lim, Eugene A.; DiNunno, Brandon S.

We consider the effects of inhomogeneous initial conditions in both the scalar field profile and the extrinsic curvature on different inflationary models. In particular, we compare the robustness of small field inflation to that of large field inflation, using numerical simulations with Einstein gravity in 3+1 dimensions. We find that small field inflation can fail in the presence of subdominant gradient energies, suggesting that it is much less robust to inhomogeneities than large field inflation, which withstands dominant gradient energies. However, we also show that small field inflation can be successful even if some regions of spacetime start out inmore » the region of the potential that does not support inflation. In the large field case, we confirm previous results that inflation is robust if the inflaton occupies the inflationary part of the potential. Furthermore, we show that increasing initial scalar gradients will not form sufficiently massive inflation-ending black holes if the initial hypersurface is approximately flat. Finally, we consider the large field case with a varying extrinsic curvature K , such that some regions are initially collapsing. We find that this may again lead to local black holes, but overall the spacetime remains inflationary if the spacetime is open, which confirms previous theoretical studies.« less

Vesicular komatiites, 3.5-Ga Komati Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa: inflation of submarine lavas and origin of spinifex zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dann, Jesse

2001-08-01

Komatiites of the 3.5-Ga Komati Formation are ultramafic lavas (>23% MgO) erupted in a submarine, lava plain environment. Newly discovered vesicular komatiites have vesicular upper crusts disrupted by synvolcanic structures that are similar to inflation-related structures of modern lava flows. Detailed outcrop maps reveal flows with upper vesicular zones, 2-15 m thick, which were (1) rotated by differential inflation, (2) intruded by dikes from the interior of the flow, (3) extended, forming a flooded graben, and/or (4) entirely engulfed. The largest inflated structure is a tumulus with 20 m of surface relief, which was covered by a compound flow unit of spinifex flow lobes. The lava that inflated and rotated the upper vesicular crust did not vesiculate, but crystallized as a thick spinifex zone with fist-size skeletal olivine. Instead of representing rapidly cooled lava, the spinifex zone cooled slowly beneath an insulating upper crust during inflation. Overpressure of the inflating lava may have inhibited vesiculation. This work describes the oldest vesicular komatiites known, illustrates the first field evidence for inflated structures in komatiite flows, proposes a new factor in the development of spinifex zones, and concludes that the inflation model is useful for understanding the evolution of komatiite submarine flow fields.

Structural Analysis and Testing of the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindell, Michael C.; Hughes, Stephen J.; Dixon, Megan; Wiley, Cliff E.

2006-01-01

The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) is a 3.0 meter, 60 degree half-angle sphere cone, inflatable aeroshell experiment designed to demonstrate various aspects of inflatable technology during Earth re-entry. IRVE will be launched on a Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rocket from NASA s Wallops Flight Facility in the fall of 2006 to an altitude of approximately 164 kilometers and re-enter the Earth s atmosphere. The experiment will demonstrate exo-atmospheric inflation, inflatable structure leak performance throughout the flight regime, structural integrity under aerodynamic pressure and associated deceleration loads, thermal protection system performance, and aerodynamic stability. Structural integrity and dynamic response of the inflatable will be monitored with photogrammetric measurements of the leeward side of the aeroshell during flight. Aerodynamic stability and drag performance will be verified with on-board inertial measurements and radar tracking from multiple ground radar stations. In addition to demonstrating inflatable technology, IRVE will help validate structural, aerothermal, and trajectory modeling and analysis techniques for the inflatable aeroshell system. This paper discusses the structural analysis and testing of the IRVE inflatable structure. Equations are presented for calculating fabric loads in sphere cone aeroshells, and finite element results are presented which validate the equations. Fabric material properties and testing are discussed along with aeroshell fabrication techniques. Stiffness and dynamics tests conducted on a small-scale development unit and a full-scale prototype unit are presented along with correlated finite element models to predict the in-flight fundamental mod

Modal Survey Test of the SOTV 2X3 Meter Off-Axis Inflatable Concentrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engberg, Robert C.; Lassiter, John O.; McGee, Jennie K.

2000-01-01

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has had several projects involving inflatable space structures. Projects in solar thermal propulsion have had the most involvement, primarily inflatable concentrators. A flight project called Shooting Star Experiment initiated the first detailed design, analysis and testing effort involving an inflatable concentrator that supported a Fresnel lens. The lens was to concentrate the sun's rays to provide an extremely large heat transfer for an experimental solar propulsion engine. Since the conclusion of this experiment, research and development activities for solar propulsion at Marshall Space Flight Center have continued both in the solar propulsion engine technology as well as inflatable space structures. Experience gained in conducting modal survey tests of inflatable structures for the Shooting Star Experiment has been used by dynamic test engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center to conduct a modal survey test on a Solar Orbital Transfer Vehicle (SOTV) off-axis inflatable concentrator. This paper describes how both previously learned test methods and new test methods that address the unique test requirements for inflatable structures were used. Effects of the inherent nonlinear response of the inflatable concentrator on test methods and test results are noted as well. Nine analytical mode shapes were successfully correlated to test mode shapes. The paper concludes with several "lessons learned" applicable to future dynamics testing and shows how Marshall Space Flight Center has utilized traditional and new methods for modal survey testing of inflatable space structures.

Effect of antigravity suit inflation on cardiovascular, PRA, and PVP responses in humans.

PubMed

Kravik, S E; Keil, L C; Geelen, G; Wade, C E; Barnes, P R; Spaul, W A; Elder, C A; Greenleaf, J E

1986-08-01

Blood pressure, pulse rate (PR), serum osmolality and electrolytes, as well as plasma vasopressin (PVP) and plasma renin activity (PRA), were measured in five men and two women [mean age 38.6 +/- 3.9 (SE) yr] before, during, and after inflation of an antigravity suit that covered the legs and abdomen. After 24 h of fluid deprivation the subjects stood quietly for 3 h: the 1st h without inflation, the 2nd with inflation to 60 Torr, and the 3rd without inflation. A similar control noninflation experiment was conducted 10 mo after the inflation experiment using five of the seven subjects except that the suit was not inflated during the 3-h period. Mean arterial pressure increased by 14 +/- 4 (SE) Torr (P less than 0.05) with inflation and decreased by 15 +/- 5 Torr (P less than 0.05) after deflation. Pulse pressure (PP) increased by 7 +/- 2 Torr (P less than 0.05) with inflation and PR decreased by 11 +/- 5 beats/min (P less than 0.05); PP and PR returned to preinflation levels after deflation. Plasma volume decreased by 6.1 +/- 1.5% and 5.3 +/- 1.6% (P less than 0.05) during hours 1 and 3, respectively, and returned to base line during inflation. Inflation decreased PVP from 6.8 +/- 1.1 to 5.6 +/- 1.4 pg/ml (P less than 0.05) and abolished the significant rise in PRA during hour 1. Both PVP and PRA increased significantly after deflation: delta = 18.0 +/- 5.1 pg/ml and 4.34 +/- 1.71 ng angiotensin I X ml-1 X h-1, respectively. Serum osmolality and Na+ and K+ concentrations were unchanged during the 3 h of standing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of mechanical behaviour of the brachial artery on blood pressure measurement during both cuff inflation and cuff deflation.

PubMed

Zheng, Dingchang; Pan, Fan; Murray, Alan

2013-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different mechanical behaviour of the brachial artery on blood pressure (BP) measurements during cuff inflation and deflation. BP measurements were taken from each of 40 participants, with three repeat sessions under three randomized cuff deflation/inflation conditions. Cuff pressure was linearly deflated and inflated at a standard rate of 2-3 mmHg/s and also linearly inflated at a fast rate of 5-6 mmHg/s. Manual auscultatory systolic and diastolic BPs, and pulse pressure (SBP, DBP, PP) were measured. Automated BPs were determined from digitally recorded cuff pressures by fitting a polynomial model to the oscillometric pulse amplitudes. The BPs from cuff deflation and inflation were then compared. Repeatable measurements between sessions and between the sequential order of inflation/deflation conditions (all P > 0.1) indicated stability of arterial mechanical behaviour with repeat measurements. Comparing BPs obtained by standard inflation with those from standard deflation, manual SBP was 2.6 mmHg lower (P < 0.01), manual DBP was 1.5 mmHg higher (P < 0.01), manual PP was 4.2 mmHg lower (P < 0.001), automated DBP was 6.7 mmHg higher (P < 0.001) and automatic PP was 7.5 mmHg lower (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference for any automated BPs between fast and standard cuff inflation. The statistically significant BP differences between inflation and deflation suggest different arterial mechanical behaviour between arterial opening and closing during BP measurement. We have shown that the mechanical behaviour of the brachial artery during BP measurement differs between cuff deflation and cuff inflation.

A design pathfinder with material correlation points for inflatable systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulcher, Jared Terrell

The incorporation of inflatable structures into aerospace systems can produce significant advantages in stowed volume to mechanical effectiveness and overall weight. Many applications of these ultra-lightweight systems are designed to precisely control internal or external surfaces, or both, to achieve desired performance. The modeling of these structures becomes complex due to the material nonlinearities inherent to the majority of construction materials used in inflatable structures. Furthermore, accurately modeling the response and behavior of the interfacing boundaries that are common to many inflatable systems will lead to better understanding of the entire class of structures. The research presented involved using nonlinear finite element simulations correlated with photogrammetry testing to develop a procedure for defining material properties for commercially available polyurethane-coated woven nylon fabric, which is representative of coated materials that have been proven materials for use in many inflatable systems. Further, the new material model was used to design and develop an inflatable pathfinder system which employs only internal pressure to control an assembly of internal membranes. This canonical inflatable system will be used for exploration and development of general understanding of efficient design methodology and analysis of future systems. Canonical structures are incorporated into the design of the phased pathfinder system to allow for more universal insight. Nonlinear finite element simulations were performed to evaluate the effect of various boundary conditions, loading configurations, and material orientations on the geometric precision of geometries representing typical internal/external surfaces commonly incorporated into inflatable pathfinder system. The response of the inflatable system to possible damage was also studied using nonlinear finite element simulations. Development of a correlated material model for analysis of the inflatable pathfinder system has improved the efficiency of design and analysis techniques of future inflatable structures. KEYWORDS: Nonlinear Finite Element, Inflatable Structures, Gossamer Space Systems, Photogrammetry Measurements, Coated Woven Fabric.

Structural Modeling of a Five-Meter Thin Film Inflatable Antenna/Concentrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smalley, Kurt B.; Tinker, Michael L.; Taylor, W. Scott; Brunty, Joseph A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Inflatable structures have been the subject of renewed interest in recent years for space applications such as communications antennas, solar thermal propulsion, and space solar power. A major advantage of using inflatable structures in space is their extremely light weight. An obvious second advantage is on-orbit deployability and related space savings in the launch configuration. A recent technology demonstrator flight for inflatable structures was the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) that was deployed on orbit from the Shuttle Orbiter. Although difficulty was encountered in the inflation/deployment phase, the flight was successful overall and provided valuable experience in the use of such structures. Several papers on static structural analysis of inflated cylinders have been written, describing different techniques such as linear shell theory, and nonlinear and variational methods, but very little work had been done in dynamics of inflatable structures until recent years. In 1988 Leonard indicated that elastic beam bending modes could be utilized in approximating lower-order frequencies of inflatable beams. Main, et al. wrote a very significant 1995 paper describing results of modal tests of inflated cantilever beams and the determination of effective material properties. Changes in material properties for different pressures were also discussed, and the beam model was used in a more complex structure. The paper demonstrated that conventional finite element analysis packages could be very useful in the analysis of complex inflatable structures. The purposes of this paper are to discuss the methodology for dynamically characterizing a large 5-meter thin film inflatable reflector, and to discuss the test arrangement and results. Nonlinear finite element modal results are compared to modal test data. The work is significant and of considerable interest to researchers because of 1) the large size of the structure, making it useful for scaling studies, and 2) application of commercially available finite element software for modeling pressurized thin-film structures.

Reactive rise in blood pressure upon cuff inflation: cuff inflation at the arm causes a greater rise in pressure than at the wrist in hypertensive patients.

PubMed

Charmoy, Alexia; Würzner, Grégoire; Ruffieux, Christiane; Hasler, Christopher; Cachat, François; Waeber, Bernard; Burnier, Michel

2007-10-01

Cuff inflation at the arm is known to cause an instantaneous rise in blood pressure, which might be due to the discomfort of the procedure and might interfere with the precision of the blood pressure measurement. In this study, we compared the reactive rise in blood pressure induced by cuff inflation when the cuff was placed at the upper arm level and at the wrist. The reactive rise in systolic and diastolic blood pressure to cuff inflation was measured in 34 normotensive participants and 34 hypertensive patients. Each participant was equipped with two cuffs, one around the right upper arm (OMRON HEM-CR19, 22-32 cm) and one around the right wrist (OMRON HEM-CS 19, 17-22 cm; Omron Health Care Europe BV, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands). The cuffs were inflated in a double random order (maximal cuff pressure and position of the cuff) with two maximal cuff pressures: 180 and 240 mmHg. The cuffs were linked to an oscillometric device (OMRON HEM 907; Omron Health Care). Simultaneously, blood pressure was measured continuously at the middle finger of the left hand using photoplethysmography. Three measurements were made at each level of blood pressure at the arm and at the wrist, and the sequence of measurements was randomized. In normotensive participants, no significant difference was observed in the reactive rise in blood pressure when the cuff was inflated either at the arm or at the wrist irrespective of the level of cuff inflation. Inflating a cuff at the arm, however, induced a significantly greater rise in blood pressure than inflating it at the wrist in hypertensive participants for both systolic and diastolic pressures (P<0.01), and at both levels of cuff inflation. The blood pressure response to cuff inflation was independent of baseline blood pressure. The results show that in hypertensive patients, cuff inflation at the wrist produces a smaller reactive rise in blood pressure. The difference between the arm and the wrist is independent of the patient's level of blood pressure.

Recent Inflation of Kilauea Volcano During the Ongoing Eruption - Harbinger of Change?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miklius, A.

2005-12-01

Since the start of the Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption on Kilauea's east rift zone in 1983, the volcano's summit has subsided over 1.5 m. Over the last two years, however, leveling and GPS networks have recorded substantial inflation of the summit magma system. Since late 2003, the summit has extended almost 20 cm and risen about 5 cm. Leveling surveys suggest that the locus of inflation has been variable, with maximum uplift shifting from an area in the caldera near Halemaumau to an area in the southeastern part of the caldera, near Keanakako`i crater. Inflation rates have also been highly variable. Starting in mid-January 2005, the inflation rate accelerated for approximately a month, with extension rates across the summit reaching over 60 cm/yr. During this accelerated inflation, on January 25, a brief inflation-deflation transient was recorded on the tiltmeter network, accompanied by volcanic tremor. This event was followed by rapid slip of Kilauea's south flank, raising intriguing possibilities about the relationship between the magmatic system and the rapid slip events. Tiltmeters at the eruption site also recorded inflation, but only until early February, when a deflationary trend began, accompanied by increased eruptive output. The summit continued to inflate until late February, deflated slightly, then resumed inflation in April. These observations suggest that the high inflation rate in January-February was a result of increased magma supply to the summit magma system. In contrast, the most recent previous episode of inflation in 2002 was related to decreased outflow at the eruption site, effectively backing up pressure in the system. That inflation episode ended with the opening of new vents on the flank of Pu`u `O`o that produced high volumes of lava. The two previous, prolonged periods of uplift at the summit were in 1985-1986, before the eruption moved downrift from Pu`u `O`o to Kupaianaha, and 1990-1992, when eruptive activity shifted back to Pu`u `O`o. The current inflation of Kilauea is likely a combination of decreased efficiency of the transport system from the summit to the eruption site and an increase in magma supply. Past behavior of the volcano suggests that such conditions favor a shift in the location of the eruptive vent.

Inflation: The Rising Cost of Living on a Small Planet. Worldwatch Paper 34.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuller, Robert

Global inflation should be viewed more as a sympton of social problems than as an economic disease that can be cured by monetary and fiscal policy. Social problems signaled by inflation include exploding demand, rising costs for essential commodities, stagnating productivity, and a decline in the real standard of living. Inflation is interpreted…

What Is Wrong with Grade Inflation (If Anything)?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finefter-Rosenbluh, Ilana; Levinson, Meira

2015-01-01

Grade inflation is a global phenomenon that has garnered widespread condemnation among educators, researchers, and the public. Yet, few have deliberated over the ethics of grading, let alone the ethics of grade inflation. The purpose of this paper is to map out and examine the ethics of grade inflation. By way of beginning, we clarify why grade…

Raising the Bar: A Data-Driven Discussion on Grade Inflation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laurie, Robert

2009-01-01

The practice of handing out excellent grades to students who don't deserve them (grade inflation) is not a new phenomenon. Indeed grade inflation is among the oldest and most difficult issues to address in higher education. The author first studied the impact of grade inflation on student performance on standardized tests at the high school level…

Inflation: Consumers Counter the Cost of Living. A Consumer Education Curriculum Module for Grades 10-14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bannister, Rosella

This publication suggests classroom activities and resources on inflation for use in secondary and adult/community education. Objectives are to enable students to: identify and analyze varying points of view and policy proposals on inflation; apply the decision-making process to various alternatives regarding inflation; and achieve a broader…

Inflation at the electroweak scale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knox, Lloyd; Turner, Michael S.

1993-01-01

We present a model for slow-rollover inflation where the vacuum energy that drives inflation is of the order of G(F) exp -2; unlike most models, the conversion of vacuum energy to radiation ('reheating') is moderately efficient. The scalar field responsible for inflation is a standard-model singlet, develops a vacuum expectation value of 4 x 10 exp 6 GeV, has a mass of about 1 GeV, and can play a role in electroweak phenomena. We also discuss models where the energy scale of inflation is somewhat larger, but still well below the unification scale.

Zero-inflated Conway-Maxwell Poisson Distribution to Analyze Discrete Data.

PubMed

Sim, Shin Zhu; Gupta, Ramesh C; Ong, Seng Huat

2018-01-09

In this paper, we study the zero-inflated Conway-Maxwell Poisson (ZICMP) distribution and develop a regression model. Score and likelihood ratio tests are also implemented for testing the inflation/deflation parameter. Simulation studies are carried out to examine the performance of these tests. A data example is presented to illustrate the concepts. In this example, the proposed model is compared to the well-known zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) and the zero- inflated generalized Poisson (ZIGP) regression models. It is shown that the fit by ZICMP is comparable or better than these models.

Free-Flight Test of a Technique for Inflating an NASA 12-Foot-Diameter Sphere at High Altitudes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kehlet, Alan B.; Patterson, Herbert G.

1959-01-01

A free-flight test has been conducted to check a technique for inflating an NASA 12-foot-diameter inflatable sphere at high altitudes. Flight records indicated that the nose section was successfully separated from the booster rocket, that the sphere was ejected, and that the nose section was jettisoned from the fully inflated sphere. On the basis of preflight and flight records, it is believed that the sphere was fully inflated by the time of peak altitude (239,000 feet). Calculations showed that during descent, jettison of the nose section occurred above an altitude of 150,000 feet. The inflatable sphere was estimated to start to deform during descent at an altitude of about 120,000 feet.

The relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical evidence for the newest EU countries.

PubMed

Viorica, Daniela; Jemna, Danut; Pintilescu, Carmen; Asandului, Mircea

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to verify the hypotheses presented in the literature on the causal relationship between inflation and its uncertainty, for the newest EU countries. To ensure the robustness of the results, in the study four models for inflation uncertainty are estimated in parallel: ARCH (1), GARCH (1,1), EGARCH (1,1,1) and PARCH (1,1,1). The Granger method is used to test the causality between two variables. The working hypothesis is that groups of countries with a similar political and economic background in 1990 and are likely to be characterized by the same causal relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical results partially confirm this hypothesis. C22, E31, E37.

Design and Flight Testing of an Inflatable Sunshield for the NGST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Michael L.; Culver, Harry L.; Kaufman, David M.; Pacini, Linda K.; Sturm, James; Lienard, Sebastien

2000-01-01

The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) mission is scheduled to launch in 2007 and be stationed at L2 for a mission life of ten years. The large aperture mirror and optical detectors aboard NGST require shielding from the constant solar energy seen at this orbit. The government reference NGST design, called the Yardstick, baselined a sunshield using an inflation deployment system. During the formulation phase, NGST is spending approximately 25% of the overall budget to foster the development of new technology. The goal is to develop and demonstrate enabling or enhancing technology and provide innovative solutions for the design of the NGST observatory. Inflatable technology falls in the category of enhancing technology due to its advantages in weight, stowed volume and cost. The Inflatable Sunshield in Space (ISIS) flight experiment will provide a realistic space flight demonstration of an inflatable sunshield. The supporting technology development program will provide an information base for the design, manufacture, assembly and testing of large thin membranes and inflatable structural elements for space structures. The ISIS experiment will demonstrate the feasibility of using inflatable technology to passively cool optical systems for NGST and provide correlation between analytical predictions and on orbit results. The experiment will be performed on a Hitchhiker/Space Shuttle mission in late 2001. The ISIS mission is an effort to address several major technical challenges of the NGST inflatable sunshield, namely controlled inflation deployment, plenarity and separation of large stretched membranes, space rigidization of inflatable booms, and dynamic modeling and simulation. This paper will describe the design of the flight experiment and the testing to be performed on-orbit.

Murine pulmonary acinar mechanics during quasi-static inflation using synchrotron refraction-enhanced computed tomography.

PubMed

Sera, Toshihiro; Yokota, Hideo; Tanaka, Gaku; Uesugi, Kentaro; Yagi, Naoto; Schroter, Robert C

2013-07-15

We visualized pulmonary acini in the core regions of the mouse lung in situ using synchrotron refraction-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and evaluated their kinematics during quasi-static inflation. This CT system (with a cube voxel of 2.8 μm) allows excellent visualization of not just the conducting airways, but also the alveolar ducts and sacs, and tracking of the acinar shape and its deformation during inflation. The kinematics of individual alveoli and alveolar clusters with a group of terminal alveoli is influenced not only by the connecting alveolar duct and alveoli, but also by the neighboring structures. Acinar volume was not a linear function of lung volume. The alveolar duct diameter changed dramatically during inflation at low pressures and remained relatively constant above an airway pressure of ∼8 cmH2O during inflation. The ratio of acinar surface area to acinar volume indicates that acinar distension during low-pressure inflation differed from that during inflation over a higher pressure range; in particular, acinar deformation was accordion-like during low-pressure inflation. These results indicated that the alveoli and duct expand differently as total acinar volume increases and that the alveolar duct may expand predominantly during low-pressure inflation. Our findings suggest that acinar deformation in the core regions of the lung is complex and heterogeneous.

A new model for CD8+ T cell memory inflation based upon a recombinant adenoviral vector1

PubMed Central

Bolinger, Beatrice; Sims, Stuart; O’Hara, Geraldine; de Lara, Catherine; Tchilian, Elma; Firner, Sonja; Engeler, Daniel; Ludewig, Burkhard; Klenerman, Paul

2013-01-01

CD8+ T cell memory inflation, first described in murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection, is characterized by the accumulation of high-frequency, functional antigen-specific CD8+ T cell pools with an effector-memory phenotype and enrichment in peripheral organs. Although persistence of antigen is considered essential, the rules underpinning memory inflation are still unclear. The MCMV model is, however, complicated by the virus’s low-level persistence, and stochastic reactivation. We developed a new model of memory inflation based upon a βgal-recombinant adenovirus vector (Ad-LacZ). After i.v. administration in C57BL/6 mice we observe marked memory inflation in the βgal96 epitope, while a second epitope, βgal497, undergoes classical memory formation. The inflationary T cell responses show kinetics, distribution, phenotype and functions similar to those seen in MCMV and are reproduced using alternative routes of administration. Memory inflation in this model is dependent on MHC Class II. As in MCMV, only the inflating epitope showed immunoproteasome-independence. These data define a new model for memory inflation, which is fully replication-independent, internally controlled and reproduces the key immunologic features of the CD8+ T cell response. This model provides insight into the mechanisms responsible for memory inflation, and since it is based on a vaccine vector, also is relevant to novel T cell-inducing vaccines in humans. PMID:23509359

Realising effective theories of tribrid inflation: are there effects from messenger fields?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antusch, Stefan; Nolde, David

2015-09-01

Tribrid inflation is a variant of supersymmetric hybrid inflation in which the inflaton is a matter field (which can be charged under gauge symmetries) and inflation ends by a GUT-scale phase transition of a waterfall field. These features make tribrid inflation a promising framework for realising inflation with particularly close connections to particle physics. Superpotentials of tribrid inflation involve effective operators suppressed by some cutoff scale, which is often taken as the Planck scale. However, these operators may also be generated by integrating out messenger superfields with masses below the Planck scale, which is in fact quite common in GUT and/or flavour models. The values of the inflaton field during inflation can then lie above this mass scale, which means that for reliably calculating the model predictions one has to go beyond the effective theory description. We therefore discuss realisations of effective theories of tribrid inflation and specify in which cases effects from the messenger fields are expected, and under which conditions they can safely be neglected. In particular, we point out how to construct realisations where, despite the fact that the inflaton field values are above the messenger mass scale, the predictions for the observables are (to a good approximation) identical to the ones calculated in the effective theory treatment where the messenger mass scale is identified with the (apparent) cutoff scale.

Realising effective theories of tribrid inflation: are there effects from messenger fields?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antusch, Stefan; Max-Planck-Institut für Physik; Nolde, David

2015-09-22

Tribrid inflation is a variant of supersymmetric hybrid inflation in which the inflaton is a matter field (which can be charged under gauge symmetries) and inflation ends by a GUT-scale phase transition of a waterfall field. These features make tribrid inflation a promising framework for realising inflation with particularly close connections to particle physics. Superpotentials of tribrid inflation involve effective operators suppressed by some cutoff scale, which is often taken as the Planck scale. However, these operators may also be generated by integrating out messenger superfields with masses below the Planck scale, which is in fact quite common in GUTmore » and/or flavour models. The values of the inflaton field during inflation can then lie above this mass scale, which means that for reliably calculating the model predictions one has to go beyond the effective theory description. We therefore discuss realisations of effective theories of tribrid inflation and specify in which cases effects from the messenger fields are expected, and under which conditions they can safely be neglected. In particular, we point out how to construct realisations where, despite the fact that the inflaton field values are above the messenger mass scale, the predictions for the observables are (to a good approximation) identical to the ones calculated in the effective theory treatment where the messenger mass scale is identified with the (apparent) cutoff scale.« less

Realising effective theories of tribrid inflation: are there effects from messenger fields?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antusch, Stefan; Nolde, David, E-mail: stefan.antusch@unibas.ch, E-mail: david.nolde@unibas.ch

2015-09-01

Tribrid inflation is a variant of supersymmetric hybrid inflation in which the inflaton is a matter field (which can be charged under gauge symmetries) and inflation ends by a GUT-scale phase transition of a waterfall field. These features make tribrid inflation a promising framework for realising inflation with particularly close connections to particle physics. Superpotentials of tribrid inflation involve effective operators suppressed by some cutoff scale, which is often taken as the Planck scale. However, these operators may also be generated by integrating out messenger superfields with masses below the Planck scale, which is in fact quite common in GUTmore » and/or flavour models. The values of the inflaton field during inflation can then lie above this mass scale, which means that for reliably calculating the model predictions one has to go beyond the effective theory description. We therefore discuss realisations of effective theories of tribrid inflation and specify in which cases effects from the messenger fields are expected, and under which conditions they can safely be neglected. In particular, we point out how to construct realisations where, despite the fact that the inflaton field values are above the messenger mass scale, the predictions for the observables are (to a good approximation) identical to the ones calculated in the effective theory treatment where the messenger mass scale is identified with the (apparent) cutoff scale.« less

12 CFR 1411.1 - Inflation adjustment of civil money penalties for failure to file a certified statement, pay any...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Inflation adjustment of civil money penalties... Collection of Civil Money Penalties § 1411.1 Inflation adjustment of civil money penalties for failure to... convicted of criminal offenses. In accordance with the Federal Civil Money Penalties Inflation Adjustment...

High School Grade Inflation from 1991 to 2003. Research Report Series 2004-04

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodruff, David J.; Ziomek, Robert L.

2004-01-01

This report presents the results of a study investigating inflation in high school grade point average (HSGPA). Inflation was measured by comparing HSGPA to ACT Assessment (ACT) scores over the years 1991 to 2003. The results indicate the presence of grade inflation over the 13 years. That is, HSGPAs increased without a concomitant increase in…

Load and inflation pressure effects on soil compaction of forwarder tires

Treesearch

Tim McDonald; Tom Way; Bjorn Lofgren; Fernando Seixas; Mats Landstrom

1996-01-01

A standard forwarder tire (600/55-26.5) was tested to determine its range of soil compaction with various inflation pressures and dynamic loads. Past research has shown that compaction of heavier equipment can be somewhat mitigated by operating with lower inflation pressures. Results indicated a significant effect of both load and inflation pressure on bulk density,...

Inflation model selection meets dark radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tram, Thomas; Vallance, Robert; Vennin, Vincent, E-mail: thomas.tram@port.ac.uk, E-mail: robert.vallance@student.manchester.ac.uk, E-mail: vincent.vennin@port.ac.uk

2017-01-01

We investigate how inflation model selection is affected by the presence of additional free-streaming relativistic degrees of freedom, i.e. dark radiation. We perform a full Bayesian analysis of both inflation parameters and cosmological parameters taking reheating into account self-consistently. We compute the Bayesian evidence for a few representative inflation scenarios in both the standard ΛCDM model and an extension including dark radiation parametrised by its effective number of relativistic species N {sub eff}. Using a minimal dataset (Planck low-ℓ polarisation, temperature power spectrum and lensing reconstruction), we find that the observational status of most inflationary models is unchanged. The exceptionsmore » are potentials such as power-law inflation that predict large values for the scalar spectral index that can only be realised when N {sub eff} is allowed to vary. Adding baryon acoustic oscillations data and the B-mode data from BICEP2/Keck makes power-law inflation disfavoured, while adding local measurements of the Hubble constant H {sub 0} makes power-law inflation slightly favoured compared to the best single-field plateau potentials. This illustrates how the dark radiation solution to the H {sub 0} tension would have deep consequences for inflation model selection.« less

Cytomegalovirus Reinfections Stimulate CD8 T-Memory Inflation.

PubMed

Trgovcich, Joanne; Kincaid, Michelle; Thomas, Alicia; Griessl, Marion; Zimmerman, Peter; Dwivedi, Varun; Bergdall, Valerie; Klenerman, Paul; Cook, Charles H

2016-01-01

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been shown to induce large populations of CD8 T-effector memory cells that unlike central memory persist in large quantities following infection, a phenomenon commonly termed "memory inflation". Although murine models to date have shown very large and persistent CMV-specific T-cell expansions following infection, there is considerable variability in CMV-specific T-memory responses in humans. Historically such memory inflation in humans has been assumed a consequence of reactivation events during the life of the host. Because basic information about CMV infection/re-infection and reactivation in immune competent humans is not available, we used a murine model to test how primary infection, reinfection, and reactivation stimuli influence memory inflation. We show that low titer infections induce "partial" memory inflation of both mCMV specific CD8 T-cells and antibody. We show further that reinfection with different strains can boost partial memory inflation. Finally, we show preliminary results suggesting that a single strong reactivation stimulus does not stimulate memory inflation. Altogether, our results suggest that while high titer primary infections can induce memory inflation, reinfections during the life of a host may be more important than previously appreciated.

Intermediate inflation from a non-canonical scalar field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rezazadeh, K.; Karami, K.; Karimi, P., E-mail: rezazadeh86@gmail.com, E-mail: KKarami@uok.ac.ir, E-mail: parvin.karimi67@yahoo.com

2015-09-01

We study the intermediate inflation in a non-canonical scalar field framework with a power-like Lagrangian. We show that in contrast with the standard canonical intermediate inflation, our non-canonical model is compatible with the observational results of Planck 2015. Also, we estimate the equilateral non-Gaussianity parameter which is in well agreement with the prediction of Planck 2015. Then, we obtain an approximation for the energy scale at the initial time of inflation and show that it can be of order of the Planck energy scale, i.e. M{sub P} ∼ 10{sup 18}GeV. We will see that after a short period of time, inflation entersmore » in the slow-roll regime that its energy scale is of order M{sub P}/100 ∼ 10{sup 16}GeV and the horizon exit takes place in this energy scale. We also examine an idea in our non-canonical model to overcome the central drawback of intermediate inflation which is the fact that inflation never ends. We solve this problem without disturbing significantly the nature of the intermediate inflation until the time of horizon exit.« less

Supernatural inflation: inflation from supersymmetry with no (very) small parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randall, Lisa; SoljačiĆ, Marin; Guth, Alan H.

1996-02-01

Most models of inflation have small parameters, either to guarantee sufficient inflation or the correct magnitude of the density perturbations. In this paper we show that, in supersymmetric theories with weak-scale supersymmetry breaking, one can construct viable inflationary models in which the requisite parameters appear naturally in the form of the ratio of mass scales that are already present in the theory. Successful inflationary models can be constructed from the flat-direction fields of a renormalizable supersymmetric potential, and such models can be realized even in the context of a simple GUT extension of the MSSM. We evade naive ``naturalness'' arguments by allowing for more than one field to be relevant to inflation, as in ``hybrid inflation'' models, and we argue that this is the most natural possibility if inflation fields are to be associated with flat direction fields of a supersymmetric theory. Such models predict a very low Hubble constant during inflation, of order 103-104 GeV, a scalar density perturbation index n which is very close to or greater than unity, and negligible tensor perturbations. In addition, these models lead to a large spike in the density perturbation spectrum at short wavelengths.

The hybrid inflation waterfall and the primordial curvature perturbation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyth, David H.

2012-05-01

Without demanding a specific form for the inflaton potential, we obtain an estimate of the contribution to the curvature perturbation generated during the linear era of the hybrid inflation waterfall. The spectrum of this contribution peaks at some wavenumber k = k*, and goes like k3 for k Lt k*, making it typically negligible on cosmological scales. The scale k* can be outside the horizon at the end of inflation, in which case ζ = -(g2-langg2rang) with g gaussian. Taking this into account, the cosmological bound on the abundance of black holes is likely to be satisfied if the curvaton mass m much bigger than the Hubble parameter H, but is likely to be violated if mlsimH. Coming to the contribution to ζ from the rest of the waterfall, we are led to consider the use of the `end-of-inflation' formula, giving the contribution to ζ generated during a sufficiently sharp transition from nearly-exponential inflation to non-inflation, and we state for the first time the criterion for the transition to be sufficiently sharp. Our formulas are applied to supersymmetric GUT inflation and to supernatural/running-mass inflation. A preliminary version of this paper appeared as arXiv:1107.1681.

How likely are constituent quanta to initiate inflation?

DOE PAGES

Berezhiani, Lasha; Trodden, Mark

2015-08-06

In this study, we propose an intuitive framework for studying the problem of initial conditions in slow-roll inflation. In particular, we consider a universe at high, but sub-Planckian energy density and analyze the circumstances under which it is plausible for it to become dominated by inflated patches at late times, without appealing to the idea of self-reproduction. Our approach is based on defining a prior probability distribution for the constituent quanta of the pre-inflationary universe. To test the idea that inflation can begin under very generic circumstances, we make specific – yet quite general and well grounded – assumptions onmore » the prior distribution. As a result, we are led to the conclusion that the probability for a given region to ignite inflation at sub-Planckian densities is extremely small. Furthermore, if one chooses to use the enormous volume factor that inflation yields as an appropriate measure, we find that the regions of the universe which started inflating at densities below the self-reproductive threshold nevertheless occupy a negligible physical volume in the present universe as compared to those domains that have never inflated.« less

No-scale ripple inflation revisited

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Tianjun; Li, Zhijin; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V., E-mail: tli@itp.ac.cn, E-mail: lizhijin@physics.tamu.edu, E-mail: dimitri@physics.tamu.edu

We revisit the no-scale ripple inflation model, where no-scale supergravity is modified by an additional term for the inflaton field in the Kähler potential. This term not only breaks one SU(N,1) symmetry explicitly, but also plays an important role for inflation. We generalize the superpotential in the no-scale ripple inflation model slightly. There exists a discrete Z{sub 2} symmetry/parity in the scalar potential in general, which can be preserved or violated by the non-canonical nomalized inflaton kinetic term. Thus, there are three inflation paths: one parity invariant path, and the left and right paths for parity violating scenario. We showmore » that the inflations along the parity invariant path and right path are consistent with the Planck results. However, the gavitino mass for the parity invariant path is so large that the inflation results will be invalid if we consider the inflaton supersymmetry breaking soft mass term. Thus, only the inflation along the right path gives the correct and consistent results. Notably, the tensor-to-scalar ratio in such case can be large, with a value around 0.05, which may be probed by the future Planck experiment.« less

Primordial gravitational waves for universality classes of pseudoscalar inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Domcke, Valerie; Pieroni, Mauro; Binétruy, Pierre, E-mail: valerie.domcke@apc.univ-paris7.fr, E-mail: mpieroni@apc.univ-paris7.fr, E-mail: binetruy@apc.in2p3.fr

Current bounds from the polarization of the CMB predict the scale-invariant gravitational wave (GW) background of inflation to be out of reach for upcoming GW interferometers. This prospect dramatically changes if the inflaton is a pseudoscalar, in which case its generic coupling to any abelian gauge field provides a new source of GWs, directly related to the dynamics of inflation. This opens up new ways of probing the scalar potential responsible for cosmic inflation. Dividing inflation models into universality classes, we analyze the possible observational signatures. One of the most promising scenarios is Starobinsky inflation, which may lead to observationalmore » signatures both in direct GW detection as well as in upcoming CMB detectors. In this case, the complementarity between the CMB and direct GW detection, as well as the possibility of a multi-frequency analysis with upcoming ground and space based GW interferometers, may provide a first clue to the microphysics of inflation.« less

Accidental inflation from Kähler uplifting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ben-Dayan, Ido; Westphal, Alexander; Wieck, Clemens

2014-03-01

We analyze the possibility of realizing inflation with a subsequent dS vacuum in the Käahler uplifting scenario. The inclusion of several quantum corrections to the 4d effective action evades previous no-go theorems and allows for construction of simple and successful models of string inflation. The predictions of several benchmark models are in accord with current observations, i.e., a red spectral index, negligible non-gaussianity, and spectral distortions similar to the simplest models of inflation. A particularly interesting subclass of models are ''left-rolling'' ones, where the overall volume of the compactified dimensions shrinks during inflation. We call this phenomenon ''inflation by deflation''more » (IBD), where deflation refers to the internal manifold. This subclass has the appealing features of being insensitive to initial conditions, avoiding the overshooting problem, and allowing for observable running α ∼ 0.012 and enhanced tensor-to-scalar ratio r ∼ 10{sup −5}. The latter results differ significantly from many string inflation models.« less

The Relationship between Inflation and Inflation Uncertainty. Empirical Evidence for the Newest EU Countries

PubMed Central

Viorica, Daniela; Jemna, Danut; Pintilescu, Carmen; Asandului, Mircea

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to verify the hypotheses presented in the literature on the causal relationship between inflation and its uncertainty, for the newest EU countries. To ensure the robustness of the results, in the study four models for inflation uncertainty are estimated in parallel: ARCH (1), GARCH (1,1), EGARCH (1,1,1) and PARCH (1,1,1). The Granger method is used to test the causality between two variables. The working hypothesis is that groups of countries with a similar political and economic background in 1990 and are likely to be characterized by the same causal relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical results partially confirm this hypothesis. Jel Classification C22, E31, E37. PMID:24633073

Analysis of aggregate impact factor inflation in ophthalmology.

PubMed

Caramoy, Albert; Korwitz, Ulrich; Eppelin, Anita; Kirchhof, Bernd; Fauser, Sascha

2013-01-01

To analyze the aggregate impact factor (AIF) in ophthalmology, its inflation rate, and its relation to other subject fields. A retrospective, database review of all subject fields in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), Science edition. Citation data, AIF, number of journals and citations from the years 2003-2011 were analyzed. Data were retrieved from JCR. Future trends were calculated using a linear regression method. The AIF varies considerably between subjects. It shows also an inflation rate, which varies annually. The AIF inflation rate in ophthalmology was not as high as the background AIF inflation rate. The AIF inflation rate caused the AIF to increase annually. Not considering these variations in the AIF between years and between fields will make the AIF as a bibliometric tool inappropriate. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The chaotic regime of D-term inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchmüller, W.; Domcke, V.; Schmitz, K.

2014-11-01

We consider D-term inflation for small couplings of the inflaton to matter fields. Standard hybrid inflation then ends at a critical value of the inflaton field that exceeds the Planck mass. During the subsequent waterfall transition the inflaton continues its slow-roll motion, whereas the waterfall field rapidly grows by quantum fluctuations. Beyond the decoherence time, the waterfall field becomes classical and approaches a time-dependent minimum, which is determined by the value of the inflaton field and the self-interaction of the waterfall field. During the final stage of inflation, the effective inflaton potential is essentially quadratic, which leads to the standard predictions of chaotic inflation. The model illustrates how the decay of a false vacuum of GUT-scale energy density can end in a period of `chaotic inflation'.

First-order inflation. [in cosmology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Michael S.

1992-01-01

I discuss the most recent model of inflation. In first-order inflation the inflationary epoch is associated with a first-order phase transition, with the most likely candidate being GUT symmetry breaking. The transition from the false-vacuum inflationary phase to the true-vacuum radiation-dominated phase proceeds through the nucleation and percolation of true-vacuum bubbles. The first successful and simplest model of first-order inflation, extended inflation, is discussed in some detail: evolution of the cosmic-scale factor, reheating, density perturbations, and the production of gravitational waves both from quantum fluctuations and bubble collisions. Particular attention is paid to the most critical issue in any model of first-order inflation: the requirements on the nucleation rate to ensure a graceful transition from the inflationary phase to the radiation-dominated phase.

Replenishment policy for an inventory model under inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Vikramjeet; Saxena, Seema; Singh, Pushpinder; Mishra, Nitin Kumar

2017-07-01

The purpose of replenishment is to keep the flow of inventory in the system. To determine an optimal replenishment policy is a great challenge in developing an inventory model. Inflation is defined as the rate at which the prices of goods and services are rising over a time period. The cost parameters are affected by the rate of inflation. High rate of inflation affects the organizations financial conditions. Based on the above backdrop the present paper proposes the retailers replenishment policy for deteriorating items with different cycle lengths under inflation. The shortages are partially backlogged. At last numerical examples validate the results.

46 CFR 160.076-39 - Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... of the inflation mechanism approved for use on the PFD. (2) [Reserved] (e) Inflation mechanisms. Each manual, automatic, or manual-auto inflation mechanism must be permanently marked with its unique model...

Effects of a sustained inflation in preterm infants at birth.

PubMed

van Vonderen, Jeroen J; Hooper, Stuart B; Hummler, Helmut D; Lopriore, Enrico; te Pas, Arjan B

2014-11-01

To assess the clinical effect of an initial sustained inflation of 10 seconds and 25 cmH2O in preterm infants at birth. In this observational study inflation pressures and tidal volumes were recorded with the use of respiratory function monitoring of preterm infants <32 weeks' gestation receiving a sustained inflation. Inspiratory tidal volume (Vti) and expiratory tidal volume (Vte) of sustained inflation and cumulative Vti and Vte of breaths during sustained inflation were determined. Heart rate and oxygen saturation were measured before and after the sustained inflation. Seventy infants were included (median [IQR]: gestational age 29 [27-30] weeks). Mean (SD) sustained inflation duration was 10.5 seconds (2.9 seconds) with positive inflation pressure 24.2 cmH2O (2.3 cmH2O) and positive end-expiratory pressure 6.0 cmH2O (1.8 cmH2O). In 20 of 70 infants, no volumes were delivered during the sustained inflation because of mask leak. No leak occurred in 50 of 70 infants, of whom 36 of 50 breathed during the sustained inflation. In 14 of the infants who did not breathe, Vti and Vte were 0.9 mL/kg (0.4-2.7 mL/kg) and 0.6 mL/kg (0.1-2.0 mL/kg) with a functional residual capacity (FRC) gain of 0.0 (-0.5 to 0.6) mL/kg. In 36 of 50 infants who breathed during the sustained inflation, Vti was 2.9 mL/kg (0.9-9.2 mL/kg) and Vte 3.8 mL/kg (1.0-5.9 mL/kg), whereas cumulative Vti of breaths was 16.4 mL/kg (6.8-23.3 mL/kg) and cumulative Vte of breaths was 5.8 mL/kg (1.2-16.8 mL/kg) with an FRC gain of 7.1 mL/kg (1.7-15.9 mL/kg). Heart rate and oxygen saturation did not increase immediately after the sustained inflation. A sustained inflation of 10 seconds and 25 cmH2O in preterm infants at birth was not effective unless infants breathed. Although large mask leak accounted for approximately one-third of failures, as FRC gain was only associated with breathing, we speculate that active glottic adduction may be responsible for most failures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Grade Inflation: Metaphor and Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamber, Richard; Biggs, Mary

2003-01-01

Grade inflation has become a general term for teachers and administrators in recent times and is an ambiguous denomination which needs to be identified. The allegory and reality of grade inflation is discussed.

Developing an Inflatable Solar Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malone, Patrick K.; Jankowski, Francis J.; Williams, Geoffery T.; Vendura, George J., Jr.

1992-01-01

Viewgraphs describing the development of an inflatable solar array as part of the Inflatable Torus Solar Array Technology (ITSAT) program are presented. Program phases, overall and subsystem designs, and array deployment are addressed.

Primordial perturbations in multi-scalar inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abedi, Habib; Abbassi, Amir M., E-mail: h.abedi@ut.ac.ir, E-mail: amabasi@khayam.ut.ac.ir

2017-07-01

Multiple field models of inflation exhibit new features than single field models. In this work, we study the hierarchy of parameters based on Hubble expansion rate in curved field space and derive the system of flow equations that describe their evolutions. Then we focus on obtaining derivatives of number of e-folds with respect to scalar fields during inflation and at hypersurface of the end of inflation.

46 CFR 97.15-75 - Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk... inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels. (a) It is the duty of the Master to ensure that the inflatable hopper gate seals installed on vessels required to meet the damage stability...

46 CFR 97.15-75 - Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk... inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels. (a) It is the duty of the Master to ensure that the inflatable hopper gate seals installed on vessels required to meet the damage stability...

Manual Ventilation and Sustained Lung Inflation in an Experimental Model: Influence of Equipment Type and Operator’s Training

PubMed Central

Mascaretti, Renata Suman; Vale, Luciana Assis; Haddad, Luciana Branco

2016-01-01

Aim To compare the influence of devices for manual ventilation and individual experience on the applied respiratory mechanics and sustained lung inflation. Methods A total of 114 instructors and non-instructors from the Neonatal Resuscitation Program of the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics participated in this study. Participants ventilated an intubated manikin. To evaluate respiratory mechanics and sustained lung inflation parameters, a direct comparison was made between the self-inflating bag and the T-shaped resuscitator (T-piece), followed by an analysis of the effectiveness of the equipment according to the participants’ education and training. Results A difference between equipment types was observed for the tidal volume, with a median (interquartile range) of 28.5 mL (12.6) for the self-inflating bag and 20.1 mL (8.4) for the T-piece in the instructor group and 31.6 mL (14) for the self-inflating bag and 22.3 mL (8.8) for the T-piece in the non-instructor group. Higher inspiratory time values were observed with the T-piece in both groups of professionals, with no significant difference between them. The operator’s ability to maintain the target pressure over the 10 seconds of sustained lung inflation was evaluated using the area under the pressure-time curve and was 1.7-fold higher with the use of the T-piece. Inspiratory pressure and mean airway pressure applied during sustained lung inflation were greater with the self-inflating bag, as evaluated between the beginning and the end of the procedure. Conclusion The T-piece resulted in lower tidal volume and higher inspiratory time values, irrespective of the operator’s experience, and increased the ease of performing the sustained lung inflation maneuver, as demonstrated by the maintenance of target pressure for the desired period and a higher mean airway pressure than that obtained using the self-inflating bag. PMID:26859896

Fast or Slow Rescue Ventilations: A Predictive Model of Gastric Inflation.

PubMed

Fitz-Clarke, John R

2018-05-01

Rescue ventilations are given during respiratory and cardiac arrest. Tidal volume must assure oxygen delivery; however, excessive pressure applied to an unprotected airway can cause gastric inflation, regurgitation, and pulmonary aspiration. The optimal technique provides mouth pressure and breath duration that minimize gastric inflation. It remains unclear if breath delivery should be fast or slow, and how inflation time affects the division of gas flow between the lungs and esophagus. A physiological model was used to predict and compare rates of gastric inflation and to determine ideal ventilation duration. Gas flow equations were based on standard pulmonary physiology. Gastric inflation was assumed to occur whenever mouth pressure exceeded lower esophageal sphincter pressure. Mouth pressure profiles that approximated mouth-to-mouth ventilation and bag-valve-mask ventilation were investigated. Target tidal volumes were set to 0.6 and 1.0 L. Compliance and airway resistance were varied. Rapid breaths shorter than 1 s required high mouth pressures, up to 25 cm H 2 O to achieve the target lung volume, which thus promotes gastric inflation. Slow breaths longer than 1 s permitted lower mouth pressures but increased time over which airway pressure exceeded lower esophageal sphincter pressure. The gastric volume increased with breath durations that exceeded 1 s for both mouth pressure profiles. Breath duration of ∼1.0 s caused the least gastric inflation in most scenarios. Very low esophageal sphincter pressure favored a shift toward 0.5 s. High resistance and low compliance each increased gastric inflation and altered ideal breath times. The model illustrated a general theory of optimal rescue ventilation. Breath duration with an unprotected airway should be 1 s to minimize gastric inflation. Short pressure-driven and long duration-driven gastric inflation regimens provide a unifying explanation for results in past studies. Copyright © 2018 by Daedalus Enterprises.

To kiss or not to kiss? Impact of final kissing-balloon inflation on early and long-term results of percutaneous coronary intervention for bifurcation lesions.

PubMed

Biondi-Zoccai, Giuseppe; Sheiban, Imad; De Servi, Stefano; Tamburino, Corrado; Sangiorgi, Giuseppe; Romagnoli, Enrico

2014-11-01

Final kissing-balloon inflation is often recommended for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of bifurcation lesions. However, randomized trials focusing on kissing inflation have not confirmed its beneficial impact. We compared outcomes of kissing inflation for PCI of bifurcation lesions, explicitly stratifying results according to stenting strategy. Patients undergoing bifurcation PCI were retrospectively enrolled. Subjects receiving final kissing inflation were compared with those not undergoing kissing inflation, after stratification for a single-stent technique. The primary end point was the long-term rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE, i.e., death, myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization (TLR)). A total of 4314 patients were included: 1176 (27.3 %) treated with a single stent and kissing inflation, 1637 (37.9 %) with a single stent but no kissing, 1072 (24.8 %) with two stents and kissing, and 429 (9.9 %) with two stents but no kissing. At unadjusted analyses kissing was associated with fewer short-term MACE and deaths in the two-stent group, and with fewer long-term MACE, cardiac deaths, and side-branch TLR in the two-stent group (all P < 0.05). Conversely, kissing appeared detrimental after single stenting. However, after multivariable analyses, kissing no longer significantly affected the risk of adverse events, with the exception of the risk of side-branch TLR, which was lower in those receiving two stents and final kissing inflation (hazard ratio = 0.52, 95 % confidence interval 0.30–0.90, P = 0.020). Kissing inflation can be avoided in bifurcation lesions uneventfully treated with single-stent PCI. However, final kissing-balloon inflation appears beneficial in reducing the risk of side-branch repeat revascularization after using a two-stent strategy.

Inflation in Brazil: The Principles of Monetary Correction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campos, Roberto de Oliveira

1975-01-01

The evils of inflation and Brazil's attempts to minimize inflation by a generalized indexation for all forms of saving, wage adjustments, tax reform, a mini-devaluation, and saving incentives are examined. (DE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gim, Yongwan; Kim, Wontae, E-mail: yongwan89@sogang.ac.kr, E-mail: wtkim@sogang.ac.kr

In warm inflation scenarios, radiation always exists, so that the radiation energy density is also assumed to be finite when inflation starts. To find out the origin of the non-vanishing initial radiation energy density, we revisit thermodynamic analysis for a warm inflation model and then derive an effective Stefan-Boltzmann law which is commensurate with the temperature-dependent effective potential by taking into account the non-vanishing trace of the total energy-momentum tensors. The effective Stefan-Boltzmann law shows that the zero energy density for radiation at the Grand Unification epoch increases until the inflation starts and it becomes eventually finite at the initialmore » stage of warm inflation. By using the above effective Stefan-Boltzmann law, we also study the cosmological scalar perturbation, and obtain the sufficient radiation energy density in order for GUT baryogenesis at the end of inflation.« less

On inflating magnetic fields, and the backreactions thereof

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Urban, Federico R., E-mail: urban@phas.ubc.ca

2011-12-01

We investigate in more depth the issue of backreaction in models that attempt at generating cosmological magnetic fields at inflation. By choosing different, physically motivated, parametrisations, we are able to isolate the heart of the problem, namely the existence, alongside the wanted magnetic field, of its electric counterpart, which turns out quite generally to be stronger and redder. We were also able to identify a few more interwoven weak spots (the typically very high scale of inflation, the width of the spectrum of modes processed by inflation, the blindness of the amplification mechanism to the energy scale processed), in amore » way independent on the specifications of the coupling between inflation and electromagnetism. Despite having stripped down the problem to the core, the obstacles encountered appear insurmountable, thereby posing a challenge to inflation as the incubator of cosmological magnetism.« less

Cardiovascular responses to military antishock trouser inflation during standing arm exercise.

PubMed

Ng, A V; Hanson, P; Aaron, E A; Demment, R B; Conviser, J M; Nagle, F J

1987-09-01

Military antishock trousers (MAST) inflated to 50 mmHg were used with 12 healthy males (mean age 28 +/- 1 yr) to determine the effects of lower-body positive pressure on cardiac output (Q), stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), total peripheral resistance (TPR), and O2 uptake (VO2) during graded arm-cranking exercise. Subjects were studied while standing at rest and at 25, 50, and 75% of maximal arm-cranking VO2. At each level, rest or work was continued for 6 min with MAST inflated and for 6 min with MAST deflated. Order of inflation and deflation was alternated at each experimental rest or exercise level. Measurements were obtained during the last 2 min at each level. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant increases (P less than 0.001) in Q, SV, and MABP and a consistent decrease in HR with MAST inflation. There was no apparent change in Q/VO2 between inflated and control conditions. There was no effect of MAST inflation on VO2 or TPR. MAST inflation counteracts the gravitational effect of venous return in upright exercise, restoring central blood volume and thereby increasing Q and MABP from control. HR is decreased consequent to increased MABP through arterial baroreflexes. The associated decrease in TPR is not observed, being offset by the mechanical compression of leg vasculature with MAST inflation.

Observing the inflation potential. [in models of cosmological inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Copeland, Edmund J.; Kolb, Edward W.; Liddle, Andrew R.; Lidsey, James E.

1993-01-01

We show how observations of the density perturbation (scalar) spectrum and the gravitational wave (tensor) spectrum allow a reconstruction of the potential responsible for cosmological inflation. A complete functional reconstruction or a perturbative approximation about a single scale are possible; the suitability of each approach depends on the data available. Consistency equations between the scalar and tensor spectra are derived, which provide a powerful signal of inflation.

Development and Testing of an Inflatable, Rigidizable Space Structure Experiment

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

successful, including physical dimension, weight , and cost. Inflatable structures have the potential to achieve greater efficiency in all of these...potential for low cost, high mechanical packaging efficiency, deployment reliability and low weight (13). The term inflatable structure indicates that a...back-up inflation gas a necessity for long term success. This addition can be very costly in terms of volume, weight , and expense due to added or

The development of inflatable array antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, J.

2001-01-01

Inflatable array antennas are being developed to significantly reduce the mass, the launch vehicle's stowage volume, and the cost of future spacecraft systems. Three inflatable array antennas, recently developed for spacecraft applications, are a 3.3 m x 1.0 m L-band synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) array, a 1.0 m-diameter X-band telecom reflectarray, and a 3 m-diameter Ka-band telecom reflectarray. All three antennas are similar in construction, and each consists of an inflatable tubular frame that supports and tensions a multi-layer thin-membrane RF radiating surface with printed microstrip patches. The L-band SAR array achieved a bandwidth of 80 MHz, an aperture efficiency of 74%, and a total mass of 15 kg. The X-band reflectarray achieved an aperture efficiency of 37%, good radiation patterns, and a total mass of 1.2 kg (excluding the inflation system). The 3 m Ka-band reflectarray achieved a surface flatness of 0.1 mm RMS, good radiation patterns, and a total mass of 12.8 kg (excluding the inflation system). These antennas demonstrated that inflatable arrays are feasible across the microwave and millimeter-wave spectrums. Further developments of these antennas are deemed necessary, in particular, in the area of qualifying the inflatable structures for space-environment usage.

Beyond Inflation:. A Cyclic Universe Scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turok, Neil; Steinhardt, Paul J.

2005-08-01

Inflation has been the leading early universe scenario for two decades, and has become an accepted element of the successful 'cosmic concordance' model. However, there are many puzzling features of the resulting theory. It requires both high energy and low energy inflation, with energy densities differing by a hundred orders of magnitude. The questions of why the universe started out undergoing high energy inflation, and why it will end up in low energy inflation, are unanswered. Rather than resort to anthropic arguments, we have developed an alternative cosmology, the cyclic universe [1], in which the universe exists in a very long-lived attractor state determined by the laws of physics. The model shares inflation's phenomenological successes without requiring an epoch of high energy inflation. Instead, the universe is made homogeneous and flat, and scale-invariant adiabatic perturbations are generated during an epoch of low energy acceleration like that seen today, but preceding the last big bang. Unlike inflation, the model requires low energy acceleration in order for a periodic attractor state to exist. The key challenge facing the scenario is that of passing through the cosmic singularity at t = 0. Substantial progress has been made at the level of linearised gravity, which is reviewed here. The challenge of extending this to nonlinear gravity and string theory remains.

Beyond Inflation: A Cyclic Universe Scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turok, Neil; Steinhardt, Paul J.

2005-01-01

Inflation has been the leading early universe scenario for two decades, and has become an accepted element of the successful `cosmic concordance' model. However, there are many puzzling features of the resulting theory. It requires both high energy and low energy inflation, with energy densities differing by a hundred orders of magnitude. The questions of why the universe started out undergoing high energy inflation, and why it will end up in low energy inflation, are unanswered. Rather than resort to anthropic arguments, we have developed an alternative cosmology, the cyclic universe, in which the universe exists in a very long-lived attractor state determined by the laws of physics. The model shares inflation's phenomenological successes without requiring an epoch of high energy inflation. Instead, the universe is made homogeneous and flat, and scale-invariant adiabatic perturbations are generated during an epoch of low energy acceleration like that seen today, but preceding the last big bang. Unlike inflation, the model requires low energy acceleration in order for a periodic attractor state to exist. The key challenge facing the scenario is that of passing through the cosmic singularity at t = 0. Substantial progress has been made at the level of linearised gravity, which is reviewed here. The challenge of extending this to nonlinear gravity and string theory remains.

The field-space metric in spiral inflation and related models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Erlich, Joshua; Olsen, Jackson; Wang, Zhen

2016-09-22

Multi-field inflation models include a variety of scenarios for how inflation proceeds and ends. Models with the same potential but different kinetic terms are common in the literature. We compare spiral inflation and Dante’s inferno-type models, which differ only in their field-space metric. We justify a single-field effective description in these models and relate the single-field description to a mass-matrix formalism. We note the effects of the nontrivial field-space metric on inflationary observables, and consequently on the viability of these models. We also note a duality between spiral inflation and Dante’s inferno models with different potentials.

Gravitational waves and large field inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linde, Andrei

2017-02-01

According to the famous Lyth bound, one can confirm large field inflation by finding tensor modes with sufficiently large tensor-to-scalar ratio r. Here we will try to answer two related questions: is it possible to rule out all large field inflationary models by not finding tensor modes with r above some critical value, and what can we say about the scale of inflation by measuring r? However, in order to answer these questions one should distinguish between two different definitions of the large field inflation and three different definitions of the scale of inflation. We will examine these issues using the theory of cosmological α-attractors as a convenient testing ground.

MHz gravitational waves from short-term anisotropic inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ito, Asuka; Soda, Jiro

2016-04-18

We reveal the universality of short-term anisotropic inflation. As a demonstration, we study inflation with an exponential type gauge kinetic function which is ubiquitous in models obtained by dimensional reduction from higher dimensional fundamental theory. It turns out that an anisotropic inflation universally takes place in the later stage of conventional inflation. Remarkably, we find that primordial gravitational waves with a peak amplitude around 10{sup −26}∼10{sup −27} are copiously produced in high-frequency bands 10 MHz∼100 MHz. If we could detect such gravitational waves in future, we would be able to probe higher dimensional fundamental theory.

Dynamic Deployment Simulations of Inflatable Space Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, John T.

2005-01-01

The feasibility of using Control Volume (CV) method and the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method in LSDYNA to simulate the dynamic deployment of inflatable space structures is investigated. The CV and ALE methods were used to predict the inflation deployments of three folded tube configurations. The CV method was found to be a simple and computationally efficient method that may be adequate for modeling slow inflation deployment sine the inertia of the inflation gas can be neglected. The ALE method was found to be very computationally intensive since it involves the solving of three conservative equations of fluid as well as dealing with complex fluid structure interactions.

How thermal inflation can save minimal hybrid inflation in supergravity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimopoulos, Konstantinos; Owen, Charlotte

2016-10-12

Minimal hybrid inflation in supergravity has been ruled out by the 2015 Planck observations because the spectral index of the produced curvature perturbation falls outside observational bounds. To resurrect the model, a number of modifications have been put forward but many of them spoil the accidental cancellation that resolves the η-problem and require complicated Kähler constructions to counterbalance the lost cancellation. In contrast, in this paper the model is rendered viable by supplementing the scenario with a brief period of thermal inflation, which follows the reheating of primordial inflation. The scalar field responsible for thermal inflation requires a large non-zeromore » vacuum expectation value (VEV) and a flat potential. We investigate the VEV of such a flaton field and its subsequent effect on the inflationary observables. We find that, for large VEV, minimal hybrid inflation in supergravity produces a spectral index within the 1-σ Planck bound and a tensor-to-scalar ratio which may be observable in the near future. The mechanism is applicable to other inflationary models.« less

Disappearing inflaton potential via heavy field dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kitajima, Naoya; Takahashi, Fuminobu, E-mail: kitajima@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: fumi@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp

2016-02-01

We propose a possibility that the inflaton potential is significantly modified after inflation due to heavy field dynamics. During inflation such a heavy scalar field may be stabilized at a value deviated from the low-energy minimum. In extreme cases, the inflaton potential vanishes and the inflaton becomes almost massless at some time after inflation. Such transition of the inflaton potential has interesting implications for primordial density perturbations, reheating, creation of unwanted relics, dark radiation, and experimental search for light degrees of freedom. To be concrete, we consider a chaotic inflation in supergravity where the inflaton mass parameter is promoted tomore » a modulus field, finding that the inflaton becomes stable after the transition and contributes to dark matter. Another example is a hilltop inflation (also called new inflation) by the MSSM Higgs field which acquires a large expectation value just after inflation, but it returns to the origin after the transition and finally rolls down to the electroweak vacuum. Interestingly, the smallness of the electroweak scale compared to the Planck scale is directly related to the flatness of the inflaton potential.« less

Development of Inflatable Entry Systems Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Player, Charles J.; Cheatwood, F. McNeil; Corliss, James

2005-01-01

Achieving the objectives of NASA s Vision for Space Exploration will require the development of new technologies, which will in turn require higher fidelity modeling and analysis techniques, and innovative testing capabilities. Development of entry systems technologies can be especially difficult due to the lack of facilities and resources available to test these new technologies in mission relevant environments. This paper discusses the technology development process to bring inflatable aeroshell technology from Technology Readiness Level 2 (TRL-2) to TRL-7. This paper focuses mainly on two projects: Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE), and Inflatable Aeroshell and Thermal Protection System Development (IATD). The objectives of IRVE are to conduct an inflatable aeroshell flight test that demonstrates exoatmospheric deployment and inflation, reentry survivability and stability, and predictable drag performance. IATD will continue the development of the technology by conducting exploration specific trade studies and feeding forward those results into three more flight tests. Through an examination of these projects, and other potential projects, this paper discusses some of the risks, issues, and unexpected benefits associated with the development of inflatable entry systems technology.

A blood pressure monitor with robust noise reduction system under linear cuff inflation and deflation.

PubMed

Usuda, Takashi; Kobayashi, Naoki; Takeda, Sunao; Kotake, Yoshifumi

2010-01-01

We have developed the non-invasive blood pressure monitor which can measure the blood pressure quickly and robustly. This monitor combines two measurement mode: the linear inflation and the linear deflation. On the inflation mode, we realized a faster measurement with rapid inflation rate. On the deflation mode, we realized a robust noise reduction. When there is neither noise nor arrhythmia, the inflation mode incorporated on this monitor provides precise, quick and comfortable measurement. Once the inflation mode fails to calculate appropriate blood pressure due to body movement or arrhythmia, then the monitor switches automatically to the deflation mode and measure blood pressure by using digital signal processing as wavelet analysis, filter bank, filter combined with FFT and Inverse FFT. The inflation mode succeeded 2440 measurements out of 3099 measurements (79%) in an operating room and a rehabilitation room. The new designed blood pressure monitor provides the fastest measurement for patient with normal circulation and robust measurement for patients with body movement or severe arrhythmia. Also this fast measurement method provides comfortableness for patients.

Computerized methodology for micro-CT and histological data inflation using an IVUS based translation map.

PubMed

Athanasiou, Lambros S; Rigas, George A; Sakellarios, Antonis I; Exarchos, Themis P; Siogkas, Panagiotis K; Naka, Katerina K; Panetta, Daniele; Pelosi, Gualtiero; Vozzi, Federico; Michalis, Lampros K; Parodi, Oberdan; Fotiadis, Dimitrios I

2015-10-01

A framework for the inflation of micro-CT and histology data using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images, is presented. The proposed methodology consists of three steps. In the first step the micro-CT/histological images are manually co-registered with IVUS by experts using fiducial points as landmarks. In the second step the lumen of both the micro-CT/histological images and IVUS images are automatically segmented. Finally, in the third step the micro-CT/histological images are inflated by applying a transformation method on each image. The transformation method is based on the IVUS and micro-CT/histological contour difference. In order to validate the proposed image inflation methodology, plaque areas in the inflated micro-CT and histological images are compared with the ones in the IVUS images. The proposed methodology for inflating micro-CT/histological images increases the sensitivity of plaque area matching between the inflated and the IVUS images (7% and 22% in histological and micro-CT images, respectively). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inflation and Growth: Positive or Negative Relationship?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berument, Hakan; Inamlik, Ali; Olgun, Hasan

This study has been motivated by two developments. Firstly, by the vast literature on the relationship between inflation and growth which is abundantly endowed with diverse theoretical explanations and contradictory evidence and by the unique experience of the Turkish economy with inflation and growth. A preliminary examination of the Turkish data pointed to a negative relation between inflation and growth. Moreover, there is a unanimous agreement among the students of the Turkish economy that many factors have contributed to inflation in this country. In view of these facts this paper employs a VAR model which will enable us to identify the sources of the shocks and control for external factors. In addition VAR models have a high predictive power and enable the researcher to observe the impulse response functions. The study employs Generalised Impulse Response analysis. In the empirical experiments oil prices, money supply, government spending and taxes have been taken as the most likely determinants of inflation. The study shows that there is a negative relationship between inflation and output growth in Turkey and that the underlying explanatory factor is the real exchange rate. This result is robust.

Zero-inflated count models for longitudinal measurements with heterogeneous random effects.

PubMed

Zhu, Huirong; Luo, Sheng; DeSantis, Stacia M

2017-08-01

Longitudinal zero-inflated count data arise frequently in substance use research when assessing the effects of behavioral and pharmacological interventions. Zero-inflated count models (e.g. zero-inflated Poisson or zero-inflated negative binomial) with random effects have been developed to analyze this type of data. In random effects zero-inflated count models, the random effects covariance matrix is typically assumed to be homogeneous (constant across subjects). However, in many situations this matrix may be heterogeneous (differ by measured covariates). In this paper, we extend zero-inflated count models to account for random effects heterogeneity by modeling their variance as a function of covariates. We show via simulation that ignoring intervention and covariate-specific heterogeneity can produce biased estimates of covariate and random effect estimates. Moreover, those biased estimates can be rectified by correctly modeling the random effects covariance structure. The methodological development is motivated by and applied to the Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions for Alcohol Dependence (COMBINE) study, the largest clinical trial of alcohol dependence performed in United States with 1383 individuals.

Model with two periods of inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schettler, Simon; Schaffner-Bielich, Jürgen

2016-01-01

A scenario with two subsequent periods of inflationary expansion in the very early Universe is examined. The model is based on a potential motivated by symmetries being found in field theory at high energy. For various parameter sets of the potential, the spectra of scalar and tensor perturbations that are expected to originate from this scenario are calculated. Also the beginning of the reheating epoch connecting the second inflation with thermal equilibrium is studied. Perturbations with wavelengths leaving the horizon around the transition between the two inflations are special: It is demonstrated that the power spectrum at such scales deviates significantly from expectations based on measurements of the cosmic microwave background. This supports the conclusion that parameters for which this part of the spectrum leaves observable traces in the cosmic microwave background must be excluded. Parameters entailing a very efficient second inflation correspond to standard small-field inflation and can meet observational constraints. Particular attention is paid to the case where the second inflation leads solely to a shift of the observable spectrum from the first inflation. A viable scenario requires this shift to be small.

CMB spectral distortion constraints on thermal inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, Kihyun; Stewart, Ewan D.; Hong, Sungwook E.

2017-08-01

Thermal inflation is a second epoch of exponential expansion at typical energy scales V {sup 1/4} ∼ 10{sup 6} {sup ∼} {sup 8} GeV. If the usual primordial inflation is followed by thermal inflation, the primordial power spectrum is only modestly redshifted on large scales, but strongly suppressed on scales smaller than the horizon size at the beginning of thermal inflation, k > k {sub b} = a {sub b} H {sub b}. We calculate the spectral distortion of the cosmic microwave background generated by the dissipation of acoustic waves in this context. For k {sub b} || 10{sup 3}more » Mpc{sup −1}, thermal inflation results in a large suppression of the μ-distortion amplitude, predicting that it falls well below the standard value of μ ≅ 2× 10{sup −8}. Thus, future spectral distortion experiments, similar to PIXIE, can place new limits on the thermal inflation scenario, constraining k {sub b} ∼> 10{sup 3} Mpc{sup −1} if μ ≅ 2× 10{sup −8} were found.« less

Biomechanical assessment of a rear-seat inflatable seatbelt in frontal impacts.

PubMed

Sundararajan, Srinivasan; Rouhana, Stephen W; Board, Derek; DeSmet, Ed; Prasad, Priya; Rupp, Jonathan D; Miller, Carl S; Schneider, Lawrence W

2011-11-01

This study evaluated the biomechanical performance of a rear-seat inflatable seatbelt system and compared it to that of a 3-point seatbelt system, which has a long history of good real-world performance. Frontal-impact sled tests were conducted with Hybrid III anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and with post mortem human subjects (PMHS) using both restraint systems and a generic rear-seat configuration. Results from these tests demonstrated: a) reduction in forward head excursion with the inflatable seatbelt system when compared to that of a 3-point seatbelt and; b) a reduction in ATD and PMHS peak chest deflections and the number of PMHS rib fractures with the inflatable seatbelt system and c) a reduction in PMHS cervical-spine injuries, due to the interaction of the chin with the inflated shoulder belt. These results suggest that an inflatable seatbelt system will offer additional benefits to some occupants in the rear seats. Further research is needed to assess the field effectiveness, customer comfort and acceptance and change in the belt usage rate with the inflatable seatbelt system.

Effects Of Suspension-Line Damping On LADT #3 And Supersonic BLDT Parachute Inflation Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poole, Lamont R.

1972-01-01

A two-body computerized mathematical model is used to calculate planar dynamics of the LADT #3 and supersonic BLDT parachute inflations. Results indicate that the calculated loads and motions of the LADT #3 inflation are not affected appreciably by variation in the suspension-line damping coefficient. However, variation of the coefficient results in significant changes in the calculated loads and strain rates of the supersonic BLDT inflation.

Structurally efficient inflatable protective device

DOEpatents

Nelsen, James M.; Whinery, Larry D.; Gwinn, Kenneth W.; McBride, Donald D.; Luna, Daniel A.; Holder, Joseph P.; Bliton, Richard J.

1997-01-01

An apparatus and method for making a low cost, self-venting, inflatable protective cushion of simple and structurally efficient design with a shape and construction that optimizes the cushion's ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed which includes a sheet defined by at least one fold line and a plurality of flap portions, each flap portion having a base edge corresponding to a fold line and at least two side edges each extending outwardly from a base edge and ultimately converging to meet each other, the flap portions being folded at the fold line(s) and being joined at corresponding side edges to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable protective cushion and method for making same may further include a lightweight, low permeability, fabric that optimizes the cushion's ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed and minimizes the packed volume of the cushion when stored.

Structurally efficient inflatable protective device

DOEpatents

Nelsen, J.M.; Whinery, L.D.; Gwinn, K.W.; McBride, D.D.; Luna, D.A.; Holder, J.P.; Bliton, R.J.

1997-03-04

An apparatus and method are disclosed for making a low cost, self-venting, inflatable protective cushion of simple and structurally efficient design with a shape and construction that optimizes the cushion`s ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed which includes a sheet defined by at least one fold line and a plurality of flap portions, each flap portion having a base edge corresponding to a fold line and at least two side edges each extending outwardly from a base edge and ultimately converging to meet each other, the flap portions being folded at the fold line(s) and being joined at corresponding side edges to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable protective cushion and method for making same may further include a lightweight, low permeability, fabric that optimizes the cushion`s ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed and minimizes the packed volume of the cushion when stored. 22 figs.

Structurally efficient inflatable protective device

DOEpatents

Nelsen, J.M.; Whinery, L.D.; Gwinn, K.W.; McBride, D.D.; Luna, D.A.; Holder, J.P.; Bliton, R.J.

1996-01-09

An apparatus and method are disclosed for making a low cost, self-venting, inflatable protective cushion of simple and structurally efficient design with a shape and construction that optimizes the cushion`s ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed which includes a sheet defined by at least one fold line and a plurality of flap portions, each flap portion having a base edge corresponding to a fold line and at least two side edges each extending outwardly from a base edge and ultimately converging to meet each other, the flap portions being folded at the fold line(s) and being joined at corresponding side edges to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable protective cushion and method for making same may further include a lightweight, low permeability, fabric that optimizes the cushion`s ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed and minimizes the packed volume of the cushion when stored. 22 figs.

Very low scale Coleman-Weinberg inflation with nonminimal coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneta, Kunio; Seto, Osamu; Takahashi, Ryo

2018-03-01

We study viable small-field Coleman-Weinberg (CW) inflation models with the help of nonminimal coupling to gravity. The simplest small-field CW inflation model (with a low-scale potential minimum) is incompatible with the cosmological constraint on the scalar spectral index. However, there are possibilities to make the model realistic. First, we revisit the CW inflation model supplemented with a linear potential term. We next consider the CW inflation model with a logarithmic nonminimal coupling and illustrate that the model can open a new viable parameter space that includes the model with a linear potential term. We also show parameter spaces where the Hubble scale during the inflation can be as small as 10-4 GeV , 1 GeV, 1 04 GeV , and 1 08 GeV for the number of e -folds of 40, 45, 50, and 55, respectively, with other cosmological constraints being satisfied.

Structurally efficient inflatable protective device

DOEpatents

Nelsen, James M.; Whinery, Larry D.; Gwinn, Kenneth W.; McBride, Donald D.; Luna, Daniel A.; Holder, Joseph P.; Bliton, Richard J.

1996-01-01

An apparatus and method for making a low cost, self-venting, inflatable protective cushion of simple and structurally efficient design with a shape and construction that optimizes the cushion's ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed which includes a sheet defined by at least one fold line and a plurality of flap portions, each flap portion having a base edge corresponding to a fold line and at least two side edges each extending outwardly from a base edge and ultimately converging to meet each other, the flap portions being folded at the fold line(s) and being Joined at corresponding side edges to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable protective cushion and method for making same may further include a lightweight, low permeability, fabric that optimizes the cushion's ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed and minimizes the packed volume of the cushion when stored.

Structurally efficient inflatable protective device

DOEpatents

Nelsen, James M.; Whinery, Larry D.; Gwinn, Kenneth W.; McBride, Donald D.; Luna, Daniel A.; Holder, Joseph P.; Bliton, Richard J.

1996-01-01

An apparatus and method for making a low cost, self-venting, inflatable protective cushion of simple and structurally efficient design with a shape and construction that optimizes the cushion's ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed which includes a sheet defined by at least one fold line and a plurality of flap portions, each flap portion having a base edge corresponding to a fold line and at least two side edges each extending outwardly from a base edge and ultimately converging to meet each other, the flap portions being folded at the fold line(s) and being joined at corresponding side edges to define an inflatable chamber. The inflatable protective cushion and method for making same may further include a lightweight, low permeability, fabric that optimizes the cushion's ability to withstand inflation pressures and impact when deployed and minimizes the packed volume of the cushion when stored.

Wrinkling and collapse of mesh reinforced membrane inflated beam under bending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Qiang; Wang, Changguo; Xue, Zhiming; Xie, Zhimin; Tan, Huifeng

2016-11-01

A novel concept of mesh reinforced membrane (MRM) is proposed in this paper. The tensile collapse mechanism of MRM is elucidated based on three obvious deformed stages. An improved Shell-Membrane model is used to predict the wrinkling and collapse of MRM inflated beam which is verified by a non-contact experiment based on the digital image correlation technique. Further the wrinkling details including the wrinkling evolution, pattern, shape, stress distribution are simulated to evaluate the functions of MRM for loading-carrying capacity of inflated beam. Pressure resistant performance of inflated beam was studied at last. The results revealed that MRM shows a great improvement on the collapse moment of inflated beam. MRM contributes to restrain wrinkling evolution by changing the transfer path of loadings which results from dispersing stress distribution and changing wrinkling pattern. The results show good references to the wrinkling control and the improvement of load-carrying capacity of inflated beam.

Initial '80s Development of Inflated Antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friese, G. J.; Bilyeu, G. D.; Thomas, M.

1983-01-01

State of the art technology was considered in the definition and documentation of a membrane surface suitable for use in a space reflector system for long durations in orbit. Requirements for a metal foil-plastic laminate structural element were determined and a laboratory model of a rigidized element to test for strength characteristics was constructed. Characteristics of antennas ranging from 10 meters to 1000 meters were determined. The basic antenna configuration studied consists of (1) a thin film reflector, (2) a thin film cone, (3) a self-rigidizing structural torus at the interface of the cone and reflector; and (4) an inflation system. The reflector is metallized and, when inflated, has a parabolic shape. The cone not only completes the enclosure of the inflatant, but also holds the antenna feed at its apex. The torus keeps the inflated cone-reflector from collapsing inward. Laser test equipment determined the accuracy of the inflated paraboloids.

The observational constraint on constant-roll inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Qing

2018-07-01

We discuss the constant-roll inflation with constant ɛ2 and constant \\bar η . By using the method of Bessel function approximation, the analytical expressions for the scalar and tensor power spectra, the scalar and tensor spectral tilts, and the tensor to scalar ratio are derived up to the first order of ɛ1. The model with constant ɛ2 is ruled out by the observations at the 3σ confidence level, and the model with constant \\bar η is consistent with the observations at the 1σ confidence level. The potential for the model with constant \\bar η is also obtained from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. Although the observations constrain the constant-roll inflation to be the slow-roll inflation, the n s- r results from the constant-roll inflation are not the same as those from the slow-roll inflation even when \\bar η 0.01.

A test of inflated zeros for Poisson regression models.

PubMed

He, Hua; Zhang, Hui; Ye, Peng; Tang, Wan

2017-01-01

Excessive zeros are common in practice and may cause overdispersion and invalidate inference when fitting Poisson regression models. There is a large body of literature on zero-inflated Poisson models. However, methods for testing whether there are excessive zeros are less well developed. The Vuong test comparing a Poisson and a zero-inflated Poisson model is commonly applied in practice. However, the type I error of the test often deviates seriously from the nominal level, rendering serious doubts on the validity of the test in such applications. In this paper, we develop a new approach for testing inflated zeros under the Poisson model. Unlike the Vuong test for inflated zeros, our method does not require a zero-inflated Poisson model to perform the test. Simulation studies show that when compared with the Vuong test our approach not only better at controlling type I error rate, but also yield more power.

Aerocapture Inflatable Decelerator for Planetary Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reza, Sajjad; Hund, Richard; Kustas, Frank; Willcockson, William; Songer, Jarvis; Brown, Glen

2007-01-01

Forward Attached Inflatable Decelerators, more commonly known as inflatable aeroshells, provide an effective, cost efficient means of decelerating spacecrafts by using atmospheric drag for aerocapture or planetary entry instead of conventional liquid propulsion deceleration systems. Entry into planetary atmospheres results in significant heating and aerodynamic pressures which stress aeroshell systems to their useful limits. Incorporation of lightweight inflatable decelerator surfaces with increased surface-area footprints provides the opportunity to reduce heat flux and induced temperatures, while increasing the payload mass fraction. Furthermore, inflatable aeroshell decelerators provide the needed deceleration at considerably higher altitudes and Mach numbers when compared with conventional rigid aeroshell entry systems. Inflatable aeroshells also provide for stowage in a compact space, with subsequent deployment of a large-area, lightweight heatshield to survive entry heating. Use of a deployable heatshield decelerator enables an increase in the spacecraft payload mass fraction and may eliminate the need for a spacecraft backshell.

On the impact of relatedness on SNP association analysis.

PubMed

Gross, Arnd; Tönjes, Anke; Scholz, Markus

2017-12-06

When testing for SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) associations in related individuals, observations are not independent. Simple linear regression assuming independent normally distributed residuals results in an increased type I error and the power of the test is also affected in a more complicate manner. Inflation of type I error is often successfully corrected by genomic control. However, this reduces the power of the test when relatedness is of concern. In the present paper, we derive explicit formulae to investigate how heritability and strength of relatedness contribute to variance inflation of the effect estimate of the linear model. Further, we study the consequences of variance inflation on hypothesis testing and compare the results with those of genomic control correction. We apply the developed theory to the publicly available HapMap trio data (N=129), the Sorbs (a self-contained population with N=977 characterised by a cryptic relatedness structure) and synthetic family studies with different sample sizes (ranging from N=129 to N=999) and different degrees of relatedness. We derive explicit and easily to apply approximation formulae to estimate the impact of relatedness on the variance of the effect estimate of the linear regression model. Variance inflation increases with increasing heritability. Relatedness structure also impacts the degree of variance inflation as shown for example family structures. Variance inflation is smallest for HapMap trios, followed by a synthetic family study corresponding to the trio data but with larger sample size than HapMap. Next strongest inflation is observed for the Sorbs, and finally, for a synthetic family study with a more extreme relatedness structure but with similar sample size as the Sorbs. Type I error increases rapidly with increasing inflation. However, for smaller significance levels, power increases with increasing inflation while the opposite holds for larger significance levels. When genomic control is applied, type I error is preserved while power decreases rapidly with increasing variance inflation. Stronger relatedness as well as higher heritability result in increased variance of the effect estimate of simple linear regression analysis. While type I error rates are generally inflated, the behaviour of power is more complex since power can be increased or reduced in dependence on relatedness and the heritability of the phenotype. Genomic control cannot be recommended to deal with inflation due to relatedness. Although it preserves type I error, the loss in power can be considerable. We provide a simple formula for estimating variance inflation given the relatedness structure and the heritability of a trait of interest. As a rule of thumb, variance inflation below 1.05 does not require correction and simple linear regression analysis is still appropriate.

Pseudo-malfunction of the Coloplast Titan Inflatable Penile Prosthesis One-Touch Release Pump.

PubMed

Garber, Bruce B; Khurgin, Jacob L; Stember, Doron S; Perito, Paul E

2014-10-01

To define and describe a type of pseudo-malfunction of the Coloplast Titan Inflatable Penile Prosthesis (IPP) One-Touch Release (OTR) pump (Coloplast Corp, Minneapolis, MN). We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of 550 patients with refractory organic erectile dysfunction who were implanted with a Coloplast Titan IPP with the OTR pump during a period of approximately 4 years. All patients were implanted using standard techniques through an infrapubic or penoscrotal approach. Twenty-nine patients (5.3%) complained that their IPP would not inflate and that the pump bulb felt "hard." Examination revealed that their IPP was working normally; however, the inflate/deflate valve disc had become stuck in the deflate position. Very firm pressure had to be applied to the pump bulb to move the valve disc into the inflate position. Once this was accomplished, the device inflated and deflated normally. Another 14 patients (2.5%) reported this phenomenon to us but were able to apply enough pressure on the pump bulb to rectify it. The inflate/deflate valve disc in the Coloplast Titan OTR pump can occasionally become stuck in the deflate position (7.8% of patients in our experience). Patients may be unable to inflate the device and return for evaluation. In all cases we have encountered, firm pressure on the pump bulb caused the valve to shift into the inflate position, and the device worked properly thereafter. Patients and implanting urologists should be aware of this issue and of the way in which it can be rectified. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The HIAD stands for Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerato

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-05-31

The HIAD stands for Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, an inflatable spacecraft technology that allows payloads to survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry. This photo was taken at NASA Langley in Building 1250 when sensors were being applied.

The HIAD stands for Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerato

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-25

The HIAD stands for Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, an inflatable spacecraft technology that allows payloads to survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry. This photo was taken at NASA Langley in Building 1250 when sensors were being applied.

Cuff inflation-supplemented laryngoscope-guided nasal intubation: a comparison of three endotracheal tubes.

PubMed

Kumar, Rakesh; Gupta, Ekta; Kumar, Sunil; Rani Sharma, Kavita; Rani Gupta, Neera

2013-03-01

Softer endotracheal (ET) tubes are more difficult to navigate in the oropharynx than the stiffer polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes during nasotracheal intubation (NTI). Cuff inflation has been used to guide PVC tubes into the laryngeal inlet during blind NTI, but it has not been tested when performing NTI under direct laryngoscopic guidance. We assessed the role of cuff inflation in improving oropharyngeal navigation of 3 ET tubes of varying stiffness during direct laryngoscope-guided NTI. Simultaneously, we also assessed and compared the nasotracheal navigability and incidence of nasal injury with these ET tubes during cuff inflation-supplemented, laryngoscope-guided NTI. One hundred sixty-two adults were randomized to undergo NTI with either a conventional PVC (n = 54), wire reinforced (WR; n = 54) or a silicone-tipped WR (SWR; n = 54) ET tube. Ease of insertion of these tubes was assessed during passage from nose into oropharynx, from oropharynx into laryngeal inlet aided by cuff inflation if needed, and from laryngeal inlet into trachea. Nasal morbidity was assessed by a blinded observer. All ET tubes could be inserted into the trachea. Seventy-one of 162 ET tubes could be inserted from the oropharynx into the laryngeal inlet without cuff inflation. Eighty-six of the remaining 91 tubes that did not enter the laryngeal inlet without cuff inflation could be inserted when using the cuff inflation technique. Thus, a total of 157 ET tubes could be inserted into the laryngeal inlet with cuff inflation (95% confidence interval of difference of proportions between total number of tubes passed [157] and those without cuff inflation [71]: 53% [45%-61%]). The remaining 5 tubes had to be inserted with the help of Magill forceps. The incidence of epistaxis was lowest with the SWR tube (difference of proportions [95% confidence interval] SWR versus PVC 27% [8%-45%]; SWR versus WR 20% [1%-38%]; WR versus PVC 7% [-12% to 26%]). The cuff inflation technique consistently improved the oropharyngeal insertion of the 3 ET tubes of varying stiffness during direct laryngoscope-guided NTI. Supplemented with the cuff inflation technique, the SWR ET tube seems to be better than the PVC and WR ET tubes in terms of complete nasotracheal navigability and less perioperative nasal injury.

Tribrid Inflation in Supergravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antusch, Stefan; Dutta, Koushik; Kostka, Philipp M.

We propose a novel class of F-term hybrid inflation models in supergravity (SUGRA) where the η-problem is resolved using either a Heisenberg symmetry or a shift symmetry of the Kähler potential. In addition to the inflaton and the waterfall field, this class (referred to as tribrid inflation) contains a third "driving" field which contributes the large vacuum energy during inflation by its F-term. In contrast to the "standard" hybrid scenario, it has several attractive features due to the property of vanishing inflationary superpotential (Winf = 0) during inflation. Quantum corrections induced by symmetry breaking terms in the superpotential generate a slope of the potential and lead to a spectral tilt consistent with recent WMAP observations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Yi; Xue, Wei, E-mail: yw366@cam.ac.uk, E-mail: wei.xue@sissa.it

We study the tilt of the primordial gravitational waves spectrum. A hint of blue tilt is shown from analyzing the BICEP2 and POLARBEAR data. Motivated by this, we explore the possibilities of blue tensor spectra from the very early universe cosmology models, including null energy condition violating inflation, inflation with general initial conditions, and string gas cosmology, etc. For the simplest G-inflation, blue tensor spectrum also implies blue scalar spectrum. In general, the inflation models with blue tensor spectra indicate large non-Gaussianities. On the other hand, string gas cosmology predicts blue tensor spectrum with highly Gaussian fluctuations. If further experimentsmore » do confirm the blue tensor spectrum, non-Gaussianity becomes a distinguishing test between inflation and alternatives.« less

Sharp predictions from eternal inflation patches in D-brane inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hertog, Thomas; Janssen, Oliver, E-mail: thomas.hertog@fys.kuleuven.be, E-mail: opj202@nyu.edu

We numerically generate the six-dimensional landscape of D3-brane inflation and identify patches of eternal inflation near sufficiently flat inflection points of the potential. We show that reasonable measures that select patches of eternal inflation in the landscape yield sharp predictions for the spectral properties of primordial perturbations on observable scales. These include a scalar tilt of .936, a running of the scalar tilt −.00103, undetectably small tensors and non-Gaussianity, and no observable spatial curvature. Our results explicitly demonstrate that precision cosmology probes the combination of the statistical properties of the string landscape and the measure implied by the universe's quantummore » state.« less

Homogeneous cosmological models and new inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Michael S.; Widrow, Lawrence M.

1986-01-01

The promise of the inflationary-universe scenario is to free the present state of the universe from extreme dependence upon initial data. Paradoxically, inflation is usually analyzed in the context of the homogeneous and isotropic Robertson-Walker cosmological models. It is shown that all but a small subset of the homogeneous models undergo inflation. Any initial anisotropy is so strongly damped that if sufficient inflation occurs to solve the flatness and horizon problems, the universe today would still be very isotropic.

A horizontal inflatable habitat for SEI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kennedy, Kriss J.

The inflatable habitat described in this paper is a horizontally-oriented cylindrical pneumatic structure. It is part of NASA's ongoing effort to study inflatables as alternative habitats for the Space Exploration Initiative. This inflatable habitat provides a living and working environment for a crew of 12. It is an 8-m diameter by 45.34-m cylinder containing 2145 cu m of volume. Two levels of living and working areas make up the 547 sq m of floor space.

Probable or improbable universe? Correlating electroweak vacuum instability with the scale of inflation

DOE PAGES

Hook, Anson; Kearney, John; Shakya, Bibhushan; ...

2015-01-13

Measurements of the Higgs boson and top quark masses indicate that the Standard Model Higgs potential becomes unstable around Λ I ~ 10 11 GeV. This instability is cosmologically relevant since quantum fluctuations during inflation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum if the Hubble parameter during inflation is larger than Λ I (as preferred by the recent BICEP 2 measurement). Here, we perform a careful study of the evolution of the Higgs field during inflation, obtaining different results from those currently in the literature. We consider both tunneling via a Coleman-de Luccia or Hawking-Moss instanton, valid when the scale ofmore » inflation is below the instability scale, as well as a statistical treatment via the Fokker-Planck equation appropriate in the opposite regime. We show that a better understanding of the post-inflation evolution of the unstable AdS vacuum regions is crucial for determining the eventual fate of the universe. If these AdS regions devour all of space, a universe like ours is indeed extremely unlikely without new physics to stabilize the Higgs potential; however, if these regions crunch, our universe survives, but inflation must last a few e-folds longer to compensate for the lost AdS regions. Lastly, we examine the effects of generic Planck-suppressed corrections to the Higgs potential, which can be sufficient to stabilize the electroweak vacuum during inflation.« less

Regulation of exocytotic fusion by cell inflation.

PubMed Central

Solsona, C; Innocenti, B; Fernández, J M

1998-01-01

We have inflated patch-clamped mast cells by 3.8 +/- 1.6 times their volume by applying a hydrostatic pressure of 5-15 cm H2O to the interior of the patch pipette. Inflation did not cause changes in the cell membrane conductance and caused only a small reversible change in the cell membrane capacitance (36 +/- 5 fF/cm H2O). The specific cell membrane capacitance of inflated cells was found to be 0.5 microF/cm2. High-resolution capacitance recordings showed that inflation reduced the frequency of exocytotic fusion events by approximately 70-fold, with the remaining fusion events showing an unusual time course. Shortly after the pressure was returned to 0 cm H2O, mast cells regained their normal size and appearance and degranulated completely, even after remaining inflated for up to 60 min. We interpret these observations as an indication that inflated mast cells reversibly disassemble the structures that regulate exocytotic fusion. Upon returning to its normal size, the cell cytosol reassembles the fusion pore scaffolds and allows exocytosis to proceed, suggesting that exocytotic fusion does not require soluble proteins. Reassembly of the fusion pore can be prevented by inflating the cells with solutions containing the protease pronase, which completely blocked exocytosis. We also interpret these results as evidence that the activity of the fusion pore is sensitive to the tension of the plasma membrane. PMID:9533718

Cardiovascular effects of anti-G suit inflation at 1 and 2 G.

PubMed

Montmerle, Stéphanie; Linnarsson, Dag

2005-06-01

We sought to determine to which pressure a full-coverage anti-G suit needs to be inflated in order to obtain the same stroke volume during a brief exposure to twice the normal gravity (2 G) as that at 1 G without anti-G suit inflation. Nine sitting subjects were studied at normal (1 G) and during 20 s of exposure to 2 G. They wore anti-G suits, which were inflated at both G-levels to the following target pressures: 0, 70, 140 and 210 mmHg. Stroke volume was computed from cardiac output, which was measured by rebreathing. Heart rate and mean arterial pressure at heart level were recorded. Inflation to 70 mmHg compensated for the decrease in stroke volume and cardiac output caused by hypergravity. Mean arterial pressure at heart level was comparable at 1 G and at 2 G and increased gradually and similarly with inflation (P<0.001) at both gravity levels. Thus, anti-G suits act by increasing both preload and afterload but the two effects counteract each other in terms of cardiac output, so that cardiac output at 2 G is maintained at its 1 G level. This effect is reached already at 70 mmHg of inflation. Greater inflation pressure further increases mean arterial pressure at heart level and compensates for the increased difference in hydrostatic pressure between heart and head in moderate hypergravity.

Comparison of Dynamic Characteristics for an Inflatable Solar Concentrator in Atmospheric and Thermal Vacuum Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slade, Kara N.; Tinker, Michael L.; Lassiter, John O.; Engberg, Robert

2000-01-01

Dynamic testing of an inflatable solar concentrator structure in a thermal vacuum chamber as well as in ambient laboratory conditions is described in detail. Unique aspects of modal testing for the extremely lightweight inflatable are identified, including the use of a noncontacting laser vibrometer measurement system. For the thermal vacuum environment, mode shapes and frequency response functions are compared for three different test article inflation pressures at room temperature. Modes that persist through all the inflation pressure regimes are identified, as well as modes that are unique for each pressure. In atmospheric pressure and room temperature conditions, dynamic measurements were obtained for the expected operational inflation pressure of 0.5 psig. Experimental mode shapes and frequency response functions for ambient conditions are described and compared to the 0.5 psig results from the thermal vacuum tests. Only a few mode shapes were identified that occurred in both vacuum and atmospheric environments. This somewhat surprising result is discussed in detail, and attributed at least partly to 1.) large differences in modal damping, and 2.) significant differences in the mass of air contained by the structure, in the two environments. Results of this investigation point out the necessity of testing inflatable space structures in vacuum conditions before they can be launched. Ground testing in atmospheric pressure is not sufficient for predicting on-orbit dynamics of non-rigidized inflatable systems.

Tax revenue and inflation rate predictions in Banda Aceh using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maulia, Eva; Miftahuddin; Sofyan, Hizir

2018-05-01

A country has some important parameters to achieve the welfare of the economy, such as tax revenues and inflation. One of the largest revenues of the state budget in Indonesia comes from the tax sector. Besides, the rate of inflation occurring in a country can be used as one measure, to measure economic problems that the country facing. Given the importance of tax revenue and inflation rate control in achieving economic prosperity, it is necessary to analyze the relationship and forecasting tax revenue and inflation rate. VECM (Vector Error Correction Model) was chosen as the method used in this research, because of the data used in the form of multivariate time series data. This study aims to produce a VECM model with optimal lag and to predict the tax revenue and inflation rate of the VECM model. The results show that the best model for data of tax revenue and the inflation rate in Banda Aceh City is VECM with 3rd optimal lag or VECM (3). Of the seven models formed, there is a significant model that is the acceptance model of income tax. The predicted results of tax revenue and the inflation rate in Kota Banda Aceh for the next 6, 12 and 24 periods (months) obtained using VECM (3) are considered valid, since they have a minimum error value compared to other models.

Blood pressure measurement with the tail-cuff method in Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats: influence of adrenergic- and nitric oxide-mediated vasomotion.

PubMed

Fritz, M; Rinaldi, G

2008-01-01

Systolic blood pressure (SBP) is still measured in rats by the tail-cuff method, allowing readings when pulse/flow disappears during cuff inflation and reappears during deflation, separated by a compression interval. Although cuff deflation is habitually used to estimate SBP, we found cuff deflation-cuff inflation pressure to be usually negative, indicating that cuff deflation pressure < cuff inflation pressure. SBP was measured in 226 male Wistar and SHR utilizing compression intervals of different durations, and also pharmacological interventions intended to modulate the cuff deflation-cuff inflation cycle. Direct, simultaneous intravascular measurements were also performed in some animals. With compression interval congruent with 15 s, cuff deflation-cuff inflation was--6 +/- 0.6 mmHg in 73 Wistar and--6 +/- 1.4 mmHg in 51 SHR. Lengthening compression interval up to 4 min increased cuff deflation-cuff inflation pressure significantly to--27 +/- 3 mmHg in Wistar and to - 31 +/- 5 mmHg in SHR, suggesting accumulation of a vasodilating mediator. This increase of cuff deflation-cuff inflation pressure was prevented by papaverine (totally in Wistar, partially in SHR), indicating its dependence on vasodilatory capacity. Adrenergic blockade decreased cuff deflation-cuff inflation pressure to--13 +/- 5 mmHg (P < 0.05) in SHR, but had no effect in Wistar rats. Injection of L-NAME decreased cuff deflation-cuff inflation pressure to--5 +/- 2 mmHg (P < 0.05) in Wistar rats but was ineffective in SHR. Simultaneous measurements by tail-cuff method and carotid cannulation revealed that the cuff inflation most accurately estimated the intravascular SBP. 1) Cuff inflation measurements should be considered representative of SBP, as cuff deflation can underestimate SBP depending on compression interval duration, 2) nitric oxide accumulation due to flow deprivation is the main cause of SBP underestimation by cuff deflation in Wistar, and 3) in SHR, nitric oxide effects were minimal, and sympathetic activation plus physical factors seemed to predominate in the determining the outcome of measurements.

Dynamic Characterization of an Inflatable Concentrator for Solar Thermal Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leigh, Larry; Hamidzadeh, Hamid; Tinker, Michael L.; Rodriguez, Pedro I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

An inflatable structural system that is a technology demonstrator for solar thermal propulsion and other applications is characterized for structural dynamic behavior both experimentally and computationally. The inflatable structure is a pressurized assembly developed for use in orbit to support a Fresnel lens or inflatable lenticular element for focusing sunlight into a solar thermal rocket engine. When the engine temperature reaches a pre-set level, the propellant is injected into the engine, absorbs heat from an exchanger, and is expanded through the nozzle to produce thrust. The inflatable structure is a passively adaptive system in that a regulator and relief valve are utilized to maintain pressure within design limits during the full range of orbital conditions. Modeling and test activities are complicated by the fact that the polyimide film material used for construction of the inflatable is nonlinear, with modulus varying as a function of frequency, temperature, and level of excitation. Modal vibration testing and finite element modeling are described in detail in this paper. The test database is used for validation and modification of the model. This work is highly significant because of the current interest in inflatable structures for space application, and because of the difficulty in accurately modeling such systems.

Folded inflatable protective device and method for making same

DOEpatents

Behr, V.L.; Nelsen, J.M.; Gwinn, K.W.

1998-10-20

An apparatus and method are disclosed for making an inflatable protective device made of lightweight material that can withstand the initial stress from inflation and enhance radial inflation. The device includes a cushion and an inflator port. The invention further includes several stacks of folded cushion material including a combination of full-width stacks and half-width stacks: a first full-width stack defined by one or more fan folds in a first lateral half of the cushion wherein the folds are substantially centered above a first center line and are substantially over the inflator port; a second full-width stack defined by one or more fan folds in a second lateral half of the cushion wherein the folds are substantially centered above the first center line and substantially over the inflator port in the first full-width stack; a first half-width stack defined by a plurality of fan folds in the bottom of the cushion where neither edge of each fold extends substantially over the second center line; and a second half-width stack defined by a plurality of fan folds in the top of the cushion wherein neither edge of each fold extends substantially over the second center line. 22 figs.

Folded inflatable protective device and method for making same

DOEpatents

Behr, Vance L.; Nelsen, James M.; Gwinn, Kenneth W.

1998-01-01

An apparatus and method for making an inflatable protective device made of lightweight material that can withstand the initial stress from inflation and enhance radial inflation. The device includes a cushion and an inflator port. The invention further includes several stacks of folded cushion material including a combination of full-width stacks and half-width stacks: a first full-width stack defined by one or more fan folds in a first lateral half of the cushion wherein the folds are substantially centered above a first center line and are substantially over the inflator port; a second full-width stack defined by one or more fan folds in a second lateral half of the cushion wherein the folds are substantially centered above the first center line and substantially over the inflator port in the first full-width stack; a first half-width stack defined by a plurality of fan folds in the bottom of the cushion where neither edge of each fold extends substantially over the second center line; and a second half-width stack defined by a plurality of fan folds in the top of the cushion wherein neither edge of each fold extends substantially over the second center line.

The effect of cuff presence and cuff inflation on airway pressure in a canine tracheostomy tube model.

PubMed

Wignall, Jamie R; Baines, Stephen J

2014-01-01

To evaluate the effect of cuff presence and cuff inflation on airway pressure in an inspiratory model of canine tracheostomy. Ex vivo experimental study. Cadaver tracheas from Beagle dogs were attached aborally to a vacuum. Airway pressure and flow rate was measured before and after placement of tracheostomy tubes. None. Adult uncuffed tubes and cuffed tracheostomy tubes (sizes 4, 6, 8, and 10) were placed within tracheas. Cuffs were investigated without inflation and at maximum cuff inflation. Airway pressure was measured at constant airflow rates at 30 and 60 L/min. At set flow rates, airway pressures of tracheostomy tubes were compared to the intact trachea. A size 4 uncuffed tracheostomy tube showed the lowest airway pressure and a size 4 cuffed trachestomy tube with inflation showed the highest airway pressures. For sizes 6, 8, and 10 tubes, the presence of a cuff with and without inflation significantly increased airway pressure. Inflation of a cuff always significantly increased airway pressure. Similar pressure is seen between sizes 4 and 6 uncuffed tubes. Cuffed tracheostomy tubes should not be used unless specifically indicated due to increased airway pressure. © Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2013.

Hill crossing during preheating after hilltop inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antusch, Stefan; Nolde, David; Orani, Stefano, E-mail: stefan.antusch@unibas.ch, E-mail: david.nolde@unibas.ch, E-mail: stefano.orani@unibas.ch

2015-06-01

In ''hilltop inflation'', inflation takes place when the inflaton field slowly rolls from close to a maximum of its potential (i.e. the ''hilltop'') towards its minimum. When the inflaton potential is associated with a phase transition, possible topological defects produced during this phase transition, such as domain walls, are efficiently diluted during inflation. It is typically assumed that they also do not reform after inflation, i.e. that the inflaton field stays on its side of the ''hill'', finally performing damped oscillations around the minimum of the potential. In this paper we study the linear and the non-linear phases of preheatingmore » after hilltop inflation. We find that the fluctuations of the inflaton field during the tachyonic oscillation phase grow strong enough to allow the inflaton field to form regions in position space where it crosses ''over the top of the hill'' towards the ''wrong vacuum''. We investigate the formation and behaviour of these overshooting regions using lattice simulations: rather than durable domain walls, these regions form oscillon-like structures (i.e. localized bubbles that oscillate between the two vacua) which should be included in a careful study of preheating in hilltop inflation.« less

Self-unitarization of New Higgs Inflation and compatibility with Planck and BICEP2 data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Germani, Cristiano; Wintergerst, Nico; Watanabe, Yuki, E-mail: cristiano.germani@lmu.de, E-mail: watanabe@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: nico.wintergerst@physik.lmu.de

2014-12-01

In this paper we show that the Germani-Kehagias model of Higgs inflation (or New Higgs Inflation), where the Higgs boson is kinetically non-minimally coupled to the Einstein tensor is in perfect compatibility with the latest Planck and BICEP2 data. Moreover, we show that the tension between the Planck and BICEP2 data can be relieved within the New Higgs inflation scenario by a negative running of the spectral index. Regarding the unitarity of the model, we argue that it is unitary throughout the evolution of the Universe. Weak couplings in the Higgs-Higgs and Higgs-graviton sectors are provided by a large backgroundmore » dependent cut-off scale during inflation. In the same regime, the W and Z gauge bosons acquire a very large mass, thus decouple. On the other hand, if they are also non-minimally coupled to the Higgs boson, their effective masses can be enormously reduced. In this case, the W and Z bosons are no longer decoupled. After inflation, the New Higgs model is well approximated by a quartic Galileon with a renormalizable potential. We argue that this can unitarily create the right conditions for inflation to eventually start.« less

Air Tight: Building Inflatables/Inflatable Construction: Planning and Details

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Kriss J.

2016-01-01

A design-build seminar consisting of students from Physics, Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Robotic, Material Science, Art, and Architecture who will work together on a deployable "closed-loop" inflatable greenhouse for Mars in theory, and an Earth analogue physical mockup on campus.

A Methane Balloon Inflation Chamber

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Czerwinski, Curtis J.; Cordes, Tanya J.; Franek, Joe

2005-01-01

The various equipments, procedure and hazards in constructing the device for inflating a methane balloon using a standard methane outlet in a laboratory are described. This device is fast, safe, inexpensive, and easy to use as compared to a hydrogen gas cylinder for inflating balloons.

The inflation sector of extended inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolb, Edward W.

1991-01-01

In extended inflation, the inflationary era is brought to a close by the process of percolation of true vacuum bubbles produced in a first-order phase transition. This paper discusses several effects that might obtain if the universe undergoes an inflationary first-order phase transition.

77 FR 9859 - Lifesaving Equipment: Production Testing and Harmonization With International Standards

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-21

... inflatable buoyant apparatuses may be certified using either occupant weight standard. Likewise, equipment...-AB46 Lifesaving Equipment: Production Testing and Harmonization With International Standards AGENCY... lifesaving equipment to harmonize Coast Guard regulations for inflatable liferafts and inflatable buoyant...

46 CFR 115.808 - Lifesaving.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) Inspection of each life jacket, work vest, and marine buoyant device; (3) If used, inspection of the... of each inflatable liferaft, inflatable buoyant apparatus, and inflatable life jacket to determine... managing operator shall destroy, in the presence of the marine inspector, each life jacket, other personal...

Spectral analysis of a family of binary inflation rules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baake, Michael; Grimm, Uwe; Mañibo, Neil

2018-01-01

The family of primitive binary substitutions defined by 1 \\mapsto 0 \\mapsto 0 1^m with m\\in N is investigated. The spectral type of the corresponding diffraction measure is analysed for its geometric realisation with prototiles (intervals) of natural length. Apart from the well-known Fibonacci inflation (m=1 ), the inflation rules either have integer inflation factors, but non-constant length, or are of non-Pisot type. We show that all of them have singular diffraction, either of pure point type or essentially singular continuous.

Design and Characterization of a Space Based Chromotomographic Hyperspectral Imaging Experiment

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

shaker there are two sets of airbags . Underneath the side fixtures are two valves on each side of the shaker assembly which will be used during...the next step to inflate all 4 airbags . Watch closely to observe the side panels rise as the airbag inflates. Stop inflating when the panel is...2.12. RCM CONNECT the adapter to the hose and INFLATE all 4 airbags . _____2.13. RCM CONNECT the air supply to the shaker assembly. TURN ON air supply

D-term inflation, cosmic strings, and consistency with cosmic microwave background measurements.

PubMed

Rocher, Jonathan; Sakellariadou, Mairi

2005-01-14

Standard D-term inflation is studied in the framework of supergravity. D-term inflation produces cosmic strings; however, it can still be compatible with cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements without invoking any new physics. The cosmic strings contribution to the CMB data is not constant, nor dominant, contrary to some previous results. Using current CMB measurements, the free parameters (gauge and superpotential couplings, as well as the Fayet-Iliopoulos term) of D-term inflation are constrained.

Macroeconomic susceptibility, inflation, and aggregate supply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawkins, Raymond J.

2017-03-01

We unify aggregate-supply dynamics as a time-dependent susceptibility-mediated relationship between inflation and aggregate economic output. In addition to representing well various observations of inflation-output dynamics this parsimonious formalism provides a straightforward derivation of popular representations of aggregate-supply dynamics and a natural basis for economic-agent expectations as an element of inflation formation. Our formalism also illuminates questions of causality and time-correlation that challenge central banks for whom aggregate-supply dynamics is a key constraint in their goal of achieving macroeconomic stability.

Apparatus for measuring the finite load-deformation behavior of a sheet of epithelial cells cultured on a mesoscopic freestanding elastomer membrane.

PubMed

Selby, John C; Shannon, Mark A

2007-09-01

Details are given for the design, calibration, and operation of an apparatus for measuring the finite load-deformation behavior of a sheet of living epithelial cells cultured on a mesoscopic freestanding elastomer membrane, 10 microm thick and 5 mm in diameter. Although similar in concept to bulge tests used to investigate the mechanical properties of micromachined thin films, cell-elastomer composite diaphragm inflation tests pose a unique set of experimental challenges. Composite diaphragm (CD) specimens are extremely compliant (E<50 kPa), experience large displacements when subject to small inflation pressures (approximately 100 Pa), and must be continuously immersed in a bath of liquid culture medium during the acquisition of load-deformation measurements. Given these considerations, we have constructed an inflation apparatus consisting of an air-piston-cylinder pump integrated with a modular specimen mounting fixture that constitutes a horizontally semi-infinite reservoir of liquid culture medium. In a deformation-controlled inflation test, pressurized air is used to inflate a CD specimen into the liquid reservoir with minimum disturbance of the liquid-air interface. Piston displacements and absolute pump chamber air pressures are utilized as feedback to cycle the displaced (or inflated) CD volume V in a 0.05 Hz triangular or sinusoidal wave form (V(MIN)=0 microl, V(MAX)

Instrumentation for the Characterization of Inflatable Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, Gregory T.; Cassell, Alan M.; Johnson, R. Keith

2012-01-01

Current entry, descent, and landing technologies are not practical for heavy payloads due to mass and volume constraints dictated by limitations imposed by launch vehicle fairings. Therefore, new technologies are now being explored to provide a mass- and volume-efficient solution for heavy payload capabilities, including Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (IAD) [1]. Consideration of IADs for space applications has prompted the development of instrumentation systems for integration with flexible structures to characterize system response to flight-like environment testing. This development opportunity faces many challenges specific to inflatable structures in extreme environments, including but not limited to physical flexibility, packaging, temperature, structural integration and data acquisition [2]. In the spring of 2012, two large scale Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (HIAD) will be tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex s 40 by 80 wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. The test series will characterize the performance of a 3.0 m and 6.0 m HIAD at various angles of attack and levels of inflation during flight-like loading. To analyze the performance of these inflatable test articles as they undergo aerodynamic loading, many instrumentation systems have been researched and developed. These systems will utilize new experimental sensing systems developed by the HIAD ground test campaign instrumentation team, in addition to traditional wind tunnel sensing techniques in an effort to improve test article characterization and model validation. During the 2012 test series the instrumentation systems will target inflatable aeroshell static and dynamic deformation, structural strap loading, surface pressure distribution, localized skin deflection, and torus inflation pressure. This paper will offer an overview of inflatable structure instrumentation, and provide detail into the design and implementation of the sensors systems that will be utilized during the 2012 HIAD ground test campaign.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Epitope-Specific CD4+ T Cells Are Inflated in HIV+ CMV+ Subjects.

PubMed

Abana, Chike O; Pilkinton, Mark A; Gaudieri, Silvana; Chopra, Abha; McDonnell, Wyatt J; Wanjalla, Celestine; Barnett, Louise; Gangula, Rama; Hager, Cindy; Jung, Dae K; Engelhardt, Brian G; Jagasia, Madan H; Klenerman, Paul; Phillips, Elizabeth J; Koelle, David M; Kalams, Spyros A; Mallal, Simon A

2017-11-01

Select CMV epitopes drive life-long CD8 + T cell memory inflation, but the extent of CD4 memory inflation is poorly studied. CD4 + T cells specific for human CMV (HCMV) are elevated in HIV + HCMV + subjects. To determine whether HCMV epitope-specific CD4 + T cell memory inflation occurs during HIV infection, we used HLA-DR7 (DRB1*07:01) tetramers loaded with the glycoprotein B DYSNTHSTRYV (DYS) epitope to characterize circulating CD4 + T cells in coinfected HLA-DR7 + long-term nonprogressor HIV subjects with undetectable HCMV plasma viremia. DYS-specific CD4 + T cells were inflated among these HIV + subjects compared with those from an HIV - HCMV + HLA-DR7 + cohort or with HLA-DR7-restricted CD4 + T cells from the HIV-coinfected cohort that were specific for epitopes of HCMV phosphoprotein-65, tetanus toxoid precursor, EBV nuclear Ag 2, or HIV gag protein. Inflated DYS-specific CD4 + T cells consisted of effector memory or effector memory-RA + subsets with restricted TCRβ usage and nearly monoclonal CDR3 containing novel conserved amino acids. Expression of this near-monoclonal TCR in a Jurkat cell-transfection system validated fine DYS specificity. Inflated cells were polyfunctional, not senescent, and displayed high ex vivo levels of granzyme B, CX 3 CR1, CD38, or HLA-DR but less often coexpressed CD38 + and HLA-DR + The inflation mechanism did not involve apoptosis suppression, increased proliferation, or HIV gag cross-reactivity. Instead, the findings suggest that intermittent or chronic expression of epitopes, such as DYS, drive inflation of activated CD4 + T cells that home to endothelial cells and have the potential to mediate cytotoxicity and vascular disease. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Real-time imaging of inflation-induced ATP release in the ex vivo rat lung.

PubMed

Furuya, Kishio; Tan, Ju Jing; Boudreault, Francis; Sokabe, Masahiro; Berthiaume, Yves; Grygorczyk, Ryszard

2016-11-01

Extracellular ATP and other nucleotides are important autocrine/paracrine mediators that regulate diverse processes critical for lung function, including mucociliary clearance, surfactant secretion, and local blood flow. Cellular ATP release is mechanosensitive; however, the impact of physical stimuli on ATP release during breathing has never been tested in intact lungs in real time and remains elusive. In this pilot study, we investigated inflation-induced ATP release in rat lungs ex vivo by real-time luciferin-luciferase (LL) bioluminescence imaging coupled with simultaneous infrared tissue imaging to identify ATP-releasing sites. With LL solution introduced into air spaces, brief inflation of such edematous lung (1 s, ∼20 cmH 2 O) induced transient (<30 s) ATP release in a limited number of air-inflated alveolar sacs during their recruitment/opening. Released ATP reached concentrations of ∼10 -6 M, relevant for autocrine/paracrine signaling, but it remained spatially restricted to single alveolar sacs or their clusters. ATP release was stimulus dependent: prolonged (100 s) inflation evoked long-lasting ATP release that terminated upon alveoli deflation/derecruitment while cyclic inflation/suction produced cyclic ATP release. With LL introduced into blood vessels, inflation induced transient ATP release in many small patchlike areas the size of alveolar sacs. Findings suggest that inflation induces ATP release in both alveoli and the surrounding blood capillary network; the functional units of ATP release presumably consist of alveolar sacs or their clusters. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of real-time ATP release imaging in ex vivo lungs and provides the first direct evidence of inflation-induced ATP release in lung air spaces and in pulmonary blood capillaries, highlighting the importance of purinergic signaling in lung function. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Deployment and Drop Test of Inflatable Aeroshell for Atmospheric Entry Capsule with using Large Scientific Balloon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Kazuhiko; Suzuki, Kojiro; Honma, Naohiko; Abe, Daisuke; Makino, Hitoshi; Nagata, Yasunori; Kimura, Yusuke; Koyama, Masashi; Akita, Daisuke; Hayashi, Koichi; Abe, Takashi

A deployable and flexible aeroshell for atmospheric entry vehicles has attracted attention as an innovative space transportation system in the near future, because the large-area, low-mass aeroshell dramatically reduces aerodynamic heating and achieves a soft landing without a conventional parachute system thanks to its low ballistic coefficient. Various concepts of flexible aeroshell have been proposed in the past. Our group are researching and developing a flare-type membrane aeroshell sustained by inflatable torus. As a part of the development, a deployment and drop test of a capsule-type experimental vehicle with a 1.264-m-diameter flare-type membrane aeroshell sustained by inflatable torus was carried out using a large scientific balloon in August, 2009. The objectives of this experiment are 1) to demonstrate the remote inflation system of inflatable aeroshell, 2) to acquire aerodynamic performance of a low ballistic coefficient vehicle including an inflatable structure in subsonic region, and 3) to observe behavior and deformation of the flexible aeroshell during free flight. In this test, the inflatable aeroshell was deployed at an altitude 24.6km by radio command from ground station. After deployment, the experimental vehicle was dropped from the balloon and underwent free flight. The flight data and images of the aeroshell collected using onboard sensors were transmitted successfully during the flight by the telemetry system. The data showed that the vehicle was almost stable in free flight condition and the inflatable aeroshell was collapsed at expected altitude. This deployment and drop test was very successful and useful data for design of actual atmospheric-entry vehicles with inflatable structure was acquired as planned.

Premium inflation in the Irish private health insurance market: drivers and consequences.

PubMed

Turner, B

2013-12-01

Nearly half of the Irish population is covered by private health insurance. In recent years, premium inflation has been significantly ahead of overall inflation and has been accelerating. This has contributing to a drop in the numbers insured since the peak in 2008. The fall in the numbers with private health insurance also has implications for the public health system. Factors behind this premium inflation include rising charges for beds in public hospitals, increasing volume of treatments and increasing quality of service and cover. While some progress has been made by insurers on reducing fees paid to consultants and private hospitals, unless the quantity or quality of care are addressed then premium inflation is unlikely to abate.

No-scale inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellis, John; Garcia, Marcos A. G.; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V.; Olive, Keith A.

2016-05-01

Supersymmetry is the most natural framework for physics above the TeV scale, and the corresponding framework for early-Universe cosmology, including inflation, is supergravity. No-scale supergravity emerges from generic string compactifications and yields a non-negative potential, and is therefore a plausible framework for constructing models of inflation. No-scale inflation yields naturally predictions similar to those of the Starobinsky model based on R+{R}2 gravity, with a tilted spectrum of scalar perturbations: {n}s∼ 0.96, and small values of the tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio r\\lt 0.1, as favoured by Planck and other data on the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Detailed measurements of the CMB may provide insights into the embedding of inflation within string theory as well as its links to collider physics.

The deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator experiment aircraft looks good during a flig

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

The deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator experiment aircraft looks good during a flight conducted by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The inflatable wing project represented a basic flight research effort by Dryden personnel. Three successful flights of the I2000 inflatable wing aircraft occurred. During the flights, the team air-launched the radio-controlled (R/C) I2000 from an R/C utility airplane at an altitude of 800-1000 feet. As the I2000 separated from the carrier aircraft, its inflatable wings 'popped-out,' deploying rapidly via an on-board nitrogen bottle. The aircraft remained stable as it transitioned from wingless to winged flight. The unpowered I2000 glided down to a smooth landing under complete control.

Deployment Simulation of Ultra-Lightweight Inflatable Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, John T.; Johnson, Arthur R.

2002-01-01

Dynamic deployment analyses of folded inflatable tubes are conducted to investigate modeling issues related to the deployment of solar sail booms. The analyses are necessary because ground tests include gravity effects and may poorly represent deployment in space. A control volume approach, available in the LS-DYNA nonlinear dynamic finite element code, and the ideal gas law are used to simulate the dynamic inflation deployment process. Three deployment issues are investigated for a tube packaged in a Z-fold configuration. The issues are the effect of the rate of inflation, the effect of residual air, and the effect of gravity. The results of the deployment analyses reveal that the time and amount of inflation gas required to achieve a full deployment are related to these issues.

Accountability and Grade Inflation in a Rural School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Deborah Hayes; Holman, David M.

In an effort to hold schools accountable, Arkansas added grade inflation into the accountability system. The Arkansas Legislature mandated that the Arkansas Department of Education identify high schools with "statistically significant variance" between students' grade point averages (GPAs) and ACT performances. A grade inflation index…

46 CFR 160.151-25 - Additional equipment for inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Additional equipment for inflatable liferafts. 160.151-25 Section 160.151-25 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts (SOLAS...

34 CFR 36.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Secretary, Department of Education ADJUSTMENT OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR INFLATION § 36.1 Purpose. The purpose of this part is to make inflation adjustments to the civil monetary penalties within the... at least once every 4 years in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act...

Inflatable stretcher to transport patients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, C. C.; Gordon, F. T., Jr.; Schmidt, C. B.

1970-01-01

Inflatable plastic bag inside strong, inflexible outer bag facilitates emergency transport of seriously burned or disabled patients. When the bag is inflated the patient is completely immobilized and cushioned from external shock. Air for breathing, temperature controls and communications may be provided by appropriate plug-in connections.

Demystify Learning Expectations to Address Grade Inflation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, Linda C.

2014-01-01

This article describes the subject of "grade inflation," a reference to educators giving higher grades to student work than their expectations for student achievement warrant. Of the many reasons why this practice happens, Hodges specifically discusses inflating grades as "a natural consequence" when the faculty really…

46 CFR 108.545 - Marine evacuation system launching arrangements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... associated liferafts. Inflatable liferafts used in conjunction with the marine evacuation system must be stowed as follows: (1) Each inflatable liferaft used in conjunction with the marine evacuation system... platform. (2) Each inflatable liferaft used in conjunction with the marine evacuation system must be...

Wirelessly Controllable Inflated Electroactive Polymer (EAP) Reflectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Chang, Zensheu; Sherrit, Stewart; Badescu, Mircea

2005-01-01

Inflatable membrane reflectors are attractive for deployable, large aperture, lightweight optical and microwave systems in micro-gravity space environment. However, any fabrication flaw or temperature variation may results in significant aberration of the surface. Even for a perfectly fabricated inflatable membrane mirror with uniform thickness, theory shows it will form a Hencky curve surface but a desired parabolic or spherical surface. Precision control of the surfaceshape of extremely flexible membrane structures is a critical challenge for the success of this technology. Wirelessly controllable inflated reflectors made of electroactive polymers (EAP) are proposed in this paper. A finite element model was configured to predict the behavior of the inflatable EAP membranes under pre-strains, pressures and distributed electric charges on the surface. To explore the controllability of the inflatable EAP reflectors, an iteration algorism was developed to find the required electric actuation for correcting the aberration of the Hencky curve to the desired parabolic curve. The correction capability of the reflectors with available EAP materials was explored numerically and is presented in this paper.

Inflation with a constant rate of roll

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motohashi, Hayato; Starobinsky, Alexei A.; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

2015-09-01

We consider an inflationary scenario where the rate of inflaton roll defined by ̈phi/H dot phi remains constant. The rate of roll is small for slow-roll inflation, while a generic rate of roll leads to the interesting case of 'constant-roll' inflation. We find a general exact solution for the inflaton potential required for such inflaton behaviour. In this model, due to non-slow evolution of background, the would-be decaying mode of linear scalar (curvature) perturbations may not be neglected. It can even grow for some values of the model parameter, while the other mode always remains constant. However, this always occurs for unstable solutions which are not attractors for the given potential. The most interesting particular cases of constant-roll inflation remaining viable with the most recent observational data are quadratic hilltop inflation (with cutoff) and natural inflation (with an additional negative cosmological constant). In these cases even-order slow-roll parameters approach non-negligible constants while the odd ones are asymptotically vanishing in the quasi-de Sitter regime.

Interest and Inflation Risk: Investor Behavior

PubMed Central

González, María de la O; Jareño, Francisco; Skinner, Frank S.

2016-01-01

We examine investor behavior under interest and inflation risk in different scenarios. To that end, we analyze the relation between stock returns and unexpected changes in nominal and real interest rates and inflation for the US stock market. This relation is examined in detail by breaking the results down from the US stock market level to sector, sub-sector, and to individual industries as the ability of different industries to absorb unexpected changes in interest rates and inflation can vary by industry and by contraction and expansion sub-periods. While most significant relations are conventionally negative, some are consistently positive. This suggests some relevant implications on investor behavior. Thus, investments in industries with this positive relation can form a safe haven from unexpected changes in real and nominal interest rates. Gold has an insignificant beta during recessionary conditions hinting that Gold can be a safe haven during recessions. However, Gold also has a consistent negative relation to unexpected changes in inflation thereby damaging the claim that Gold is a hedge against inflation. PMID:27047418

Unemployment and inflation dynamics prior to the economic downturn of 2007-2008.

PubMed

Guastello, Stephen J; Myers, Adam

2009-10-01

This article revisits a long-standing theoretical issue as to whether a "natural rate" of unemployment exists in the sense of an exogenously driven fixed-point Walrasian equilibrium or attractor, or whether more complex dynamics such as hysteresis or chaos characterize an endogenous dynamical process instead. The same questions are posed regarding a possible natural rate of inflation along with an investigation of the actual relationship between inflation and unemployment for which extent theories differ. Time series of unemployment and inflation for US data - were analyzed using the exponential model series and nonlinear regression for capturing Lyapunov exponents and transfer effects from other variables. The best explanation for unemployment was that it is a chaotic variable that is driven in part by inflation. The best explanation for inflation is that it is also a chaotic variable driven in part by unemployment and the prices of treasury bills. Estimates of attractors' epicenters were calculated in lieu of classical natural rates.

Aerocapture Inflatable Decelerator (AID)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reza, Sajjad

2007-01-01

Forward Attached Inflatable Decelerators, more commonly known as inflatable aeroshells, provide an effective, cost efficient means of decelerating spacecrafts by using atmospheric drag for aerocapture or planetary entry instead of conventional liquid propulsion deceleration systems. Entry into planetary atmospheres results in significant heating and aerodynamic pressures which stress aeroshell systems to their useful limits. Incorporation of lightweight inflatable decelerator surfaces with increased surface-area footprints provides the opportunity to reduce heat flux and induced temperatures, while increasing the payload mass fraction. Furthermore, inflatable aeroshell decelerators provide the needed deceleration at considerably higher altitudes and Mach numbers when compared with conventional rigid aeroshell entry systems. Inflatable aeroshells also provide for stowage in a compact space, with subsequent deployment of a large-area, lightweight heatshield to survive entry heating. Use of a deployable heatshield decelerator not only enables an increase in the spacecraft payload mass fraction and but may also eliminate the need for a spacecraft backshell and cruise stage. This document is the viewgraph slides for the paper's presentation.

Mutated hilltop inflation revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pal, Barun Kumar

2018-05-01

In this work we re-investigate pros and cons of mutated hilltop inflation. Applying Hamilton-Jacobi formalism we solve inflationary dynamics and find that inflation goes on along the {W}_{-1} branch of the Lambert function. Depending on the model parameter mutated hilltop model renders two types of inflationary solutions: one corresponds to small inflaton excursion during observable inflation and the other describes large field inflation. The inflationary observables from curvature perturbation are in tune with the current data for a wide range of the model parameter. The small field branch predicts negligible amount of tensor to scalar ratio r˜ O(10^{-4}), while the large field sector is capable of generating high amplitude for tensor perturbations, r˜ O(10^{-1}). Also, the spectral index is almost independent of the model parameter along with a very small negative amount of scalar running. Finally we find that the mutated hilltop inflation closely resembles the α -attractor class of inflationary models in the limit of α φ ≫ 1.

Curvaton as dark matter with secondary inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gong, Jinn-Ouk; Kitajima, Naoya; Terada, Takahiro, E-mail: jinn-ouk.gong@apctp.org, E-mail: naoya.kitajima@apctp.org, E-mail: terada@kias.re.kr

2017-03-01

We consider a novel cosmological scenario in which a curvaton is long-lived and plays the role of cold dark matter (CDM) in the presence of a short, secondary inflation. Non-trivial evolution of the large scale cosmological perturbation in the curvaton scenario can affect the duration of the short term inflation, resulting in the inhomogeneous end of inflation. Non-linear parameters of the curvature perturbation are predicted to be f {sub NL} ≈ 5/4 and g {sub NL} ≈ 0. The curvaton abundance can be well diluted by the short-term inflation and accordingly, it does not have to decay into the Standardmore » Model particles. Then the curvaton can account for the present CDM with the isocurvature perturbation being sufficiently suppressed because both the adiabatic and CDM isocurvature perturbations have the same origin. As an explicit example, we consider the thermal inflation scenario and a string axion as a candidate for this curvaton-dark matter. We further discuss possibilities to identify the curvaton-dark matter with the QCD axion.« less

The interactive bending wrinkling behaviour of inflated beams

PubMed Central

Liu, Y. P.; Tan, H. F.; Wadee, M. K.

2016-01-01

A model is proposed based on a Fourier series method to analyse the interactive bending wrinkling behaviour of inflated beams. The whole wrinkling evolution is tracked and divided into three stages by identifying the bifurcations of the equilibrium path. The critical wrinkling and failure moments of the inflated beam can then be predicted. The global–local interactive buckling pattern is elucidated by the proposed theoretical model and also verified by non-contact experimental tests. The effects of geometric parameters, internal pressure and boundary conditions on the buckling of inflated beams are investigated finally. The results reveal that the interactive buckling characteristics of an inflated beam under bending are more sensitive to the dimensions of the structure and boundary conditions. We find that for beams which are simply supported at both ends or clamped and simply supported, boundary conditions may prevent the wrinkling formation. The results provide significant support for our understanding of the bending wrinkling behaviour of inflated beams. PMID:27713665

Interest and Inflation Risk: Investor Behavior.

PubMed

González, María de la O; Jareño, Francisco; Skinner, Frank S

2016-01-01

We examine investor behavior under interest and inflation risk in different scenarios. To that end, we analyze the relation between stock returns and unexpected changes in nominal and real interest rates and inflation for the US stock market. This relation is examined in detail by breaking the results down from the US stock market level to sector, sub-sector, and to individual industries as the ability of different industries to absorb unexpected changes in interest rates and inflation can vary by industry and by contraction and expansion sub-periods. While most significant relations are conventionally negative, some are consistently positive. This suggests some relevant implications on investor behavior. Thus, investments in industries with this positive relation can form a safe haven from unexpected changes in real and nominal interest rates. Gold has an insignificant beta during recessionary conditions hinting that Gold can be a safe haven during recessions. However, Gold also has a consistent negative relation to unexpected changes in inflation thereby damaging the claim that Gold is a hedge against inflation.

Explosive dome eruptions modulated by periodic gas-driven inflation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Jeffrey B.; Lyons, John; Andrews, B. J.; Lees, J.M.

2014-01-01

Volcan Santiaguito (Guatemala) “breathes” with extraordinary regularity as the edifice's conduit system accumulates free gas, which periodically vents to the atmosphere. Periodic pressurization controls explosion timing, which nearly always occurs at peak inflation, as detected with tiltmeters. Tilt cycles in January 2012 reveal regular 26 ± 6 min inflation/deflation cycles corresponding to at least ~101 kg/s of gas fluxing the system. Very long period (VLP) earthquakes presage explosions and occur during cycles when inflation rates are most rapid. VLPs locate ~300 m below the vent and indicate mobilization of volatiles, which ascend at ~50 m/s. Rapid gas ascent feeds pyroclast-laden eruptions lasting several minutes and rising to ~1 km. VLPs are not observed during less rapid inflation episodes; instead, gas vents passively through the conduit producing no infrasound and no explosion. These observations intimate that steady gas exsolution and accumulation in shallow reservoirs may drive inflation cycles at open-vent silicic volcanoes.

Eliminating the η-problem in SUGRA hybrid inflation with vector backreaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimopoulos, Konstantinos; Lazarides, George; Wagstaff, Jacques M.

2012-02-01

It is shown that, when the inflaton field modulates the gauge kinetic function of the gauge fields in supergravity realisations of inflation, the dynamic backreaction leads to a new inflationary attractor solution, in which the inflaton's variation suffers additional impedance. As a result, slow-roll inflation can naturally occur along directions of the scalar potential which would be too steep and curved to support it otherwise. This provides a generic solution to the infamous eta-problem of inflation in supergravity. Moreover, it is shown that, in the new inflationary attractor, the spectral index of the generated curvature perturbations is kept mildly red despite eta of order unity. The above findings are applied to a model of hybrid inflation in supergravity with a generic Kähler potential. The spectral index of the generated curvature perturbations is found to be 0.97-0.98, in excellent agreement with observations. The gauge field can play the role of the vector curvaton after inflation but observable statistical anisotropy requires substantial tuning of the gauge coupling.

Unified Computational Methods for Regression Analysis of Zero-Inflated and Bound-Inflated Data

PubMed Central

Yang, Yan; Simpson, Douglas

2010-01-01

Bounded data with excess observations at the boundary are common in many areas of application. Various individual cases of inflated mixture models have been studied in the literature for bound-inflated data, yet the computational methods have been developed separately for each type of model. In this article we use a common framework for computing these models, and expand the range of models for both discrete and semi-continuous data with point inflation at the lower boundary. The quasi-Newton and EM algorithms are adapted and compared for estimation of model parameters. The numerical Hessian and generalized Louis method are investigated as means for computing standard errors after optimization. Correlated data are included in this framework via generalized estimating equations. The estimation of parameters and effectiveness of standard errors are demonstrated through simulation and in the analysis of data from an ultrasound bioeffect study. The unified approach enables reliable computation for a wide class of inflated mixture models and comparison of competing models. PMID:20228950

Gravity waves and the LHC: towards high-scale inflation with low-energy SUSY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Temple; Kachru, Shamit; Westphal, Alexander

2010-06-01

It has been argued that rather generic features of string-inspired inflationary theories with low-energy supersymmetry (SUSY) make it difficult to achieve inflation with a Hubble scale H > m 3/2, where m 3/2 is the gravitino mass in the SUSY-breaking vacuum state. We present a class of string-inspired supergravity realizations of chaotic inflation where a simple, dynamical mechanism yields hierarchically small scales of post-inflationary supersymmetry breaking. Within these toy models we can easily achieve small ratios between m 3/2 and the Hubble scale of inflation. This is possible because the expectation value of the superpotential < W> relaxes from large to small values during the course of inflation. However, our toy models do not provide a reasonable fit to cosmological data if one sets the SUSY-breaking scale to m 3/2 ≤ TeV. Our work is a small step towards relieving the apparent tension between high-scale inflation and low-scale supersymmetry breaking in string compactifications.

Sustained inflation during neonatal resuscitation.

PubMed

Keszler, Martin

2015-04-01

Sustained inflation performed shortly after birth to help clear lung fluid and establish functional residual capacity in preterm infants is gaining popularity, but definitive evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. Although there is a sound physiologic basis for this approach, and much preclinical experimental evidence of effectiveness, the results of recent animal studies and clinical trials have been inconsistent. The most recent data from a multicenter randomized trial suggest a modest benefit of sustained inflation in reducing the need for mechanical ventilation in extremely-low-birth-weight infants. However, the impact may be more modest than earlier retrospective cohort comparisons suggested. The trend toward more airleak and a higher rate of intraventricular hemorrhage is worrisome. Sustained inflation may be ineffective unless some spontaneous respiratory effort is present. Several on-going trials should further clarify the putative benefits of sustained inflation. Delivery room sustained inflation is an attractive concept that holds much promise, but widespread clinical application should await definitive evidence from on-going clinical trials.

Flow and volume dependence of rat airway resistance during constant flow inflation and deflation.

PubMed

Rubini, Alessandro; Carniel, Emanuele Luigi; Parmagnani, Andrea; Natali, Arturo Nicola

2011-12-01

The aim of this study was to measure the flow and volume dependence of both the ohmic and the viscoelastic pressure dissipations of the normal rat respiratory system separately during inflation and deflation. The study was conducted in the Respiratory Physiology Laboratory in our institution. Measurements were obtained for Seven albino Wistar rats of both sexes by using the flow interruption method during constant flow inflations and deflations. Measurements included anesthesia induction, tracheostomy and positioning of a tracheal cannula, positive pressure ventilation, constant flow respiratory system inflations and deflations at two different volumes and flows. The ohmic resistance exhibited volume and flow dependence, decreasing with lung volume and increasing with flow rate, during both inflation and deflation. The stress relaxation-related viscoelastic resistance also exhibited volume and flow dependence. It decreased with the flow rate at a constant lung volume during both inflation and deflation, but exhibited a different behavior with the lung volume at a constant flow rate (i.e., increased during inflations and decreased during deflations). Thus, stress relaxation in the rat lungs exhibited a hysteretic behavior. The observed flow and volume dependence of respiratory system resistance may be predicted by an equation derived from a model of the respiratory system that consists of two distinct compartments. The equation agrees well with the experimental data and indicates that the loading time is the critical parameter on which stress relaxation depends, during both lung inflation and deflation.

14 CFR 13.301 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment § 13.301 Scope and purpose. (a) This subpart provides a mechanism for the regular adjustment for inflation of civil monetary penalties in conformity with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, 28 U.S.C. 2461...

18 CFR 385.1601 - Scope and purpose (Rule 1601).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Inflation Adjustment § 385.1601 Scope and purpose (Rule 1601). The purpose of this subpart is to make inflation adjustments to the civil monetary penalties provided by law within the jurisdiction of the... in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Act of 1990, as amended. ...

28 CFR 85.2 - Calculation of adjustment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 85.2 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 85.2 Calculation of adjustment. (a) The inflation adjustments described in § 85.3 were... Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-410. Any increase so determined was rounded to the nearest— (1...

48 CFR 201.109 - Statutory acquisition-related dollar thresholds-adjustment for inflation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Statutory acquisition-related dollar thresholds-adjustment for inflation. 201.109 Section 201.109 Federal Acquisition...-adjustment for inflation. (d) A matrix showing the most recent escalation adjustments of statutory...

46 CFR 506.1 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... MARITIME COMMISSION GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506... for inflation of civil monetary penalties and to adjust such penalties in conformity with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note), as amended by the Debt...

Inflation and Rural Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitt, David

Inflation is both a cause and consequence of changes in power and status. Competitive status activities create spiral situations which have an economic correlate. Ultimately, inflation leads to the creation of economically deprived and depressed social groups. Deflation can be achieved to some extent by redistribution of wealth dictated from…

32 CFR 269.3 - Civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment. 269.3 Section 269.3 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED) MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 269.3 Civil monetary...

21 CFR 878.3900 - Inflatable extremity splint.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Inflatable extremity splint. 878.3900 Section 878.3900 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 878.3900 Inflatable extremity...

21 CFR 878.3900 - Inflatable extremity splint.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Inflatable extremity splint. 878.3900 Section 878.3900 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 878.3900 Inflatable extremity...

21 CFR 878.3900 - Inflatable extremity splint.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Inflatable extremity splint. 878.3900 Section 878.3900 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 878.3900 Inflatable extremity...

21 CFR 878.3900 - Inflatable extremity splint.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Inflatable extremity splint. 878.3900 Section 878.3900 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 878.3900 Inflatable extremity...

21 CFR 878.3900 - Inflatable extremity splint.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Inflatable extremity splint. 878.3900 Section 878.3900 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 878.3900 Inflatable extremity...

Inflation Metaphor in the TIME Magazine Corpus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Chunyu; Liu, Huijie

2016-01-01

A historical perspective on economy metaphor can shed new lights on economic thoughts. Based on the TIME Magazine Corpus (TMC), this paper investigates inflation metaphor over 83 years and compares findings against the economic data over the relatively corresponding period. The results show how inflation, an abstract concept and a normal economic…

42 CFR 414.615 - Transition to the ambulance fee schedule.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... inflation factor for ambulance services. (b) 2003 Payment. For services furnished in CY 2003, payment is... inflation factor for ambulance services. (c) 2004 Payment. For services furnished in CY 2004, payment is... inflation factor for ambulance services. (d) 2005 Payment. For services furnished in CY 2005, payment is...

31 CFR 356.5 - What types of securities does the Treasury auction?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... part to distinguish such securities from “inflation-protected” securities. We refer to fixed-principal... years. (2) Treasury inflation-protected notes. (i) Are issued with a stated rate of interest to be applied to the inflation-adjusted principal on each interest payment date; (ii) Have interest payable...

46 CFR 133.145 - Marine evacuation system launching arrangements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... liferafts. Inflatable liferafts used in conjunction with the marine evacuation system must be stowed as follows: (1) Each inflatable liferaft used in conjunction with the marine evacuation system must be close.... (2) Each inflatable liferaft used in conjunction with the marine evacuation system must be capable of...

Therapeutic Play at Inflatable Playgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yavorcik, Carin

2009-01-01

The environment at indoor inflatable playgrounds, featuring giant bounce houses and slides, can become an ideal place for children with autism to receive helpful sensations. This is the reasoning behind Sensory Nights hosted by the Autism Society of America and Pump It Up, a national franchise of giant, indoor inflatable playgrounds. The private…

Relationships of Declining Test Scores and Grade Inflation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bellott, Fred K.

The relationship between declining scores on national standardized tests and grade inflation is explored. Grade inflation refers to the indicated measure of evaluation of student performance having higher placement than is usual based on the performances. Data for this study were taken from the American College Testing (ACT) Program Class Profile…

Teaching Inflation Targeting: An Analysis for Intermediate Macro.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Carl E.

2002-01-01

States many central banks have adopted policies known as inflation targeting. Declares that students need experience with the implications of these policies. Provides a simple graphical device involving the output gap and the inflation rate to overcome these problems that can be used to teach intermediate macroeconomics students about inflation…

31 CFR 359.11 - What is the semiannual inflation rate?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., will be expressed as a percentage, rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent. More specifically, the semiannual inflation rate will be determined by the following formula (the resulting rate will be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent): Semiannual inflation rate = (CPI...

31 CFR 359.11 - What is the semiannual inflation rate?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., will be expressed as a percentage, rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent. More specifically, the semiannual inflation rate will be determined by the following formula (the resulting rate will be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent): Semiannual inflation rate = (CPI...

31 CFR 359.11 - What is the semiannual inflation rate?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., will be expressed as a percentage, rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent. More specifically, the semiannual inflation rate will be determined by the following formula (the resulting rate will be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent): Semiannual inflation rate = (CPI...

31 CFR 359.11 - What is the semiannual inflation rate?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., will be expressed as a percentage, rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent. More specifically, the semiannual inflation rate will be determined by the following formula (the resulting rate will be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent): Semiannual inflation rate = (CPI...

31 CFR 359.11 - What is the semiannual inflation rate?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., will be expressed as a percentage, rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent. More specifically, the semiannual inflation rate will be determined by the following formula (the resulting rate will be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent): Semiannual inflation rate = (CPI...

Analyzing Inflation and Its Control: A Resource Guide. Economics-Political Science Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salemi, Michael K.; Leak, Sarah

Background information for teachers on inflation and self-contained learning activities to help students view inflation from both economic and political perspectives are provided. The introduction contains economics and political science frameworks for analyzing policy issues. How to integrate economics and political science is also discussed.…

Updates in inflatable penile prostheses.

PubMed

Henry, Gerard D; Wilson, Steven K

2007-11-01

Throughout history, many attempts to correct erectile dysfunction (ED) have been recorded. For the last 35 years, intracavernosal inflatable prostheses have been used, and these devices have undergone almost constant enhancement. The three-piece inflatable penile prosthesis has the highest patient satisfaction rates and lowest mechanical revision rates of almost any medically implanted device.

Grade Inflation: An Issue for Higher Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caruth, Donald L.; Caruth, Gail D.

2013-01-01

Grade inflation impacts university credibility, student courses of study, choices of institution, and other areas. There has been an upward shift in grades without a corresponding upward shift in knowledge gained. Some of the most frequently mentioned causes of grade inflation are: (1) student evaluations of professors; (2) student teacher…

77 FR 19937 - Inflatable Personal Flotation Devices

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-03

... Advancement Act OMB Office of Management and Budget PFD Personal flotation device STP Standards Technical... using existing inflatable PFDs, and would enable marketing of existing inflatable PFDs to youth. The... approved, and thus does not affect the availability, use, or marketing of existing PFDs to or by the youth...

77 FR 52252 - Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Inflation Adjustment of Threshold for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-29

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Acquisition Regulations System 48 CFR Parts 201 and 212 RIN 0750-AH65 Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Inflation Adjustment of Threshold for... respondent concurred with the inflation threshold increase listed at DFARS 212.271. There were no comments...

75 FR 72935 - Revisions to the Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment Tables

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-29

...-0237; Amendment No. 13-35] RIN 2120-AJ50 Revisions to the Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment Tables... for inflation the minimum and maximum civil monetary penalty amounts the FAA may impose for violations... penalties. The adjustments are made following a formula provided by Congress. DATES: This amendment becomes...

Inevitable inflation in Einstein-Cartan theory with improved energy-momentum tensor with spin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fennelly, A. J.; Bradas, James C.; Smalley, Larry L.

1988-01-01

Generalized, or power-law, inflation is shown to necessarily exist for a simple, anisotropic, (Bianchi Type-1) cosmology in the Einstein-Cartan gravitational theory with the Ray-Smalley improved energy momentum tensor with spin. Formal solution of the EC field equations with the fluid equations of motion explicitly shows inflation caused by the RS spin angular kinetic energy density. Shear is not effective in preventing inflation in the ECRS model. The relation between fluid vorticity, torsion, reference axis rotation, and shear ellipsoid precession shows through clearly.

Methods to Determine the Deformation of the IRVE Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, William R.

2011-01-01

Small resonant targets used in conjunction with a microwave reflectometer to determine the deformation of the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) during reentry are investigated. The reflectometer measures the distance to the targets and from this the HIAD deformation is determined. The HIAD is used by the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) which investigates the use of inflatable heat shields for atmospheric reentry. After several different microwave reflectometer systems were analyzed and compared it was determined that the most desirable for this application is the Frequency Doubling Target method.

A general framework of automorphic inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimmrigk, Rolf

2016-05-01

Automorphic inflation is an application of the framework of automorphic scalar field theory, based on the theory of automorphic forms and representations. In this paper the general framework of automorphic and modular inflation is described in some detail, with emphasis on the resulting stratification of the space of scalar field theories in terms of the group theoretic data associated to the shift symmetry, as well as the automorphic data that specifies the potential. The class of theories based on Eisenstein series provides a natural generalization of the model of j-inflation considered previously.

Inflation from extra dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, Janna J.

1995-02-01

A gravity-driven inflation is shown to arise from a simple higher-dimensional universe. In vacuum, the shear of n > 1 contracting dimensions is able to inflate the remaining three spatial dimensions. Said another way, the expansion of the 3-volume is accelerated by the contraction of the n-volume. Upon dimensional reduction, the theory is equivalent to a four-dimensional cosmology with a dynamical Planck mass. A connection can therefore be made to recent examples of inflation powered by a dilaton kinetic energy. Unfortunately, the graceful exit problem encountered in dilaton cosmologies will haunt this cosmology as well.

Stability issues of nonlocal gravity during primordial inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belgacem, Enis; Cusin, Giulia; Foffa, Stefano; Maggiore, Michele; Mancarella, Michele

2018-01-01

We study the cosmological evolution of some nonlocal gravity models, when the initial conditions are set during a phase of primordial inflation. We examine in particular three models, the so-called RT, RR and Δ4 models, previously introduced by our group. We find that, during inflation, the RT model has a viable background evolution, but at the level of cosmological perturbations develops instabilities that make it nonviable. In contrast, the RR and Δ4 models have a viable evolution even when their initial conditions are set during a phase of primordial inflation.

Natural inflation and quantum gravity.

PubMed

de la Fuente, Anton; Saraswat, Prashant; Sundrum, Raman

2015-04-17

Cosmic inflation provides an attractive framework for understanding the early Universe and the cosmic microwave background. It can readily involve energies close to the scale at which quantum gravity effects become important. General considerations of black hole quantum mechanics suggest nontrivial constraints on any effective field theory model of inflation that emerges as a low-energy limit of quantum gravity, in particular, the constraint of the weak gravity conjecture. We show that higher-dimensional gauge and gravitational dynamics can elegantly satisfy these constraints and lead to a viable, theoretically controlled and predictive class of natural inflation models.

The Potential for Imaging in Situ Damage in Inflatable Space Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madaras, Eric I.; Anastasi, Robert F.; Seebo, Jeffrey P.; Studor, George; McMakin, Douglas L.; Nellums, Robert; Winfree, William P.

2007-01-01

NASA is investigating the use of inflatable habitat structures for orbital transfer and planetary applications. Since space structures are vulnerable to damage from micrometeoroid and orbital debris, it is important to investigate means of detecting such damage. This study is an investigation into methods for performing non-destructive evaluation (NDE) on inflatable habitat modules. Results of this work showed that various electromagnetic imaging modalities from microwaves to terahertz imaging have the greatest potential for a viable, portable, NDE tool which could possibly be deployed aboard an inflatable habitat module.

Inflatable Personal Flotation Device Study.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

late. t, h Iw . No cood (1) - CVider would not Ipu, tore 1t) - ( I\\ inder d idn ’t punk t n- t . Tried several times. Lost belt in lake, Lr ic - caIIt...dii not respond as expected (1) 6. (C) - When C02 cylinder is used to inflate, all the snaps do not pop open (1) - No event (1) - When inflated it is...Upon inflation, the snap closest to my face popped , striking my hand and face (1) - Device rode up over back of head in rough water (1) - None (1

Accidental Kähler moduli inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maharana, Anshuman; Rummel, Markus; Sumitomo, Yoske

2015-09-01

We study a model of accidental inflation in type IIB string theory where inflation occurs near the inflection point of a small Kähler modulus. A racetrack structure helps to alleviate the known concern that string-loop corrections may spoil Kähler Moduli Inflation unless having a significant suppression via the string coupling or a special brane setup. Also, the hierarchy of gauge group ranks required for the separation between moduli stabilization and inflationary dynamics is relaxed. The relaxation becomes more significant when we use the recently proposed D-term generated racetrack model.

Consistency of anisotropic inflation during rapid oscillations with Planck 2015 data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleem, Rabia

2018-07-01

This paper is aimed to study the compelling issue of cosmic inflation during rapid oscillations using the framework of non-minimal derivative coupling. To this end, an anisotropic and homogeneous Bianchi I background is considered. In this context, I developed the formalism of anisotropic oscillatory inflation and found some constraints for the existence of inflation. In this era, the parameters related to cosmological perturbations are evaluated, further, their graphical trajectories are presented to check the compatibility of the model with the observational data (Planck 2015 probe).

Tunnelling in Dante's Inferno

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Furuuchi, Kazuyuki; Sperling, Marcus, E-mail: kazuyuki.furuuchi@manipal.edu, E-mail: marcus.sperling@univie.ac.at

2017-05-01

We study quantum tunnelling in Dante's Inferno model of large field inflation. Such a tunnelling process, which will terminate inflation, becomes problematic if the tunnelling rate is rapid compared to the Hubble time scale at the time of inflation. Consequently, we constrain the parameter space of Dante's Inferno model by demanding a suppressed tunnelling rate during inflation. The constraints are derived and explicit numerical bounds are provided for representative examples. Our considerations are at the level of an effective field theory; hence, the presented constraints have to hold regardless of any UV completion.

Mars Greenhouses: Concepts and Challenges. Proceedings from a 1999 Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Ray M. (Editor); Martin-Brennan, Cindy (Editor)

2000-01-01

Topic covered include :Plants on Mars: On the Next Mission and in the Long Term Future; Bubbles in the Rocks: Natural and Artificial Caves and Cavities as Like Support Structures; Challenges for Bioregenerative Life Support on Mars; Cost Effectiveness Issues; Low Pressure Systems for Plant Growth; Plant Responses to Rarified Atmospheres; Can CO2 be Used as a Pressurizing Gas for Mars Greenhouses?; Inflatable Habitats Technology Development; Development of an Inflatable Greenhouse for a Modular Crop Production System; Mars Inflatable Greenhouse Workshop; Design Needs for Mars Deployable Greenhouse; Preliminary Estimates of the Possibilities for Developing a Deployable Greenhouse for a Planetary Surface Mars; Low Pressure Greenhouse Concepts for Mars; Mars Greenhouse Study: Natural vs. Artificial Lighting; and Wire Culture for an Inflatable Mars Greenhouse and Other Future Inflatable Space Growth Chambers.

The structural characteristics of inflatable beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wicker, William J.

1992-08-01

Two inflatable beams are designed and fabricated from polyethylene of ultrahigh molecular weight, and the structures are tested against similar composite and metal-alloy tubes. Specific attention is given to the choice of material that insures material stiffness, good strength-to-weight ratio, creep resistance, and durability. A cloth beam is built from a commercial extended-chain polyethylene fiber, and the inflated beams are tested by means of three- and four-point loading to measure bending and shear deformation. Comparing geometrically similar structures shows that the fabric beams can be about 35 percent as stiff as aluminum for small deflections. The inflatable beams have elastic stiffness coefficients five and two times higher than those for nylon and polyester tubes, respectively. Inflatable structures are concluded to hold promise for lightweight aerospace applications which demand small storage areas.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-10

STS077-705-051 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour and its subsequent inflation process, the Spartan 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) payload is backdropped over mountains. The view was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera during the first full day of orbital operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-10

STS077-705-012 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) portion of the Spartan 207 payload is backdropped over Earth as it continues its inflation process. The view was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera during the first full day of orbital operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-05-20

STS077-150-010 (20 May 1996) --- Soon after leaving the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Spartan 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) payload goes through its inflation process, backdropped over clouds. The view was photographed with a large format still camera on the first full day of in-space operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-10

STS077-705-004 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) portion of the Spartan 207 payload begins to inflate, backdropped against clouds over the Pacific Ocean. The view was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera during the first full day of orbital operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

Can massive primordial black holes be produced in mild waterfall hybrid inflation?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kawasaki, Masahiro; Tada, Yuichiro, E-mail: kawasaki@icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: yuichiro.tada@ipmu.jp

We studied the possibility whether the massive primordial black holes (PBHs) surviving today can be produced in hybrid inflation. Though it is of great interest since such PBHs can be the candidate for dark matter or seeds of the supermassive black holes in galaxies, there have not been quantitatively complete works yet because of the non-perturbative behavior around the critical point of hybrid inflation. Therefore, combining the stochastic and δ N formalism, we numerically calculated the curvature perturbations in a non-perturbative way and found, without any specific assumption of the types of hybrid inflation, PBHs are rather overproduced when themore » waterfall phase of hybrid inflation continues so long that the PBH scale is well enlarged and the corresponding PBH mass becomes sizable enough.« less

Tribrid Inflation in Supergravity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antusch, Stefan; Dutta, Koushik; Kostka, Philipp M.

2010-02-10

We propose a novel class of F-term hybrid inflation models in supergravity (SUGRA) where the eta-problem is resolved using either a Heisenberg symmetry or a shift symmetry of the Kaehler potential. In addition to the inflaton and the waterfall field, this class (referred to as tribrid inflation) contains a third 'driving' field which contributes the large vacuum energy during inflation by its F-term. In contrast to the 'standard' hybrid scenario, it has several attractive features due to the property of vanishing inflationary superpotential (W{sub inf} = 0) during inflation. While the symmetries of the Kaehler potential ensure a flat inflatonmore » potential at tree-level, quantum corrections induced by symmetry breaking terms in the superpotential generate a slope of the potential and lead to a spectral tilt consistent with recent WMAP observations.« less

Engineers Jim Murray and Joe Pahle prepare a deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator exp

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

Engineers Jim Murray and Joe Pahle prepare a deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator experiment flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The inflatable wing project represented a basic flight research effort by Dryden personnel. Three successful flights of the I2000 inflatable wing aircraft occurred. During the flights, the team air-launched the radio-controlled (R/C) I2000 from an R/C utility airplane at an altitude of 800-1000 feet. As the I2000 separated from the carrier aircraft, its inflatable wings 'popped-out,' deploying rapidly via an on-board nitrogen bottle. The aircraft remained stable as it transitioned from wingless to winged flight. The unpowered I2000 glided down to a smooth landing under complete control.

The I2000, a deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator experiment aircraft, leaves the gro

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

The deployable, inflatable wing technology demonstrator experiment aircraft leaves the ground during a flight conducted by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The inflatable wing project represented a basic flight research effort by Dryden personnel. Three successful flights of the I2000 inflatable wing aircraft occurred. During the flights, the team air-launched the radio-controlled (R/C) I2000 from an R/C utility airplane at an altitude of 800-1000 feet. As the I2000 separated from the carrier aircraft, its inflatable wings 'popped-out,' deploying rapidly via an on-board nitrogen bottle. The aircraft remained stable as it transitioned from wingless to winged flight. The unpowered I2000 glided down to a smooth landing under complete control.

Modeling inflation rates and exchange rates in Ghana: application of multivariate GARCH models.

PubMed

Nortey, Ezekiel Nn; Ngoh, Delali D; Doku-Amponsah, Kwabena; Ofori-Boateng, Kenneth

2015-01-01

This paper was aimed at investigating the volatility and conditional relationship among inflation rates, exchange rates and interest rates as well as to construct a model using multivariate GARCH DCC and BEKK models using Ghana data from January 1990 to December 2013. The study revealed that the cumulative depreciation of the cedi to the US dollar from 1990 to 2013 is 7,010.2% and the yearly weighted depreciation of the cedi to the US dollar for the period is 20.4%. There was evidence that, the fact that inflation rate was stable, does not mean that exchange rates and interest rates are expected to be stable. Rather, when the cedi performs well on the forex, inflation rates and interest rates react positively and become stable in the long run. The BEKK model is robust to modelling and forecasting volatility of inflation rates, exchange rates and interest rates. The DCC model is robust to model the conditional and unconditional correlation among inflation rates, exchange rates and interest rates. The BEKK model, which forecasted high exchange rate volatility for the year 2014, is very robust for modelling the exchange rates in Ghana. The mean equation of the DCC model is also robust to forecast inflation rates in Ghana.

Anisotropic power spectrum and bispectrum in the f(Φ)F² mechanism

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartolo, Nicola; Matarrese, Sabino; Peloso, Marco

2013-01-04

A suitable coupling of the inflaton φ to a vector kinetic term F² gives frozen and scale invariant vector perturbations. We compute the cosmological perturbations ζ that result from such coupling by taking into account the classical vector field that unavoidably gets generated at large scales during inflation. This generically results in a too-anisotropic power spectrum of ζ. Specifically, the anisotropy exceeds the 1% level (10% level) if inflation lasts ~5 e-folds (~50 e-folds) more than the minimal amount required to produce the cosmic microwave background modes. This conclusion applies, among others, to the application of this mechanism for magnetogenesis,more » for anisotropic inflation, and for the generation of anisotropic perturbations at the end of inflation through a waterfall field coupled to the vector (in this case, the unavoidable contribution that we obtain is effective all throughout inflation, and it is independent of the waterfall field). For a tuned duration of inflation, a 1% (10%) anisotropy in the power spectrum corresponds to an anisotropic bispectrum which is enhanced like the local one in the squeezed limit, and with an effective local f NL~3(~30). More in general, a significant anisotropy of the perturbations may be a natural outcome of all models that sustain higher than 0 spin fields during inflation.« less

Investigating the asymmetric relationship between inflation-output growth exchange rate changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Jenq Fei; Sek, Siok Kun

2017-08-01

The relationship between inflation-output growth or output variation has long been studied. In this study, we extend the investigation under two exchange rate flexibility/regime in four Asian countries (Indonesia, Korea, Philippines and Thailand) that have experienced drastic exchange rate regime changes aftermath the financial crisis of 1997. These countries have switched from fixed/rigid exchange rate regime to flexible exchange rate and inflation targeting (IT) regime after the crisis. Our main objective is to compare the inflation-output trade-off relationship in the pre-IT and post-IT periods as a tool to evaluate the efficiency of monetary policy. A nonlinear autoregressive distributed lags (NARDL) model is applied to capture the asymmetric effects of exchange rate changes (increases and decreases). The data ranging from 1981M1 onwards till 2016M3. Our results show that exchange rate has asymmetric effect on inflation both short-run and long-run with larger impact in the post-IT period under flexible regime. Depreciation of exchange rate has leads to higher inflation. Furthermore, we find evidences on the relationship between inflation and growth in both short-run and long-run, but the trade-off only detected in the short run both in the pre- and post-IT periods.

Titan Explorer Entry, Descent and Landing Trajectory Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Jody L.; Lindberg, Robert E.; Lockwood, Mary Kae

2006-01-01

The Titan Explorer mission concept includes an orbiter, entry probe and inflatable airship designed to take remote and in-situ measurements of Titan's atmosphere. A modified entry, descent and landing trajectory at Titan that incorporates mid-air airship inflation (under a parachute) and separation is developed and examined for Titan Explorer. The feasibility of mid-air inflation and deployment of an airship under a parachute is determined by implementing and validating an airship buoyancy and inflation model in the trajectory simulation program, Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2). A nominal POST2 trajectory simulation case study is generated which examines different descent scenarios by varying airship inflation duration, orientation, and separation. The buoyancy model incorporation into POST2 is new to the software and may be used in future trajectory simulations. Each case from the nominal POST2 trajectory case study simulates a successful separation between the parachute and airship systems with sufficient velocity change as to alter their paths to avoid collision throughout their descent. The airship and heatshield also separate acceptably with a minimum distance of separation from the parachute system of 1.5 km. This analysis shows the feasibility of airship inflation on a parachute for different orientations, airship separation at various inflation times, and preparation for level-flight at Titan.

Anisotropic power spectrum and bispectrum in the f(ϕ)F2 mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartolo, Nicola; Matarrese, Sabino; Peloso, Marco; Ricciardone, Angelo

2013-01-01

A suitable coupling of the inflaton φ to a vector kinetic term F2 gives frozen and scale invariant vector perturbations. We compute the cosmological perturbations ζ that result from such coupling by taking into account the classical vector field that unavoidably gets generated at large scales during inflation. This generically results in a too-anisotropic power spectrum of ζ. Specifically, the anisotropy exceeds the 1% level (10% level) if inflation lasts ˜5 e-folds (˜50 e-folds) more than the minimal amount required to produce the cosmic microwave background modes. This conclusion applies, among others, to the application of this mechanism for magnetogenesis, for anisotropic inflation, and for the generation of anisotropic perturbations at the end of inflation through a waterfall field coupled to the vector (in this case, the unavoidable contribution that we obtain is effective all throughout inflation, and it is independent of the waterfall field). For a tuned duration of inflation, a 1% (10%) anisotropy in the power spectrum corresponds to an anisotropic bispectrum which is enhanced like the local one in the squeezed limit, and with an effective local fNL˜3(˜30). More in general, a significant anisotropy of the perturbations may be a natural outcome of all models that sustain higher than 0 spin fields during inflation.

Inflation-deflation test as a predictor of aditus patency in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media.

PubMed

Kurien, Regi; Chrisolyte, Shipra; Rupa, V

2009-09-01

To assess eustachian tubal function (ETF) preoperatively in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) with central perforation by performing the inflation-deflation test. To correlate the results of the inflation-deflation test with the finding of aditus patency or block in patients with CSOM STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, cohort Tertiary care hospital Eighty adult patients with chronic suppurative otitis media and central perforation were recruited into the study. There were 45 males and 35 females. All patients underwent preoperative inflation-deflation test followed by cortical mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty. The patency of the aditus was assessed intraoperatively. Equalization of pressure on inflation-deflation test and intraoperative assessment of aditus patency Of a total of 80 patients, 49 patients were found to have discharging ears and 31 had dry ears at the time of surgery. In dry ears the inflation-deflation test had a sensitivity of 93% in predicting aditus patency although the specificity was lower at 67%. In discharging ears the sensitivity in predicting aditus patency was 72% and the specificity was 67%. The eustachian tube inflation-deflation test is a sensitive test for predicting aditus patency in patients with dry ears but less so in patients with discharging ears. Hence, it could be used in the former to avoid unnecessary exploration of the mastoid.

Last stand of single small field inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bramante, Joseph; Lehman, Landon; Martin, Adam; Downes, Sean

2014-07-01

By incorporating both the tensor-to-scalar ratio and the measured value of the spectral index, we set a bound on solo small field inflation of Δϕ/mPl≥1.00√r/0.1 . Unlike previous bounds which require monotonic ɛV, |ηV|<1, and 60 e-folds of inflation, the bound remains valid for nonmonotonic ɛV, |ηV|≳1, and for inflation which occurs only over the eight e-folds which have been observed on the cosmic microwave background. The negative value of the spectral index over the observed eight e-folds is what makes the bound strong; we illustrate this by surveying single field models and finding that for r ≳0.1 and eight e-folds of inflation, there is no simple potential which reproduces observed cosmic microwave background perturbations and remains sub-Planckian. Models that are sub-Planckian after eight e-folds must be patched together with a second epoch of inflation that fills out the remaining ˜50 e-folds. This second, post-cosmic microwave background epoch is characterized by extremely small ɛV and therefore an increasing scalar power spectrum. Using the fact that large power can overabundantly produce primordial black holes, we bound the maximum energy level of the second phase of inflation.

The Development of Large Inflatable Antenna for Deep-Space Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, John; Fang, Houfei; Lovick, Richard; Lou, Michael

2004-01-01

NASA/JPL's deep-space exploration program has been placing emphasis on reducing the mass and stowage volume of its spacecraft's high-gain and large-aperture antennas. To achieve these goals, the concept of deployable flat reflectarray antenna using an inflatable/thin-membrane structure was introduced at JPL several years ago. A reflectarray is a flat array antenna space-fed by a low-gain feed located at its focal point in a fashion similar to that of a parabolic reflector. The ref1ectarray's elements, using microstrip technology, can be printed onto a flat thin-membrane surface and are each uniquely designed to compensate for the different phase delays due to different path lengths from the feed. Although the reflectarray suffers from limited bandwidth (typically < 10%), it offers a more reliably deployed and maintained flat "natural" surface. A recent hardware development at JPL has demonstrated that a 0.2mm rms surface tolerance (l/50th of a wavelength) was achieved on a 3-meter Ka-band inflatable reflectarray. Another recent development, to combat the reflectarray's narrow band characteristic, demonstrated that dual-band performance, such as X- and Ka-bands, with an aperture efficiency of above 50 percent is achievable by the reflectarray antenna. To mechanically deploy the antenna, the reflectarray's thin membrane aperture surface is supported, tensioned and deployed by an inflatable tubular structure. There are several critical elements and challenging issues associated with the inflatable tube structure. First, the inflatable tube must be made rigidizable so that, once the tube is fully deployed in space, it rigidizes itself and the inflation system is no longer needed. In addition, if the tube is penetrated by small space debris, the tube will maintain its rigidity and not cause deformation to the antenna structure. To support large apertures (e.g. 10m or beyond) without causing any buckling to the small-diameter inflatable tube during vibration, the tube, in addition to rigidization, is also reinforced by circumferential thin blades, as well as axial blades. Second, a controlled deployment mechanism, such as by using Velcro strips, must also be implemented into the system so that, for very large structures, the long inflatable tubes can be deployed in a time-controlled fashion and not get tangled with each other. Third, the thermal analysis is another critical element and must be performed for the tube design in order to assure that the inflated tube, under extreme space thermal conditions, will not deform significantly. Finally, the dynamic vibration analysis must also be performed on the inflatable structure. This will investigate the response of the structure due to excitation introduced by the spacecraft maneuvering and thus determine any necessary damping. Several reflectarray antennas have been developed at JPL to demonstrate the technology. These include an earlier 1-meter X-band inflatable reflectarray, a 3-meter Ka-band inflatable reflectarray, a half-meter dual-band (X and Ka) reflectarray, and the current on-going 10-meter inflatable structure development. The detailed RF and mechanical descriptions of these antennas, as well as their performances, will be presented during the conference.

Overview of the 6 Meter HIAD Inflatable Structure and Flexible TPS Static Load Test Series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, Greg; Kazemba, Cole; Johnson, Keith; Calomino, Anthony; Hughes, Steve; Cassell, Alan; Cheatwood, Neil

2014-01-01

To support NASAs long term goal of landing humans on Mars, technologies which enable the landing of heavy payloads are being developed. Current entry, decent, and landing technologies are not practical for this class of payloads due to geometric constraints dictated by current launch vehicle fairing limitations. Therefore, past and present technologies are now being explored to provide a mass and volume efficient solution to atmospheric entry, including Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (HIADs). At the beginning of 2014, a 6m HIAD inflatable structure with an integrated flexible thermal protection system (TPS) was subjected to a static load test series to verify the designs structural performance. The 6m HIAD structure was constructed in a stacked toroid configuration using nine inflatable torus segments composed of fiber reinforced thin films, which were joined together using adhesives and high strength textile woven structural straps to help distribute the loads throughout the inflatable structure. The 6m flexible TPS was constructed using multiple layers of high performance materials to protect the inflatable structure from heat loads that would be seen during atmospheric entry. To perform the static load test series, a custom test fixture was constructed. The fixture consisted of a structural tub rim with enough height to allow for displacement of the inflatable structure as loads were applied. The bottom of the tub rim had an airtight seal with the floor. The centerbody of the inflatable structure was attached to a pedestal mount as seen in Figure 1. Using an impermeable membrane seal draped over the test article, partial vacuum was pulled beneath the HIAD, resulting in a uniform static pressure load applied to the outer surface. During the test series an extensive amount of instrumentation was used to provide many data sets including: deformed shape, shoulder deflection, strap loads, cord loads, inflation pressures, and applied static load.In this overview, the 6m HIAD static load test series will be discussed in detail, including the 6m HIAD inflatable structure and flexible TPS design, test setup and execution, and finally initial results and conclusions from the test series.

[A simple model for describing pressure-volume curves in free balloon dilatation with reference the dynamics of inflation hydraulic aspects].

PubMed

Bloss, P; Werner, C

2000-06-01

We propose a simple model to describe pressure-time and pressure-volume curves for the free balloon (balloon in air) of balloon catheters, taking into account the dynamics of the inflation device. On the basis of our investigations of the flow rate-dependence of characteristic parameters of the pressure-time curves, the appropriateness of this simple model is demonstrated using a representative example. Basic considerations lead to the following assumptions: (1) the flow within the shaft of the catheter is laminar, and (ii) the volume decrease of the liquid used for inflation due to pressurization can be neglected if the liquid is carefully degassed prior to inflation, and if the total volume of the liquid in the system is less than 2 ml. Taking into account the dynamics of the inflation device used for pumping the liquid into the proximal end of the shaft during inflation, the inflation process can be subdivided into the following three phases: initial phase, filling phase and dilatation phase. For these three phases, the transformation of the time into the volume coordinates is given. On the basis of our model, the following parameters of the balloon catheter can be determined from a measured pressure-time curve: (1) the resistance to flow of the liquid through the shaft of the catheter and the resulting pressure drop across the shaft, (2) the residual volume and residual pressure of the balloon, and (3) the volume compliance of the balloon catheter with and without the inflation device.

Is a Higgs vacuum instability fatal for high-scale inflation?

DOE PAGES

Kearney, John; Yoo, Hojin; Zurek, Kathryn M.

2015-06-25

We study the inflationary evolution of a scalar field h with an unstable potential for the case where the Hubble parameter H during inflation is larger than the instability scale Λ I of the potential. Quantum fluctuations in the field of size δh ~ H/2π imply that the unstable part of the potential is sampled during inflation. We investigate the evolution of these fluctuations to the unstable regime and in particular whether they generate cosmological defects or even terminate inflation. We apply the results of a toy scalar model to the case of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson, themore » quartic of which evolves to negative values at high scales, and extend previous analyses of Higgs dynamics during inflation utilizing statistical methods to a perturbative and fully gauge-invariant formulation. We show that the dynamics are controlled by the renormalization group-improved quartic coupling λ(μ) evaluated at a scale μ = H, such that Higgs fluctuations are enhanced by the instability if H > Λ I. Even if H > Λ I, the instability in the Standard Model Higgs potential does not end inflation; instead the universe slowly sloughs off crunching patches of space that never come to dominate the evolution. As inflation proceeds past 50 e-folds, a significant proportion of patches exits inflation in the unstable vacuum, and as much as 1% of the spacetime can rapidly evolve to a defect. Depending on the nature of these defects, however, the resulting universe could still be compatible with ours.« less

The accuracy of frozen section diagnosis of pulmonary nodules: evaluation of inflation method during intraoperative pathology consultation with cryosection.

PubMed

Xu, Xianhua; Chung, Jin-Haeng; Jheon, Sanghoon; Sung, Sook Whan; Lee, Choon-Taek; Lee, Jae Ho; Choe, Gheeyoung

2010-01-01

Intraoperative frozen section diagnosis (FSD) is a very important pathologic examination that can determine the extent of the subsequent surgical procedure. However, FSD is especially difficult in small pulmonary nodules due to severe architectural distortion during cryosection. This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of FSD of pulmonary nodules and to evaluate the inflation method during cryosection. We retrospectively reviewed FSD of 229 consecutive pulmonary nodules and evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and efficacy of inflation method during cryosection. Since August 2006, all frozen sections (165, 72.1%) were made after inflation with optimally diluted embedding medium. The FSD were as follows: nonneoplastic lesions (29, 12.7%), benign neoplasms (28, 12.2%), and malignant neoplasms (172, 75.1%). The proportion of the lesions smaller than 2 cm was 60.3% (138 of 229). The frozen section quality of lung tissue was excellent after inflation with diluted embedding medium. Inflated lung specimens harboring minute lesion displayed distinct gross appearance, which could not be palpated. Histologically, open air spaces and normal parenchymal architectures were well preserved. Minute precancerous foci such as atypical adenomatous hyperplasia and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma could be readily identified. After using inflation method during cryosection, both the sensitivity and specificity reached 100%, and the incidence of intraoperative pathology consultation increased markedly, especially small impalpable lesions. The accuracy of FSD and histologic qualities were excellent by using inflation method, especially in cases of impalpable small precancerous lesions. The pathologist could guide with confidence the surgeon in planning the surgical management.

High-Resolution AUV Mapping Reveals Structural Details of Submarine Inflated Lava Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paduan, J.; Clague, D. A.; Caress, D. W.; Thomas, H.; Thompson, D.; Conlin, D.

2009-12-01

The MBARI mapping AUV D. Allan B. has now been used to map volcanic terrain at mid-ocean ridges, back-arc spreading centers, and seamounts. These include the summit caldera and upper south rift zone at Axial Volcano, the summit of Davidson Seamount, the Endeavour hydrothermal fields, the Northeast Lau Spreading Center and West Mata Volcano, and, most recently, the CoAxial, North Cleft and North Gorda historic eruption sites on the Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges. ROV and submersible dives at most of these sites have provided groundtruth for the textures and features revealed in the roughly 1-m resolution maps. A prominent feature in the maps from four of the sites are inflated flows that did not deflate or drain. These resemble subaerial tumuli but differ in being located on level terrain, apparently atop or very near eruptive vents instead of being in the distal portions of flows. The largest inflated flow at Axial Volcano is on the caldera floor. The main part is 500 by 300 m, and up to 30 m high, with a lobe that extends another 750 m in a sinuous path. It and two nearby, medium-sized inflated flows were first described from sidescan imagery and a submersible dive by Appelgate and Embley (Bull. Volcanol., 54, 447-458, 1992). The AUV maps show clearly the smooth, gently domed relief of the large inflated flow and its sinuous shape on the seafloor, the medium-sized nearby inflated flows, and several additional smaller ones. Particularly striking is a network of 4 to 10 m deep cracks along the crest of each inflation. The cracks occur 30 to 50 m from the margins on all sides of the wider parts of the inflated flows, and become medial cracks along the entire length of the narrow parts, which are nearly triangular in cross-section. An inflation pit 35 m in diameter has a depth equal to the surrounding lava fields. ROV Doc Ricketts dove on these flows in August 2009 and photographed the deeply cracked, uplifted, once flat-lying lineated and ropy sheet flows that form the inflated flows. An even larger, 2.3 km long, up to 550 m wide, and up to 25 m high, inflated flow lies in the axial valley at North Cleft. Its cross-section is similar to the large one at Axial, but has been subsequently rifted by long tectonic fractures parallel to the axis of spreading. Five small inflated flows also occur within two large sheet flows at CoAxial. An inflated flow at Davidson Seamount off California is 690 by 180 m, and stands 18m above the floor of a steep valley 430 m below the summit. It differs from all the others mapped in that downslope is a part of the same flow that has complex collapse features within pillowed margins. The lava composition here is viscous mugearite rather than MORB.

46 CFR 160.151-31 - Production inspections and tests of inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... capacity. (2) A new lot must begin whenever the liferafts undergo changes of design, material, production... 46 Shipping 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Production inspections and tests of inflatable liferafts... Liferafts (SOLAS) § 160.151-31 Production inspections and tests of inflatable liferafts. (a) Production...

Teachers' Understanding of Inflation: Developing a Crystalline Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bansilal, Sarah

2017-01-01

Inflation rates are often reported in the media and interpreted differently by various people. The purpose of the study was to explore mathematical literacy teachers' written responses to questions based on the concept of percentage increase and inflation. The participants were a group of 59 in-service South African teachers who were enrolled on a…

Grade Inflation: Too Much Talk, Too Little Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faurer, Judson C.; Lopez, Larry

2009-01-01

Grade inflation in academic institutions. Is it a subject so complex and pervasive in education that it defies resolution? The issue of grade inflation is of concern to college students, faculty, administrators and future employers. There is much gnashing of teeth, some veiled threats, wringing of hands, and both written and oral discussion of the…

Inflation Metaphor in Contemporary American English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Chunyu; Chen, Zhi

2015-01-01

Inflation is often regarded as a dangerous phenomenon which poses a potential threat to economies in the world. It is thus an entity that demands the constant attention of economists, policymakers and the general public. In order to make this abstract entry more concrete and vivid, a number of metaphorical expressions are used to depict inflation.…

Inflatable O-ring seal would ease closing of hatch cover plate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neary, K. J.

1966-01-01

Inflatable O-ring seal provides positive sealing means that does not require the manual exertion of a large compressive force during opening or closing of a rotary-type hatch cover plate. The O-ring is deflated during opening and closing and inflated after closure by a gas pressure source.

Inflation without self-reproduction in F( R) gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nojiri, Shin'ichi; Odintsov, Sergei D.

2015-05-01

We investigate inflation in frames of two classes of F( R) gravity and check its consistency with Planck data. It is shown that F( R) inflation without self-reproduction may be constructed in close analogy with the corresponding scalar example proposed by Mukhanov for the resolution of the problems of multiverse, predictability and initial conditions.

Does Competition among Schools Encourage Grade Inflation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Patrick

2010-01-01

This paper considers whether high schools in competitive environments use grade inflation to attract and retain families, perhaps in addition to more constructive responses. Two measures of grade inflation are used: the cutoffs used by each school to assign a letter grade to a percent score and high school grade point average after controlling for…

Does Competition among Schools Encourage Grade Inflation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Patrick

2010-01-01

This paper considers whether high schools in competitive environments use grade inflation to attract and retain families, perhaps in addition to more constructive responses. Two measures of grade inflation are used: the cutoffs used by each school to assign a letter grade to a percent score; and high school GPA after controlling for test scores, a…

Inflation and Financial Statement Analysis in the International Accounting Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riordan, Diane A.; Riordan, Michael P.

2009-01-01

This article provides an exercise for students to contemplate the effects of inflation during financial statement analysis. Even small amounts of inflation accumulating over time can grow to distort a company's reported financial position and results of operations. The growing economies in emerging markets, the international market for oil, and…

A New Look at Inflation: Economic Policy in the Early 1970s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cagan, Phillip; And Others

The volume, a sequel to "Economic Policy and Inflation in the Sixties" presents the diverse opinions of distinguished scholars on developments in the American economy since the institution of direct wage and price controls in August 1971. Gottfried Haberler considers the international aspects of recent United States inflation. William…

Grade Inflation Rates among Different Ability Students, Controlling for Other Factors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mc Spirit, Stephanie; Jones, Kirk E.

1999-01-01

Compared grade inflation rates among students of different abilities at an open-admissions public university by examining trends in graduating grade point average from 1983 to 1996. The higher grade inflation rates among low aptitude students suggest that faculty might be using grades to encourage learning among marginal students. (SLD)

Vacuum Energy and Inflation: 1. A Liter of Vacuum Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huggins, Elisha

2013-01-01

In the popular press, diagrams showing the evolution of the universe begin with a great jump in size labeled "inflation." Can we explain the basic ideas behind inflation to our students who have taken our introductory physics course? Probably not. In our standard introductory physics courses, even those with special relativity, something…

Fuller Employment with Less Inflation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siegel, Irving H.

This series of 10 essays, written at various times since the mid-1960s, explores the U.S. economy's proneness to both high inflation and high unemployment during this period. The essays present ideas that the author believes could have reined in price increases in the early stages, and that presently could speed the reduction of inflation and…

49 CFR 173.166 - Air bag inflators, air bag modules and seat-belt pretensioners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... an inflatable bag assembly. A seat-belt pre-tensioner contains similar hazardous materials and is... manufacturer has submitted each design type air bag inflator, air bag module, or seat-belt pretensioner to a... or pretensioner design type for which approval is sought and details on the complete package. The...

49 CFR 173.166 - Air bag inflators, air bag modules and seat-belt pretensioners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... an inflatable bag assembly. A seat-belt pre-tensioner contains similar hazardous materials and is... manufacturer has submitted each design type air bag inflator, air bag module, or seat-belt pretensioner to a... or pretensioner design type for which approval is sought and details on the complete package. The...

49 CFR 173.166 - Air bag inflators, air bag modules and seat-belt pretensioners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... an inflatable bag assembly. A seat-belt pre-tensioner contains similar hazardous materials and is... manufacturer has submitted each design type air bag inflator, air bag module, or seat-belt pretensioner to a... or pretensioner design type for which approval is sought and details on the complete package. The...

76 FR 35324 - Special Conditions: Boeing Model 787 Series Airplanes; Seats With Inflatable Lapbelts

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-17

... performance. Because the inflatable lapbelt is essentially a single use device, there is the potential that it... regulations. Similarly, if the seat is occupied by a pregnant woman, the installation needs to address such... is a pregnant woman. 2. The inflatable lapbelt must provide adequate protection for each occupant...

Einstein Inflationary Probe (EIP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinshaw, Gary

2004-01-01

I will discuss plans to develop a concept for the Einstein Inflation Probe: a mission to detect gravity waves from inflation via the unique signature they impart to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization. A sensitive CMB polarization satellite may be the only way to probe physics at the grand-unified theory (GUT) scale, exceeding by 12 orders of magnitude the energies studied at the Large Hadron Collider. A detection of gravity waves would represent a remarkable confirmation of the inflationary paradigm and set the energy scale at which inflation occurred when the universe was a fraction of a second old. Even a strong upper limit to the gravity wave amplitude would be significant, ruling out many common models of inflation, and pointing to inflation occurring at much lower energy, if at all. Measuring gravity waves via the CMB polarization will be challenging. We will undertake a comprehensive study to identify the critical scientific requirements for the mission and their derived instrumental performance requirements. At the core of the study will be an assessment of what is scientifically and experimentally optimal within the scope and purpose of the Einstein Inflation Probe.

Money illusion among health care providers: should we adjust for inflation in analyses of provider behavior?

PubMed

Mayer, M L; Rozier, R G

2000-08-01

This analysis questions the appropriateness of inflation adjustment in analyses of provider behavior by comparing results from estimations using adjusted financial variables with those from estimations using unadjusted financial variables. Using Medicaid claims from 1984-1991, we explored the effects of Medicaid reimbursement increases on dentists' participation. Using results from inflation adjusted analyses, we would conclude that a 23% nominal increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates yields no increase in the number of Medicaid children seen by dentists. In contrast, estimations based on unadjusted reimbursement rates suggest that this same 23% nominal increase in reimbursement leads to an expected 16-person (15.4%) increase in the number of Medicaid patients seen per provider per year. These analyses demonstrate that results are sensitive to adjustment for inflation. While adjusting for inflation is a generally accepted practice in health services research, doing so without evidence that providers respond to adjusted reimbursement may be unjustified. More research is needed to determine the appropriateness of inflation adjustment in analyses of provider behavior, and the circumstances under which it should or should not be done.

Vulnerability of larval and juvenile white sturgeon to barotrauma: can they handle the pressure?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Richard S.; Cook, Katrina V.; Pflugrath, Brett D.

2013-07-01

Techniques were developed to determine which life stages of fish are vulnerable to barotrauma from expansion of internal gases during decompression. Eggs, larvae and juvenile hatchery-reared white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus; up to 91 days post hatch; dph), were decompressed to assess vulnerability to barotrauma and identify initial swim bladder inflation. Barotrauma related injury and mortality were first observed 9 dph, on the same day as initial exogenous feeding. However, barotrauma related injury did not occur again until swim bladder inflation 75 dph (visible from necropsy and x-ray radiographs). Swim bladder inflation was not consistent among individuals, with only 44% beingmore » inflated 91 dph. Additionally, swim bladder inflation did not appear to be size dependent among fish ranging in total length from 61-153 mm at 91 dph. The use of a combination of decompression tests and x-ray radiography was validated as a method to determine initial swim bladder inflation and vulnerability to barotrauma. Extending these techniques to other species and life history stages would help to determine fish susceptibility to hydroturbine passage and aid in fish conservation.« less

Eliminating the η-problem in SUGRA hybrid inflation with vector backreaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimopoulos, Konstantinos; Wagstaff, Jacques M.; Lazarides, George, E-mail: k.dimopoulos1@lancaster.ac.uk, E-mail: lazaride@eng.auth.gr, E-mail: j.wagstaff@lancaster.ac.uk

2012-02-01

It is shown that, when the inflaton field modulates the gauge kinetic function of the gauge fields in supergravity realisations of inflation, the dynamic backreaction leads to a new inflationary attractor solution, in which the inflaton's variation suffers additional impedance. As a result, slow-roll inflation can naturally occur along directions of the scalar potential which would be too steep and curved to support it otherwise. This provides a generic solution to the infamous eta-problem of inflation in supergravity. Moreover, it is shown that, in the new inflationary attractor, the spectral index of the generated curvature perturbations is kept mildly redmore » despite eta of order unity. The above findings are applied to a model of hybrid inflation in supergravity with a generic Kähler potential. The spectral index of the generated curvature perturbations is found to be 0.97–0.98, in excellent agreement with observations. The gauge field can play the role of the vector curvaton after inflation but observable statistical anisotropy requires substantial tuning of the gauge coupling.« less

Inflation in the mixed Higgs-R2 model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Minxi; Starobinsky, Alexei A.; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

2018-05-01

We analyze a two-field inflationary model consisting of the Ricci scalar squared (R2) term and the standard Higgs field non-minimally coupled to gravity in addition to the Einstein R term. Detailed analysis of the power spectrum of this model with mass hierarchy is presented, and we find that one can describe this model as an effective single-field model in the slow-roll regime with a modified sound speed. The scalar spectral index predicted by this model coincides with those given by the R2 inflation and the Higgs inflation implying that there is a close relation between this model and the R2 inflation already in the original (Jordan) frame. For a typical value of the self-coupling of the standard Higgs field at the high energy scale of inflation, the role of the Higgs field in parameter space involved is to modify the scalaron mass, so that the original mass parameter in the R2 inflation can deviate from its standard value when non-minimal coupling between the Ricci scalar and the Higgs field is large enough.

Origin of density fluctuations in extended inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolb, Edward W.; Salopek, David S.; Turner, Michael S.

1990-01-01

The density fluctuations (both curvature and isocurvature) that arise due to quantum fluctuations in a simple model of extended inflation based upon the Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory are calculated. Curvature fluctuations arise due to quantum fluctuations in the Brans-Dicke field, in general have a nonscale-invariant spectrum, and can have an amplitude that is cosmologically acceptable and interesting without having to tune any coupling constant to a very small value. The density perturbations that arise due to the inflation field are subdominant. If there are other massless fields in the theory, e.g., an axion or an ilion, then isocurvature fluctuations arise in these fields too. Production of gravitational waves and the massless particles associated with excitations of the Brans-Dicke field are also discussed. Several attempts at more realistic models of extended inflation are also analyzed. The importance of the Einstein conformal frame in calculating curvature fluctuations is emphasized. When viewed in this frame, extended inflation closely resembles slow-rollover inflation with an exponential potential and the usual formula for the amplitude of curvature perturbations applies.

Inflation with a constant rate of roll

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Motohashi, Hayato; Starobinsky, Alexei A.; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi, E-mail: motohashi@kicp.uchicago.edu, E-mail: alstar@landau.ac.ru, E-mail: yokoyama@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

2015-09-01

We consider an inflationary scenario where the rate of inflaton roll defined by {sup ··}φ/H φ-dot remains constant. The rate of roll is small for slow-roll inflation, while a generic rate of roll leads to the interesting case of 'constant-roll' inflation. We find a general exact solution for the inflaton potential required for such inflaton behaviour. In this model, due to non-slow evolution of background, the would-be decaying mode of linear scalar (curvature) perturbations may not be neglected. It can even grow for some values of the model parameter, while the other mode always remains constant. However, this always occurs formore » unstable solutions which are not attractors for the given potential. The most interesting particular cases of constant-roll inflation remaining viable with the most recent observational data are quadratic hilltop inflation (with cutoff) and natural inflation (with an additional negative cosmological constant). In these cases even-order slow-roll parameters approach non-negligible constants while the odd ones are asymptotically vanishing in the quasi-de Sitter regime.« less

Description of New Inflatable/Rigidizable Hexapod Structure Testbed for Shape and Vibration Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adetona, O.; Keel, L. H.; Horta, L. G.; Cadogan, D. P.; Sapna, G. H.; Scarborough, S. E.

2002-01-01

Larger and more powerful space based instruments are needed to meet increasingly sophisticated scientific demand. To support this need, concepts for telescopes with apertures of 100 meters are being investigated, but the required technologies are not in hand today. Due to the capacity limits of launch vehicles, the idea of deploying, erecting, or inflating large structures in space is being considered. Recently, rigidization concepts of large inflatable structures have demonstrated the capability of weight reductions of up to 50% from current concepts with packaging efficiencies near 80%. One of the important aspects of inflatable structures is vibration mitigation and line-of-sight control. Such control tasks are possible only after actuators/sensors are properly integrated into a rigidizable concept. To study these issues, we have developed an inflatable/rigidizable hexapod structure testbed. The testbed integrates state of the art piezo-electric self-sensing actuators into an inflatable/rigidizable structure and a flat membrane reflector. Using this testbed, we plan to experimentally demonstrate achievable vibration and line-of-sight control. This paper contains a description of the testbed and an outline of the test plan.

Modeling Tetanus Neonatorum case using the regression of negative binomial and zero-inflated negative binomial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaliana, Luthfatul; Sa'adah, Umu; Wayan Surya Wardhani, Ni

2017-12-01

Tetanus Neonatorum is an infectious disease that can be prevented by immunization. The number of Tetanus Neonatorum cases in East Java Province is the highest in Indonesia until 2015. Tetanus Neonatorum data contain over dispersion and big enough proportion of zero-inflation. Negative Binomial (NB) regression is an alternative method when over dispersion happens in Poisson regression. However, the data containing over dispersion and zero-inflation are more appropriately analyzed by using Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) regression. The purpose of this study are: (1) to model Tetanus Neonatorum cases in East Java Province with 71.05 percent proportion of zero-inflation by using NB and ZINB regression, (2) to obtain the best model. The result of this study indicates that ZINB is better than NB regression with smaller AIC.

Inflationary predictions of double-well, Coleman-Weinberg, and hilltop potentials with non-minimal coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostan, Nilay; Güleryüz, Ömer; Nefer Şenoğuz, Vedat

2018-05-01

We discuss how the non-minimal coupling ξphi2R between the inflaton and the Ricci scalar affects the predictions of single field inflation models where the inflaton has a non-zero vacuum expectation value (VEV) v after inflation. We show that, for inflaton values both above the VEV and below the VEV during inflation, under certain conditions the inflationary predictions become approximately the same as the predictions of the Starobinsky model. We then analyze inflation with double-well and Coleman-Weinberg potentials in detail, displaying the regions in the v-ξ plane for which the spectral index ns and the tensor-to-scalar ratio r values are compatible with the current observations. r is always larger than 0.002 in these regions. Finally, we consider the effect of ξ on small field inflation (hilltop) potentials.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-10

STS077-705-016 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) part of the Spartan 207 payload nears completion of its inflation process over California?s Pacific Coast near Santa Barbara and Point Conception. The view was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera during the first full day of orbital operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-05-20

STS077-150-044 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Spartan 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) payload is backdropped over the Grand Canyon. After the IAE completed its inflation process in free-flight, this view was photographed with a large format still camera. The activity came on the first full day of in-space operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-05-20

STS077-150-022 (20 May 1996) --- After leaving the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Spartan 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) payload goes through the final stages its inflation process, backdropped over clouds and blue water. The view was photographed with a large format still camera on the first full day of in-space operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.

Distribution-free Inference of Zero-inated Binomial Data for Longitudinal Studies.

PubMed

He, H; Wang, W J; Hu, J; Gallop, R; Crits-Christoph, P; Xia, Y L

2015-10-01

Count reponses with structural zeros are very common in medical and psychosocial research, especially in alcohol and HIV research, and the zero-inflated poisson (ZIP) and zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) models are widely used for modeling such outcomes. However, as alcohol drinking outcomes such as days of drinkings are counts within a given period, their distributions are bounded above by an upper limit (total days in the period) and thus inherently follow a binomial or zero-inflated binomial (ZIB) distribution, rather than a Poisson or zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) distribution, in the presence of structural zeros. In this paper, we develop a new semiparametric approach for modeling zero-inflated binomial (ZIB)-like count responses for cross-sectional as well as longitudinal data. We illustrate this approach with both simulated and real study data.

Aseismic inflation of Westdahl volcano, Alaska, revealed by satellite radar interferometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lu, Z.; Wicks, Charles; Dzurisin, D.; Thatcher, W.; Freymueller, J.T.; McNutt, S.R.; Mann, Dorte

2000-01-01

Westdahl volcano, located at the west end of Unimak Island in the central Aleutian volcanic arc, Alaska, is a broad shield that produced moderate-sized eruptions in 1964, 1978-79, and 1991-92. Satellite radar interferometry detected about 17 cm of volcano-wide inflation from September 1993 to October 1998. Multiple independent interferograms reveal that the deformation rate has not been steady; more inflation occurred from 1993 to 1995 than from 1995 to 1998. Numerical modeling indicates that a source located about 9 km beneath the center of the volcano inflated by about 0.05 km3 from 1993 to 1998. On the basis of the timing and volume of recent eruptions at Westdahl and the fact that it has been inflating for more than 5 years, the next eruption can be expected within the next several years.

The impact of HMO penetration on the rate of hospital cost inflation, 1985-1993.

PubMed

Gaskin, D J; Hadley, J

1997-01-01

This paper provides evidence that growth in health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollment slows hospital cost inflation. During the period 1985-1993, hospitals in areas with high rates of HMO penetration and growth had a slower rate of growth in expenses (8.3%) than hospitals in low penetration areas (11.2%). From 1992-1993, HMO growth lowered the rate of hospital cost inflation by .34 to 3.40 percentage points, depending on the base-year level and the annual change in HMO penetration. Declines in Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) margins also lowered hospital cost inflation; over the time period, annual hospital cost inflation was reduced by .38 percentage points. The estimates imply that the cumulative effect of HMO growth on hospital costs has been a $56.2 billion reduction (in 1993 dollars).

Inflation scenario driven by a low energy physics inflaton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, J. G.; Pires, C. A. de S.; Rodrigues, J. G.; Rodrigues da Silva, P. S.

2017-11-01

It is a longstanding desire of cosmologists, and particle physicists as well, to connect inflation to low energy physics, culminating, for instance, in what is known as Higgs inflation. The condition for the standard Higgs boson playing the role of the inflaton, and driving sucessfully inflation, is that it couples nonminimally with gravity. Nevertheless, cosmological constraints impose that the nonminimal coupling be large. This causes the loss of perturbative unitarity in a scale of energy far below the Planck one. Our aim in this work is to point out that inflaton potential containing a particular type of trilinear coupling involving the inflaton may circumvent this problem by realizing Higgs inflation with tiny nonminimal coupling of the inflaton with gravity. We then develop the idea within a toy model and implement it in the inverse type-II seesaw mechanism for small neutrinos masses.

Modeling of Aerobrake Ballute Stagnation Point Temperature and Heat Transfer to Inflation Gas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bahrami, Parviz A.

2012-01-01

A trailing Ballute drag device concept for spacecraft aerocapture is considered. A thermal model for calculation of the Ballute membrane temperature and the inflation gas temperature is developed. An algorithm capturing the most salient features of the concept is implemented. In conjunction with the thermal model, trajectory calculations for two candidate missions, Titan Explorer and Neptune Orbiter missions, are used to estimate the stagnation point temperature and the inflation gas temperature. Radiation from both sides of the membrane at the stagnation point and conduction to the inflating gas is included. The results showed that the radiation from the membrane and to a much lesser extent conduction to the inflating gas, are likely to be the controlling heat transfer mechanisms and that the increase in gas temperature due to aerodynamic heating is of secondary importance.

Are we a gift shop? A perspective on grade inflation.

PubMed

Shoemaker, J K; DeVos, M

1999-12-01

Grade inflation is a phenomenon that has been written about extensively since the mid 1970s. It is theorized that it made its initial appearance as an adjustment to the rigorous educational standards that were imposed in the post-Sputnik era. Some authors speculate that grade inflation as we know it is an outcome of student demands for high grades combined with faculty willingness to capitulate to them. Others believe the problem is related to lack of faculty knowledge about evaluation methods, or the quest for positive student evaluations in support of promotion, tenure, and merit decisions. Of particular concern is the lack of published studies of grade inflation in nursing education. The purpose of this article is to describe what we know about grade inflation-its history, causative factors, and implications for nursing.

Damage Tolerance Testing of a NASA TransHab Derivative Woven Inflatable Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edgecombe, John; delaFuente, Horacio; Valle, Gerard

2009-01-01

Current options for Lunar habitat architecture include inflatable habitats and airlocks. Inflatable structures can have mass and volume advantages over conventional structures. However, inflatable structures carry different inherent risks and are at a lower Technical Readiness Level (TRL) than more conventional metallic structures. One of the risks associated with inflatable structures is in understanding the tolerance to induced damage. The Damage Tolerance Test (DTT) is designed to study the structural integrity of an expandable structure. TransHab (Figure 1) was an experimental inflatable module developed at the NASA/Johnson Space Center in the 1990 s. The TransHab design was originally envisioned for use in Mars Transits but was also studied as a potential habitat for the International Space Station (ISS). The design of the TransHab module was based on a woven design using an Aramid fabric. Testing of this design demonstrated a high level of predictability and repeatability with analytical predictions of stresses and deflections. Based on JSC s experience with the design and analysis of woven inflatable structures, the Damage Tolerance Test article was designed and fabricated using a woven design. The DTT article was inflated to 45 psig, representing 25% of the ultimate burst pressure, and one of the one-inch wide longitudinal structural members was severed by initiating a Linear Shaped Charge (LSC). Strain gage measurements, at the interface between the expandable elements (straps) and the nonexpandable metallic elements for pre-selected longitudinal straps, were taken throughout pressurization of the module and strap separation. Strain gage measurements show no change in longitudinal strap loading at the bulkhead interface after strap separation indicating loads in the restraint layer were re-distributed local to the damaged area due to the effects of friction under high internal pressure loading. The test completed all primary objectives with better than expected results. This paper will discuss space inflatable structures, damage tolerance analysis, test results, and applicability to the Lunar architecture.

A novel stent inflation protocol improves long-term outcomes compared with rapid inflation/deflation deployment method.

PubMed

Vallurupalli, Srikanth; Kasula, Srikanth; Kumar Agarwal, Shiv; Pothineni, Naga Venkata K; Abualsuod, Amjad; Hakeem, Abdul; Ahmed, Zubair; Uretsky, Barry F

2017-08-01

High-pressure inflation for coronary stent deployment is universally performed. However, the duration of inflation is variable and does not take into account differences in lesion compliance. We developed a standardized "pressure optimization protocol" (POP) using inflation pressure stability rather than an arbitrary inflation time or angiographic balloon appearance for stent deployment. Whether this approach improves long-term outcomes is unknown. 792 patients who underwent PCI using either rapid inflation/deflation (n = 376) or POP (n = 416) between January 2009 and March 2014 were included. Exclusion criteria included PCI for acute myocardial infarction, in-stent restenosis, chronic total occlusion, left main, and saphenous vein graft lesions. Primary endpoint was target vessel failure [TVF = combined end point of target vessel revascularization (TVR), myocardial infarction, and cardiac death]. Outcomes were analyzed in the entire cohort and in a propensity analysis. Stent implantation using POP with a median follow-up of 1317 days was associated with lower TVF compared with rapid inflation/deflation (10.1 vs. 17.8%, P < 0.0001). This difference was driven by a decrease in TVR (7 vs. 10.6%, P = 0.0016) and cardiac death (2.9 vs. 5.8%, P = 0.017) while there was no difference in myocardial infarction (1 vs. 1.9%, P = 0.19). In the Cox regression model, deployment using POP was the only independent predictor of reduced TVF (HR 0.43; 0.29-0.64; P < 0.0001). In the propensity analysis (330 patients per group) TVF remained lower with POP vs. rapid inflation/deflation (10 vs. 18%, P < 0.0001). Stent deployment using POP led to reduced TVF compared to rapid I/D. These results recommend this method to improve long-term outcomes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An innovative methodology for measurement of stress distribution of inflatable membrane structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Bing; Chen, Wujun; Hu, Jianhui; Chen, Jianwen; Qiu, Zhenyu; Zhou, Jinyu; Gao, Chengjun

2016-02-01

The inflatable membrane structure has been widely used in the fields of civil building, industrial building, airship, super pressure balloon and spacecraft. It is important to measure the stress distribution of the inflatable membrane structure because it influences the safety of the structural design. This paper presents an innovative methodology for the measurement and determination of the stress distribution of the inflatable membrane structure under different internal pressures, combining photogrammetry and the force-finding method. The shape of the inflatable membrane structure is maintained by the use of pressurized air, and the internal pressure is controlled and measured by means of an automatic pressure control system. The 3D coordinates of the marking points pasted on the membrane surface are acquired by three photographs captured from three cameras based on photogrammetry. After digitizing the markings on the photographs, the 3D curved surfaces are rebuilt. The continuous membrane surfaces are discretized into quadrilateral mesh and simulated by membrane links to calculate the stress distributions using the force-finding method. The internal pressure is simplified to the external node forces in the normal direction according to the contributory area of the node. Once the geometry x, the external force r and the topology C are obtained, the unknown force densities q in each link can be determined. Therefore, the stress distributions of the inflatable membrane structure can be calculated, combining the linear adjustment theory and the force density method based on the force equilibrium of inflated internal pressure and membrane internal force without considering the mechanical properties of the constitutive material. As the use of the inflatable membrane structure is attractive in the field of civil building, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) cushion is used with the measurement model to validate the proposed methodology. The comparisons between the obtained results and numerical simulation for the inflation process of the ETFE cushion are performed, and the strong agreements demonstrate that the proposed methodology is feasible and accurate.

Consistent cosmology with Higgs thermal inflation in a minimal extension of the MSSM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hindmarsh, Mark; Jones, D. R. Timothy

2013-03-01

We consider a class of supersymmetric inflation models, in which minimal gauged F-term hybrid inflation is coupled renormalisably to the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), with no extra ingredients; we call this class the ``minimal hybrid inflationary supersymmetric standard model'' (MHISSM). The singlet inflaton couples to the Higgs as well as the waterfall fields, supplying the Higgs μ-term. We show how such models can exit inflation to a vacuum characterised by large Higgs vevs, whose vacuum energy is controlled by supersymmetry-breaking. The true ground state is reached after an intervening period of thermal inflation along the Higgs flat direction, which has important consequences for the cosmology of the F-term inflation scenario. The scalar spectral index is reduced, with a value of approximately 0.976 in the case where the inflaton potential is dominated by the 1-loop radiative corrections. The reheat temperature following thermal inflation is about 109 GeV, which solves the gravitino overclosure problem. A Higgs condensate reduces the cosmic string mass per unit length, rendering it compatible with the Cosmic Microwave Background constraints without tuning the inflaton coupling. With the minimal U(1)' gauge symmetry in the inflation sector, where one of the waterfall fields generates a right-handed neutrino mass, we investigate the Higgs thermal inflation scenario in three popular supersymmetry-breaking schemes: AMSB, GMSB and the CMSSM, focusing on the implications for the gravitino bound. In AMSB enough gravitinos can be produced to account for the observed dark matter abundance through decays into neutralinos. In GMSB we find an upper bound on the gravitino mass of about a TeV, while in the CMSSM the thermally generated gravitinos are sub-dominant. When Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints are taken into account, the unstable gravitinos of AMSB and the CMSSM must have a mass O(10) TeV or greater, while in GMSB we find an upper bound on the gravitino mass of O(1) TeV.

Effect of reheating on predictions following multiple-field inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hotinli, Selim C.; Frazer, Jonathan; Jaffe, Andrew H.; Meyers, Joel; Price, Layne C.; Tarrant, Ewan R. M.

2018-01-01

We study the sensitivity of cosmological observables to the reheating phase following inflation driven by many scalar fields. We describe a method which allows semianalytic treatment of the impact of perturbative reheating on cosmological perturbations using the sudden decay approximation. Focusing on N -quadratic inflation, we show how the scalar spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio are affected by the rates at which the scalar fields decay into radiation. We find that for certain choices of decay rates, reheating following multiple-field inflation can have a significant impact on the prediction of cosmological observables.

Inflation in the standard cosmological model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uzan, Jean-Philippe

2015-12-01

The inflationary paradigm is now part of the standard cosmological model as a description of its primordial phase. While its original motivation was to solve the standard problems of the hot big bang model, it was soon understood that it offers a natural theory for the origin of the large-scale structure of the universe. Most models rely on a slow-rolling scalar field and enjoy very generic predictions. Besides, all the matter of the universe is produced by the decay of the inflaton field at the end of inflation during a phase of reheating. These predictions can be (and are) tested from their imprint of the large-scale structure and in particular the cosmic microwave background. Inflation stands as a window in physics where both general relativity and quantum field theory are at work and which can be observationally studied. It connects cosmology with high-energy physics. Today most models are constructed within extensions of the standard model, such as supersymmetry or string theory. Inflation also disrupts our vision of the universe, in particular with the ideas of chaotic inflation and eternal inflation that tend to promote the image of a very inhomogeneous universe with fractal structure on a large scale. This idea is also at the heart of further speculations, such as the multiverse. This introduction summarizes the connections between inflation and the hot big bang model and details the basics of its dynamics and predictions. xml:lang="fr"

Airbag vent valve and system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Leslie D. (Inventor); Zimmermann, Richard E. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

An energy absorbing airbag system includes one or more vent valve assemblies for controlling the release of airbag inflation gases to maintain inflation gas pressure within an airbag at a substantially constant pressure during a ride-down of an energy absorbing event. Each vent valve assembly includes a cantilever spring that is flat in an unstressed condition and that has a free end portion. The cantilever spring is secured to an exterior surface of the airbag housing and flexed to cause the second free end portion of the cantilever spring to be pressed, with a preset force, against a vent port or a closure covering the vent port to seal the vent port until inflation gas pressure within the airbag reaches a preselected value determined by the preset force whereupon the free end portion of the cantilever spring is lifted from the vent port by the inflation gases within the airbag to vent the inflation gases from within the airbag. The resilience of the cantilever spring maintains a substantially constant pressure within the airbag during a ride-down portion of an energy absorbing event by causing the cantilever spring to vent gases through the vent port whenever the pressure of the inflation gases reaches the preselected value and by causing the cantilever spring to close the vent port whenever the pressure of the inflation gases falls below the preselected value.

Vanishing of local non-Gaussianity in canonical single field inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bravo, Rafael; Mooij, Sander; Palma, Gonzalo A.; Pradenas, Bastián

2018-05-01

We study the production of observable primordial local non-Gaussianity in two opposite regimes of canonical single field inflation: attractor (standard single field slow-roll inflation) and non attractor (ultra slow-roll inflation). In the attractor regime, the standard derivation of the bispectrum's squeezed limit using co-moving coordinates gives the well known Maldacena's consistency relation fNL = 5 (1‑ns) / 12. On the other hand, in the non-attractor regime, the squeezed limit offers a substantial violation of this relation given by fNL = 5/2. In this work we argue that, independently of whether inflation is attractor or non-attractor, the size of the observable primordial local non-Gaussianity is predicted to be fNLobs = 0 (a result that was already understood to hold in the case of attractor models). To show this, we follow the use of the so-called Conformal Fermi Coordinates (CFC), recently introduced in the literature. These coordinates parametrize the local environment of inertial observers in a perturbed FRW spacetime, allowing one to identify and compute gauge invariant quantities, such as n-point correlation functions. Concretely, we find that during inflation, after all the modes have exited the horizon, the squeezed limit of the 3-point correlation function of curvature perturbations vanishes in the CFC frame, regardless of the inflationary regime. We argue that such a cancellation should persist after inflation ends.

Impaired swim bladder inflation in early-life stage fathead ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The present study investigated whether inhibition of deiodinase, the enzyme which converts thyroxine (T4) to the more biologically-active form, 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3), would impact inflation of the posterior and/or anterior chamber of the swim bladder, processes previously demonstrated to be thyroid-hormone regulated. Two experiments were conducted using a model deiodinase inhibitor, iopanoic acid (IOP). In the first study, fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) embryos were exposed to 0.6, 1.9, or 6.0 mg IOP/L or control water in a flow-through system until reaching 6 days post-fertilization (dpf) at which time posterior swim bladder inflation was assessed. To examine effects on anterior swim bladder inflation, a second study was conducted with 6 dpf larvae exposed to the same IOP concentrations until reaching 21 dpf. Fish from both studies were sampled for T4/T3 measurements, gene transcription analyses, and thyroid histopathology. In the embryo study, incidence and length of inflated posterior swim bladders were significantly reduced in the 6.0 mg/L treatment at 6 dpf. Incidence of inflation and length of anterior swim bladder in larval fish were significantly reduced in all IOP treatments at 14 dpf, but inflation recovered by 18 dpf. Throughout the larval study, whole body T4 concentrations were significantly increased and T3 concentrations were significantly decreased in all IOP treatments. Consistent with hypothesized compensatory responses, sig

How well can we really determine the scale of inflation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özsoy, Ogan; Sinha, Kuver; Watson, Scott

2015-05-01

A detection of primordial B modes has been heralded not only as a smoking gun for the existence of inflation, but also as a way to establish the scale at which inflation took place. In this paper we critically reinvestigate the connection between a detection of primordial gravity waves and the scale of inflation. We consider whether the presence of additional fields and nonadiabaticity during inflation may have provided an additional source of primordial B modes competitive with those of the quasi-de Sitter vacuum. In particular, we examine whether the additional sources could provide the dominant signal, which could lead to a misinterpretation of the scale of inflation. In light of constraints on the level of non-Gaussianity coming from Planck we find that only hidden sectors with strictly gravitationally strong couplings provide a feasible mechanism. The required model building is somewhat elaborate, and so we discuss possible UV completions in the context of type IIB orientifold compactifications with Ramond-Ramond axions. We find that an embedding is possible and that dangerous sinusoidal corrections can be suppressed through the compactification geometry. Our main result is that even when additional sources of primordial gravity waves are competitive with the inflaton, a positive B-mode detection would still be a relatively good indicator of the scale of inflation. This conclusion will be strengthened by future constraints on both non-Gaussianity and cosmic microwave background polarization.

Pseudo-beam method for compressive buckling characteristics analysis of space inflatable load-carrying structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Changguo; Tan, Huifeng; Du, Xingwen

2009-10-01

This paper extends Le van’s work to the case of nonlinear problem and the complicated configuration. The wrinkling stress distribution and the pressure effects are also included in our analysis. Pseudo-beam method is presented based on the inflatable beam theory to model the inflatable structures as a set of inflatable beam elements with a pre-stressed state. In this method, the discretized nonlinear equations are given based upon the virtual work principle with a 3-node Timoshenko’s beam model. Finite element simulation is performed by using a 3-node BEAM189 element incorporating ANSYS nonlinear program. The pressure effect is equivalent included in our method by modifying beam element cross-section parameters related to pressure. A benchmark example, the bending case of an inflatable cantilever beam, is performed to verify the accuracy of our proposed method. The comparisons reveal that the numerical results obtained with our method are close to open published analytical and membrane finite element results. The method is then used to evaluate the whole buckling and the load-carrying characteristics of an inflatable support frame subjected to a compression force. The wrinkling stress and region characteristics are also shown in the end. This method gives better convergence characteristics, and requires much less computation time. It is very effective to deal with the whole load-carrying ability analytical problems for large scale inflatable structures with complex configuration.

Self-reproduction in k-inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Helmer, Ferdinand; Winitzki, Sergei

2006-09-15

We study cosmological self-reproduction in models of inflation driven by a scalar field {phi} with a noncanonical kinetic term (k-inflation). We develop a general criterion for the existence of attractors and establish conditions selecting a class of k-inflation models that admit a unique attractor solution. We then consider quantum fluctuations on the attractor background. We show that the correlation length of the fluctuations is of order c{sub s}H{sup -1}, where c{sub s} is the speed of sound. By computing the magnitude of field fluctuations, we determine the coefficients of Fokker-Planck equations describing the probability distribution of the spatially averaged fieldmore » {phi}. The field fluctuations are generally large in the inflationary attractor regime; hence, eternal self-reproduction is a generic feature of k-inflation. This is established more formally by demonstrating the existence of stationary solutions of the relevant Fokker-Planck equations. We also show that there exists a (model-dependent) range {phi}{sub R}<{phi}<{phi}{sub max} within which large fluctuations are likely to drive the field towards the upper boundary {phi}={phi}{sub max}, where the semiclassical consideration breaks down. An exit from inflation into reheating without reaching {phi}{sub max} will occur almost surely (with probability 1) only if the initial value of {phi} is below {phi}{sub R}. In this way, strong self-reproduction effects constrain models of k-inflation.« less

The Effects of Inflation and Interest Rates on Delay Discounting in Human Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kawashima, Kentaro

2006-01-01

Interest and inflation rates may be major determinants of delay discounting, but these variables have not been controlled in past experiments because they depend on macroeconomic conditions. This study uses a computer game-like task to investigate the effects of inflation rates on people's subjective valuation of delayed rewards. During the task,…

76 FR 40817 - Cost Accounting Standards: Change to the CAS Applicability Threshold for the Inflation Adjustment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-12

... the Truth in Negotiations Act Threshold AGENCY: Cost Accounting Standards Board, Office of Federal... Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) threshold, as adjusted for inflation.'' The change is being made... ``the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) threshold, as adjusted for inflation (41 U.S.C. 1908) and (41 U.S...

39 CFR 3010.11 - Limit on size of rate increases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... in any 12-month period are limited. (b) Rates of general applicability are subject to an inflation-based limitation computed using CPI-U values as detailed in § 3010.12. (c) An exception to the inflation... authority is measured separately for each class of mail. (d) In any 12-month period the inflation-based...

Factors Related to the Likelihood of Grade Inflation at Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heulett, Steven Talmadge

2013-01-01

A number of studies have documented a trend of higher grades awarded by postsecondary institutions in both the United States and Canada over the last two decades. Grade inflation in higher education is a potentially costly problem for a variety of reasons, but little empirical research about the causes of grade inflation has been conducted. This…

77 FR 22067 - Publication of Inflation Adjustment Factor, Nonconventional Source Fuel Credit, and Reference...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-12

... credit allowable under section 45K for coke or coke gas (other than from petroleum based products) for... apply to coke or coke gas (other than from petroleum based products) sold during calendar year 2011. Inflation Adjustment Factor: The inflation adjustment factor for coke or coke gas for calendar year 2011 is...

76 FR 19524 - Publication of Inflation Adjustment Factor, Nonconventional Source Fuel Credit, and Reference...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-07

... determine the credit allowable under section 45K for coke or coke gas (other than from petroleum based... credit, and reference price apply to coke or coke gas (other than from petroleum based products) sold during calendar year 2010. Inflation Adjustment Factor: The inflation adjustment factor for coke or coke...

78 FR 21008 - Publication of Inflation Adjustment Factor, Nonconventional Source Fuel Credit, and Reference...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-08

... determine the credit allowable under section 45K for coke or coke gas (other than from petroleum based... credit, and reference price apply to coke or coke gas (other than from petroleum based products) sold during calendar year 2012. Inflation Adjustment Factor: The inflation adjustment factor for coke or coke...

Auditing for Score Inflation Using Self-Monitoring Assessments: Findings from Three Pilot Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koretz, Daniel; Jennings, Jennifer L.; Ng, Hui Leng; Yu, Carol; Braslow, David; Langi, Meredith

2016-01-01

Test-based accountability often produces score inflation. Most studies have evaluated inflation by comparing trends on a high-stakes test and a lower stakes audit test. However, Koretz and Beguin (2010) noted weaknesses of audit tests and suggested self-monitoring assessments (SMAs), which incorporate audit items into high-stakes tests. This…

The Effects of Inflated Seating Cushions on Engagement in Preschool Circle Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seifert, Anna M.; Metz, Alexia E.

2017-01-01

Inflatable balls and cushions made of non-latex rubber can provide alternatives to sitting on the floor/ground or classroom chairs. This study tested the effect of inflatable cushions (wiggle cushions) placed on the floor for seating during circle time in typical preschool classrooms. The effect on attention was tested using alternating periods of…

76 FR 45399 - Special Conditions: Cessna Aircraft Company, Model LC40-550FG, LC41-550FG, and LC42-550FG; AmSafe...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-29

... lap belt. The inflatable portion of the restraint system will rely on sensors to electronically... establishing these special conditions. The inflatable restraint system relies on sensors to electronically activate the inflator for deployment. These sensors could be susceptible to inadvertent activation, causing...

A Linear Theory for Inflatable Plates of Arbitrary Shape

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McComb, Harvey G., Jr.

1961-01-01

A linear small-deflection theory is developed for the elastic behavior of inflatable plates of which Airmat is an example. Included in the theory are the effects of a small linear taper in the depth of the plate. Solutions are presented for some simple problems in the lateral deflection and vibration of constant-depth rectangular inflatable plates.

Inflation Tests of the Echo 1 Satellite in Weeksville, N.C.

NASA Image and Video Library

1958-08-13

Inflation Tests of the Echo 1 Satellite in Weeksville, N.C. 1958-L-03603 Image Langley engineers Edwin Kilgore (center), Norman Crabill (right) and an unidentified man take a peek inside the vast balloon during inflation tests. Page. 183 Space Flight Revolution NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo. NASA SP-4308.

46 CFR 160.051-7 - Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts. 160.051-7 Section 160.051-7 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-7...

46 CFR 160.051-5 - Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts. 160.051-5 Section 160.051-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-5...

46 CFR 160.051-7 - Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Design and performance of Coastal Service inflatable liferafts. 160.051-7 Section 160.051-7 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-7...

Inflation: Causes and Cures. Series on Public Issues No. 9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saving, Thomas R.

This booklet, one of a series intended to apply economic principles to major social and political issues of the day, focuses on the relationship between growth of the money supply, growth of productivity, and inflation. Provided first is a definition of inflation along with discussions of price indexes, the value of money, and the concept of…

Inflation Is Pricing Out Quality. AIR Forum 1981 Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belanger, Charles H.; Lavallee, Lise

The way that inflation has created pressure points on quantity of resouces and quality of outcomes in postsecondary education is examined, along with the situation of the chemistry department of the University of Montreal. Data from the chemistry department for 1971-80 are used to assess the impact of inflation on various objects of expenditures…

Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away-Special Experiment (RIGEX) Post Flight Analysis, Ground Testing, Modeling, and Future Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

applications. RIGEX was an Air Force Institute of Technology graduate-student-built Space Shuttle cargo bay experiment intended to heat and inflate...suggestions for future experiments and applications are provided. RIGEX successfully accomplished its mission statement by validating the heating and...Inflatable/Rigidizable Solar Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2.6. RIGEX Student Involvement

77 FR 26703 - Inflation Adjustment of the Aggravated Maximum Civil Monetary Penalty for a Violation of a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-07

.... FRA-2004-17529; Notice No. 9] RIN 2130-AB94 Inflation Adjustment of the Aggravated Maximum Civil Monetary Penalty for a Violation of a Federal Railroad Safety Law or Federal Railroad Administration Safety... rule, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, which increased the...

17 CFR Table V to Subpart E of... - Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Inflation Adjustments V Table V to Subpart E of Part 201 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION RULES OF PRACTICE Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties Pt. 201, Subpt. E, Table V Table V to Subpart E of Part 201—Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments U.S. Code citation Civil...

17 CFR Table V to Subpart E of... - Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Inflation Adjustments V Table V to Subpart E of Part 201 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION RULES OF PRACTICE Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties Pt. 201, Subpt. E, Table V Table V to Subpart E of Part 201—Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments U.S. Code citation Civil...

Grade Inflation and Student Individual Differences as Systematic Bias in Faculty Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Germain, Marie-Line; Scandura, Terri A.

2005-01-01

The media has recently exposed that grade inflation is a concern for higher education in North America. Grade inflation may be due to consumerism by universities that now compete for students. Keeping students happy (and paying) may have been emphasized more than learning. We review the literature on faculty evaluation and present a model that…

Small field axion inflation with sub-Planckian decay constant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kadota, Kenji; Kobayashi, Tatsuo; Oikawa, Akane

2016-10-10

We study an axion inflation model recently proposed within the framework of type IIB superstring theory, where we pay a particular attention to a sub-Planckian axion decay constant. Our axion potential can lead to the small field inflation with a small tensor-to-scalar ratio, and a typical reheating temperature can be as low as GeV.

77 FR 9281 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-16

... and Trading of the PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation-Linked Bond Strategy Fund Under NYSE Arca Equities...''): PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation-Linked Bond Strategy Fund. The text of the proposed rule change is... Shares \\3\\ (``Shares'') under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600: PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation-Linked Bond...

14 CFR 121.291 - Demonstration of emergency evacuation procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... appendix D to this part are complied with if each life raft is removed from stowage, one life raft is launched and inflated (or one slide life raft is inflated) and crewmembers assigned to the inflated life raft display and describe the use of each item of required emergency equipment. The life raft or slide...

Pneumatic antishock garment inflation activates the human sympathetic nervous system by abdominal compression.

PubMed

Garvin, Nathan M; Levine, Benjamin D; Raven, Peter B; Pawelczyk, James A

2014-01-01

Pneumatic antishock garments (PASG) have been proposed to exert their blood pressure-raising effect mechanically, i.e. by increasing venous return and vascular resistance of the lower body. We tested whether, alternatively, PASG inflation activates the sympathetic nervous system. Five men and four women wore PASG while mean arterial pressure (MAP), muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), heart rate and stroke volume were measured. One leg bladder (LEG) and the abdominal bladder (ABD) of the trousers were inflated individually and in combination (ABD+LEG), at 60 or 90 mmHg for 3 min. By the end of 3 min of inflation, conditions that included the ABD region caused significant increases in MAP in a dose-dependent fashion (7 ± 2, 8 ± 3, 14 ± 4 and 13 ± 5 mmHg for ABD60, ABD+LEG60, ABD90 and ABD+LEG90, respectively, P < 0.05). Likewise, inflation that included ABD caused significant increases in total MSNA compared with control values [306 ± 70, 426 ± 98 and 247 ± 79 units for ABD60, ABD90 and ABD+LEG90, respectively, P < 0.05 (units = burst frequency × burst amplitude]. There were no changes in MAP or MSNA in the LEG-alone conditions. The ABD inflation also caused a significant decrease in stroke volume (-11 ± 3 and -10 ± 3 ml per beat in ABD90 and ABD+LEG90, respectively, P < 0.05) with no change in cardiac output. Neither cardiopulmonary receptor deactivation nor mechanical effects can account for a slowly developing rise in both sympathetic activity and blood pressure during ABD inflation. Rather, these data provide direct evidence that PASG inflation activates the sympathetic nervous system secondarily to abdominal, but not leg, compression.

Forecasting deflation, intrusion and eruption at inflating volcanoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blake, Stephen; Cortés, Joaquín A.

2018-01-01

A principal goal of volcanology is to successfully forecast the start of volcanic eruptions. This paper introduces a general forecasting method, which relies on a stream of monitoring data and a statistical description of a given threshold criterion for an eruption to start. Specifically we investigate the timing of intrusive and eruptive events at inflating volcanoes. The gradual inflation of the ground surface is a well-known phenomenon at many volcanoes and is attributable to pressurised magma accumulating within a shallow chamber. Inflation usually culminates in a rapid deflation event caused by magma escaping from the chamber to produce a shallow intrusion and, in some cases, a volcanic eruption. We show that the ground elevation during 15 inflation periods at Krafla volcano, Iceland, increased with time towards a limiting value by following a decaying exponential with characteristic timescale τ. The available data for Krafla, Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes show that the duration of inflation (t*) is approximately equal to τ. The distribution of t* / τ values follows a log-logistic distribution in which the central 60% of the data lie between 0.99

Inflationary tensor fossils in large-scale structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimastrogiovanni, Emanuela; Fasiello, Matteo; Jeong, Donghui

Inflation models make specific predictions for a tensor-scalar-scalar three-point correlation, or bispectrum, between one gravitational-wave (tensor) mode and two density-perturbation (scalar) modes. This tensor-scalar-scalar correlation leads to a local power quadrupole, an apparent departure from statistical isotropy in our Universe, as well as characteristic four-point correlations in the current mass distribution in the Universe. So far, the predictions for these observables have been worked out only for single-clock models in which certain consistency conditions between the tensor-scalar-scalar correlation and tensor and scalar power spectra are satisfied. Here we review the requirements on inflation models for these consistency conditions to bemore » satisfied. We then consider several examples of inflation models, such as non-attractor and solid-inflation models, in which these conditions are put to the test. In solid inflation the simplest consistency conditions are already violated whilst in the non-attractor model we find that, contrary to the standard scenario, the tensor-scalar-scalar correlator probes directly relevant model-dependent information. We work out the predictions for observables in these models. For non-attractor inflation we find an apparent local quadrupolar departure from statistical isotropy in large-scale structure but that this power quadrupole decreases very rapidly at smaller scales. The consistency of the CMB quadrupole with statistical isotropy then constrains the distance scale that corresponds to the transition from the non-attractor to attractor phase of inflation to be larger than the currently observable horizon. Solid inflation predicts clustering fossils signatures in the current galaxy distribution that may be large enough to be detectable with forthcoming, and possibly even current, galaxy surveys.« less

Maximum type 1 error rate inflation in multiarmed clinical trials with adaptive interim sample size modifications.

PubMed

Graf, Alexandra C; Bauer, Peter; Glimm, Ekkehard; Koenig, Franz

2014-07-01

Sample size modifications in the interim analyses of an adaptive design can inflate the type 1 error rate, if test statistics and critical boundaries are used in the final analysis as if no modification had been made. While this is already true for designs with an overall change of the sample size in a balanced treatment-control comparison, the inflation can be much larger if in addition a modification of allocation ratios is allowed as well. In this paper, we investigate adaptive designs with several treatment arms compared to a single common control group. Regarding modifications, we consider treatment arm selection as well as modifications of overall sample size and allocation ratios. The inflation is quantified for two approaches: a naive procedure that ignores not only all modifications, but also the multiplicity issue arising from the many-to-one comparison, and a Dunnett procedure that ignores modifications, but adjusts for the initially started multiple treatments. The maximum inflation of the type 1 error rate for such types of design can be calculated by searching for the "worst case" scenarios, that are sample size adaptation rules in the interim analysis that lead to the largest conditional type 1 error rate in any point of the sample space. To show the most extreme inflation, we initially assume unconstrained second stage sample size modifications leading to a large inflation of the type 1 error rate. Furthermore, we investigate the inflation when putting constraints on the second stage sample sizes. It turns out that, for example fixing the sample size of the control group, leads to designs controlling the type 1 error rate. © 2014 The Author. Biometrical Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Differentiating G-inflation from string gas cosmology using the effective field theory approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Minxi; Liu, Junyu; Lu, Shiyun

A characteristic signature of String Gas Cosmology is primordial power spectra for scalar and tensor modes which are almost scale-invariant but with a red tilt for scalar modes but a blue tilt for tensor modes. This feature, however, can also be realized in the so-called G-inflation model, in which Horndeski operators are introduced which leads to a blue tensor tilt by softly breaking the Null Energy Condition. In this article we search for potential observational differences between these two cosmologies by performing detailed perturbation analyses based on the Effective Field Theory approach. Our results show that, although both two modelsmore » produce blue tilted tensor perturbations, they behave differently in three aspects. Firstly, String Gas Cosmology predicts a specific consistency relation between the index of the scalar modes n {sub s} and that of tensor ones n {sub t} , which is hard to be reproduced by G-inflation. Secondly, String Gas Cosmology typically predicts non-Gaussianities which are highly suppressed on observable scales, while G-inflation gives rise to observationally large non-Gaussianities because the kinetic terms in the action become important during inflation. However, after finely tuning the model parameters of G-inflation it is possible to obtain a blue tensor spectrum and negligible non-Gaussianities with a degeneracy between the two models. This degeneracy can be broken by a third observable, namely the scale dependence of the nonlinearity parameter, which vanishes for G-inflation but has a blue tilt in the case of String Gas Cosmology. Therefore, we conclude that String Gas Cosmology is in principle observationally distinguishable from the single field inflationary cosmology, even allowing for modifications such as G-inflation.« less

Clinical Evaluation of a Safety-device to Prevent Urinary Catheter Inflation Related Injuries.

PubMed

Davis, Niall F; Cunnane, Eoghan M; Mooney, Rory O'C; Forde, James C; Walsh, Michael T

2018-05-01

To evaluate the feasibility of a novel "safety-valve" device for preventing catheter related urethral trauma during urethral catheterization (UC). To assess the opinions of clinicians on the performance of the safety-valve device. A validated prototype "safety-valve" device for preventing catheter balloon inflation related urethral injuries was prospectively piloted in male patients requiring UC in a tertiary referral teaching hospital (n = 100). The device allows fluid in the catheter system to decant through an activated safety threshold pressure valve if the catheter anchoring balloon is misplaced. Users evaluated the "safety-valve" with an anonymous questionnaire. The primary outcome measurement was prevention of anchoring balloon inflation in the urethra. Secondary outcome measurement was successful inflation of urinary catheter anchoring balloon in the bladder. Patient age was 76 ± 12 years and American Society of Anaesthesiologists grade was 3 ± 1.4. The "safety-valve" was utilized by 34 clinicians and activated in 7% (n = 7/100) patients during attempted UC, indicating that the catheter anchoring balloon was incorrectly positioned in the patient's urethra. In these 7 cases, the catheter was successfully manipulated into the urinary bladder and inflated. 31 of 34 (91%) clinicians completed the questionnaire. Ten percent (n = 3/31) of respondents had previously inflated a urinary catheter anchoring balloon in the urethra and 100% (n = 31) felt that a safety mechanism for preventing balloon inflation in the urethra should be compulsory for all UCs. The safety-valve device piloted in this clinical study offers an effective solution for preventing catheter balloon inflation related urethral injuries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Performing a Launch Depressurization Test on an Inflatable Space Habitat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Patrick J.; Van Velzer, Paul

2014-01-01

In July, 2014 JPL's Environmental Test Laboratory successfully performed a launch depressurization test on an inflatable space habitat proposed to be installed on the International Space Station. The inflatable habitat is to be launched in the SpaceX Dragon Trunk. During the launch, the unpressurized Dragon Trunk will rapidly change from ground level atmospheric pressure to the vacuum of space. Since the inflatable habitat is tightly folded during launch with multiple layers of bladder, Kevlar fabric sections, and micro-meteoroid shielding, it was not possible to analyze or simulate how the residual air pockets would behave during the launch. If the inflatable habitat does not vent adequately and expands, it could rupture the payload bay of the launch vehicle. A launch depressurization test was chosen as the best way to qualify the inflatable habitat. When stowed, the inflatable habitat measured approximately 241 cm (95 inches) in diameter by 152 cm (60 inches) high and weighed close to 1361 kg (3,000 pounds). Two vacuum chambers connected by a large vacuum line were used to perform this test. The inflatable habitat was mounted in the smaller chamber, which was 396 cm (13 feet) in diameter and 1128 cm (37 feet) high. The larger chamber, which was 823 cm (27 feet) in diameter and 2,591 cm (85 feet) high, was rough pumped and used as a vacuum reservoir. A two stage axial type compressor and ten Stokes vacuum pumps were also used during the depressurization. Opening a butterfly valve on the vacuum line, at the smaller chamber, was manually controlled so that the smaller chamber's depressurization rate matched the launch pressure profile.

Biomechanical considerations for assessing interactions of children and small occupants with inflatable seat belts.

PubMed

Rouhana, Stephen W; Sundararajan, Srinivasan; Board, Derek; Prasad, Priya; Rupp, Jonathan D; Miller, Carl S; Jeffreys, Thomas A; Schneider, Lawrence W

2013-11-01

NHTSA estimates that more than half of the lives saved (168,524) in car crashes between 1960 and 2002 were due to the use of seat belts. Nevertheless, while seat belts are vital to occupant crash protection, safety researchers continue efforts to further enhance the capability of seat belts in reducing injury and fatality risk in automotive crashes. Examples of seat belt design concepts that have been investigated by researchers include inflatable, 4-point, and reverse geometry seat belts. In 2011, Ford Motor Company introduced the first rear seat inflatable seat belts into production vehicles. A series of tests with child and small female-sized Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATD) and small, elderly female Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) was performed to evaluate interactions of prototype inflatable seat belts with the chest, upper torso, head and neck of children and small occupants, from infants to young adolescents. Tests simulating a 6-year-old child asleep in a booster seat, with its head lying directly on its shoulder on top of the inflatable seat belt, were considered by engineering judgment, to represent a worst case scenario for interaction of an inflating seat belt with the head and neck of a child and/or small occupant. All evaluations resulted in ATD responses below Injury Assessment Reference Values reported by Mertz et al. (2003). In addition, the tests of the PMHS subjects resulted in no injuries from interaction of the inflating seat belt with the heads, necks, and chests of the subjects. Given the results from the ATD and PMHS tests, it was concluded that the injury risk to children and small occupants from deployment of inflatable seat belt systems is low.

On the effective Stefan-Boltzmann law and the thermodynamic origin of the initial radiation density in warm inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gim, Yongwan; Kim, Wontae

2018-01-01

In this presentation, we are going to explain the thermodynamic origin of warm inflation scenarios by using the effetive Stefan-Boltzmann law. In the warm inflation scenarios, radiation always exists to avoid the graceful exit problem, for which the radiation energy density should be assumed to be finite at the starting point of the warm inflation. To find out the origin of the non-vanishing initial radiation energy density, we derive an effective Stefan-Boltzmann law by considering the non-vanishing trace of the total energy-momentum tensors. The effective Stefan-Boltzmann law successfully shows where the initial radiation energy density is thermodynamically originated from. And by using the above effective Stefan-Boltzmann law, we also study the cosmological scalar perturbation, and obtain the sufficient radiation energy density in order for GUT baryogenesis at the end of inflation. This proceeding is based on Ref. [1

Load Asymmetry Observed During Orion Main Parachute Inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Aaron L.; Taylor, Thomas; Olson, Leah

2011-01-01

The Crew Exploration Vehicle Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) has flight tested the first two generations of the Orion parachute program. Three of the second generation tests instrumented the dispersion bridles of the Main parachute with a Tension Measuring System. The goal of this load measurement was to better understand load asymmetry during the inflation process of a cluster of Main parachutes. The CPAS Main parachutes exhibit inflations that are much less symmetric than current parachute literature and design guides would indicate. This paper will examine loads data gathered on three cluster tests, quantify the degree of asymmetry observed, and contrast the results with published design guides. Additionally, the measured loads data will be correlated with videos of the parachute inflation to make inferences about the shape of the parachute and the relative load asymmetry. The goal of this inquiry and test program is to open a dialogue regarding asymmetrical parachute inflation load factors.

Distinctive signatures of space-time diffeomorphism breaking in EFT of inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartolo, Nicola; Cannone, Dario; Ricciardone, Angelo

2016-03-01

The effective field theory of inflation is a powerful tool for obtaining model independent predictions common to large classes of inflationary models. It requires only information about the symmetries broken during the inflationary era, and on the number and nature of fields that drive inflation. In this paper, we consider the case for scenarios that simultaneously break time reparameterization and spatial diffeomorphisms during inflation. We examine how to analyse such systems using an effective field theory approach, and we discuss several observational consequences for the statistics of scalar and tensor modes. For example, examining the three point functions, we showmore » that this symmetry breaking pattern can lead to an enhanced amplitude for the squeezed bispectra, and to a distinctive angular dependence between their three wavevectors. We also discuss how our results indicate prospects for constraining the level of spatial diffeomorphism breaking during inflation.« less

Characterizing and Mitigating Work Time Inflation in Task Parallel Programs

DOE PAGES

Olivier, Stephen L.; de Supinski, Bronis R.; Schulz, Martin; ...

2013-01-01

Task parallelism raises the level of abstraction in shared memory parallel programming to simplify the development of complex applications. However, task parallel applications can exhibit poor performance due to thread idleness, scheduling overheads, and work time inflation – additional time spent by threads in a multithreaded computation beyond the time required to perform the same work in a sequential computation. We identify the contributions of each factor to lost efficiency in various task parallel OpenMP applications and diagnose the causes of work time inflation in those applications. Increased data access latency can cause significant work time inflation in NUMA systems.more » Our locality framework for task parallel OpenMP programs mitigates this cause of work time inflation. Our extensions to the Qthreads library demonstrate that locality-aware scheduling can improve performance up to 3X compared to the Intel OpenMP task scheduler.« less

Observational constraints on monomial warm inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Visinelli, Luca, E-mail: Luca.Visinelli@studio.unibo.it

Warm inflation is, as of today, one of the best motivated mechanisms for explaining an early inflationary period. In this paper, we derive and analyze the current bounds on warm inflation with a monomial potential U ∝ φ {sup p} , using the constraints from the PLANCK mission. In particular, we discuss the parameter space of the tensor-to-scalar ratio r and the potential coupling λ of the monomial warm inflation in terms of the number of e-folds. We obtain that the theoretical tensor-to-scalar ratio r ∼ 10{sup −8} is much smaller than the current observational constrain r ∼< 0.12, despitemore » a relatively large value of the field excursion Δ φ ∼ 0.1 M {sub Pl}. Warm inflation thus eludes the Lyth bound set on the tensor-to-scalar ratio by the field excursion.« less

Grade inflation in the internal medicine clerkship: a national survey.

PubMed

Fazio, Sara B; Papp, Klara K; Torre, Dario M; Defer, Thomas M

2013-01-01

Grade inflation is a growing concern, but the degree to which it continues to exist in 3rd-year internal medicine (IM) clerkships is unknown. The authors sought to determine the degree to which grade inflation is perceived to exist in IM clerkships in North American medical schools. A national survey of all Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine members was administered in 2009. The authors assessed key aspects of grading. Response rate was 64%. Fifty-five percent of respondents agreed that grade inflation exists in the Internal Medicine clerkship at their school. Seventy-eight percent reported it as a serious/somewhat serious problem, and 38% noted students have passed the IM clerkship at their school who should have failed. A majority of clerkship directors report that grade inflation still exists. In addition, many note students who passed despite the clerkship director believing they should have failed. Interventions should be developed to address both of these problems.

Symmetry breaking patterns for inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Remko; Roest, Diederik; Stefanyszyn, David

2018-06-01

We study inflationary models where the kinetic sector of the theory has a non-linearly realised symmetry which is broken by the inflationary potential. We distinguish between kinetic symmetries which non-linearly realise an internal or space-time group, and which yield a flat or curved scalar manifold. This classification leads to well-known inflationary models such as monomial inflation and α-attractors, as well as a new model based on fixed couplings between a dilaton and many axions which non-linearly realises higher-dimensional conformal symmetries. In this model, inflation can be realised along the dilatonic direction, leading to a tensor-to-scalar ratio r ˜ 0 .01 and a spectral index n s ˜ 0 .975. We refer to the new model as ambient inflation since inflation proceeds along an isometry of an anti-de Sitter ambient space-time, which fully determines the kinetic sector.

Effects of Variable Inflationary Conditions on AN Inventory Model with Inflation-Proportional Demand Rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzazadeh, Abolfazl

2009-08-01

The inflation rate in the most of the previous researches has been considered constant and well-known over the time horizon, although the future rate of inflation is inherently uncertain and unstable, and is difficult to predict it accurately. Therefore, A time varying inventory model for deteriorating items with allowable shortages is developed in this paper. The inflation rates (internal and external) are time-dependent and demand rate is inflation-proportional. The inventory level is described by differential equations over the time horizon and present value method is used. The numerical example is given to explain the results. Some particular cases, which follow the main problem, will discuss and the results will compare with the main model by using the numerical examples. It has been achieved which shortages increases considerably in comparison with the case of without variable inflationary conditions.

Passively Adaptive Inflatable Structure for the Shooting Star Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tinker, Michael L..

1998-01-01

An inflatable structural system is described for the Shooting Star Experiment that is a technology demonstrator flight for solar thermal propulsion. The inflatable structure is a pressurized assembly used in orbit to support a fresnel lens for focusing sunlight into a thermal storage engine. When the engine temperature reaches a preset level, the propellant is injected into the storage engine, absorbs heat from a heat exchanger, and is expanded through the nozzle to produce thrust. The inflatable structure is an adaptive system in that a regulator and relief valve are utilized to maintain pressure within design limits during the full range of orbital conditions. Further, the polyimide film material used for construction of the inflatable is highly nonlinear, with modulus varying as a function of frequency, temperature, and level of excitation. A series of tests is described for characterizing the structure in response to various operating conditions.

Inflatable wing

DOEpatents

Priddy, Tommy G.

1988-01-01

An inflatable wing is formed from a pair of tapered, conical inflatable tubes in bonded tangential contact with each other. The tubes are further connected together by means of top and bottom reinforcement boards having corresponding longitudinal edges lying in the same central diametral plane passing through the associated tube. The reinforcement boards are made of a stiff reinforcement material, such as Kevlar, collapsible in a direction parallel to the spanwise wing axis upon deflation of the tubes. The stiff reinforcement material cooperates with the inflated tubes to impart structural I-beam characteristics to the composite structure for transferring inflation pressure-induced tensile stress from the tubes to the reinforcement boards. A plurality of rigid hoops shaped to provide airfoil definition are spaced from each other along the spanwise axis and are connected to the top and bottom reinforcement boards. Tension lines are employed for stabilizing the hoops along the trailing and leading edges thereof.

Fibre inflation and α-attractors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallosh, Renata; Linde, Andrei; Roest, Diederik; Westphal, Alexander; Yamada, Yusuke

2018-02-01

Fibre inflation is a specific string theory construction based on the Large Volume Scenario that produces an inflationary plateau. We outline its relation to α-attractor models for inflation, with the cosmological sector originating from certain string theory corrections leading to α = 2 and α = 1/2. Above a certain field range, the steepening effect of higher-order corrections leads first to the breakdown of single-field slow-roll and after that to the onset of 2-field dynamics: the overall volume of the extra dimensions starts to participate in the effective dynamics. Finally, we propose effective supergravity models of fibre inflation based on an \\overline{D3} uplift term with a nilpotent superfield. Specific moduli dependent \\overline{D3} induced geometries lead to cosmological fibre models but have in addition a de Sitter minimum exit. These supergravity models motivated by fibre inflation are relatively simple, stabilize the axions and disentangle the Hubble parameter from supersymmetry breaking.

Universality of the Volume Bound in Slow-Roll Eternal Inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dubovsky, Sergei; Senatore, Leonardo; Villadoro, Giovanni

2012-03-28

It has recently been shown that in single field slow-roll inflation the total volume cannot grow by a factor larger than e{sup S{sub dS}/2} without becoming infinite. The bound is saturated exactly at the phase transition to eternal inflation where the probability to produce infinite volume becomes non zero. We show that the bound holds sharply also in any space-time dimensions, when arbitrary higher-dimensional operators are included and in the multi-field inflationary case. The relation with the entropy of de Sitter and the universality of the bound strengthen the case for a deeper holographic interpretation. As a spin-off we providemore » the formalism to compute the probability distribution of the volume after inflation for generic multi-field models, which might help to address questions about the population of vacua of the landscape during slow-roll inflation.« less

Inflation in Einstein-Cartan theory with energy-momentum tensor with spin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fennelly, A. J.; Bradas, James C.; Smalley, Larry L.

1988-01-01

Generalized, or power-law, inflation is shown to necessarily exist for a simple, anisotropic (Bianchi Type I) cosmology in the Einstein-Cartan gravitational theory with the Ray-Smalley (RS) improved energy-momentum tensor with spin. Formal solution of the EC field equations with the fluid equations of motion explicitly shows inflation caused by the RS spin angular kinetic energy density.

A new device for the inflation of the antigravity suit.

PubMed

Brodrick, P M

1986-02-01

The 'Schuco' orthopaedic tourniquet inflator can be simply converted into a suitable device for inflating an antigravity suit (G-suit). The antigravity suit may be used on neurosurgical patients undergoing procedures in the sitting position to help prevent hypotension and air embolism. The availability of this device may encourage the more widespread use of an antigravity suit in neuro-anaesthetic practice.

Feedbacks between Exchange-Rate Movements and Domestic Inflation: Vicious and Not So Virtuous Cycles, Old and New.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaventa, Luigi

1983-01-01

Theories and models dealing with the vicious cycle between exchange rates and domestic inflation and the way in which this relationship has influenced the economic policies of European nations are reviewed. Attempts of European nations to avoid the cycle of depreciation and inflation are covered. New theories may be necessary. (IS)

Does Grade Inflation Affect the Credibility of Grades? Evidence from US Law School Admissions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wongsurawat, Winai

2009-01-01

While the nature and causes of university grade inflation have been extensively studied, little empirical research on the consequence of this phenomenon is currently available. The present study uses data for 48 US law schools to analyze admission decisions in 1995, 2000, and 2007, a period during which university grade inflation appears to have…

Not So Fast: Inflation in Impact Factors Contributes to Apparent Improvements in Journal Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neff, Bryan D.; Olden, Julian D.

2010-01-01

The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) impact factor has become an important standard for assessing journal quality. Here we propose that impact factors may be subject to inflation analogous to changes in monetary prices in economics. The possibility of inflation came to light as a result of the observation that papers published today tend…

Grade Inflation Marches On: Grade Increases from the 1990s to 2000s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kostal, Jack W.; Kuncel, Nathan R.; Sackett, Paul R.

2016-01-01

Grade inflation threatens the integrity of college grades as indicators of academic achievement. In this study, we contribute to the literature on grade inflation by providing the first estimate of the size of grade increases at the student level between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s. By controlling for student characteristics and course-taking…

46 CFR 160.151-29 - Additional approval tests for SOLAS A and SOLAS B inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Resolution A.689(17): (a) Test of filling time for stability appendages. A representative sample of each type... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Additional approval tests for SOLAS A and SOLAS B... Inflatable Liferafts (SOLAS) § 160.151-29 Additional approval tests for SOLAS A and SOLAS B inflatable...

46 CFR 97.15-75 - Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk... (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Tests, Drills, and Inspections § 97.15-75 Test of... ensure that the inflatable hopper gate seals installed on vessels required to meet the damage stability...

46 CFR 97.15-75 - Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk... (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Tests, Drills, and Inspections § 97.15-75 Test of... ensure that the inflatable hopper gate seals installed on vessels required to meet the damage stability...

46 CFR 97.15-75 - Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk dry cargo vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Test of inflatable hopper gate seals on Great Lakes bulk... (CONTINUED) CARGO AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS OPERATIONS Tests, Drills, and Inspections § 97.15-75 Test of... ensure that the inflatable hopper gate seals installed on vessels required to meet the damage stability...

46 CFR 160.051-7 - Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts. 160.051-7 Section 160.051-7 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-7 Design and...

46 CFR 160.051-9 - Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts. 160.051-9 Section 160.051-9 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-9 Design and...

46 CFR 160.051-9 - Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts. 160.051-9 Section 160.051-9 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-9 Design and...

46 CFR 160.151-17 - Additional requirements for design and performance of SOLAS A and SOLAS B inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Additional requirements for design and performance of SOLAS A and SOLAS B inflatable liferafts. 160.151-17 Section 160.151-17 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts ...

46 CFR 160.051-7 - Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Design and performance of A and B inflatable liferafts. 160.051-7 Section 160.051-7 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT Inflatable Liferafts for Domestic Service § 160.051-7 Design and...

Aerodynamic surface distension system for high angle of attack forebody vortex control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zell, Peter T. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A deployable system is introduced for assisting flight control under certain flight conditions, such as at high angles of attack, whereby two inflatable membranes are located on the forebody portion of an aircraft on opposite sides thereof. The members form control surfaces for effecting lateral control forces if one is inflated and longitudinal control forces if both are inflated.

12 CFR 747.1001 - Adjustment of civil money penalties by the rate of inflation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Adjustment of civil money penalties by the rate... civil money penalties by the rate of inflation. (a) NCUA is required by the Federal Civil Penalties... adjust the maximum amount of each civil money penalty within its jurisdiction by the rate of inflation...

12 CFR 747.1001 - Adjustment of civil money penalties by the rate of inflation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Adjustment of civil money penalties by the rate... civil money penalties by the rate of inflation. (a) NCUA is required by the Federal Civil Penalties... adjust the maximum amount of each civil money penalty within its jurisdiction by the rate of inflation...

Inflatable antenna for earth observing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hong-Jian; Guan, Fu-ling; Xu, Yan; Yi, Min

2010-09-01

This paper describe mechanical design, dynamic analysis, and deployment demonstration of the antenna , and the photogrammetry detecting RMS of inflatable antenna surface, the possible errors results form the measurement are also analysed. Ticra's Grasp software are used to predict the inflatable antenna pattern based on the coordinates of the 460 points on the parabolic surface, the final results verified the whole design process.

New Millenium Inflatable Structures Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mollerick, Ralph

1997-01-01

Specific applications where inflatable technology can enable or enhance future space missions are tabulated. The applicability of the inflatable technology to large aperture infra-red astronomy missions is discussed. Space flight validation and risk reduction are emphasized along with the importance of analytical tools in deriving structurally sound concepts and performing optimizations using compatible codes. Deployment dynamics control, fabrication techniques, and system testing are addressed.

Inflation and the Capital Budgeting Process.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-01

model . [10:22] Friend, Landskroner and Losq assert that the traditional capital asset pricing model *( CAPM ...value (NPV) capital budgeting model is used extensively in this report and the Consumer Price Index - Urban (CPI-U) and the Wholesale Price Index (WPI...general price level adjustments into the capital budgeting model . The consideration of inflation risk is also warranted. The effects of inflation

Inflatable Antennas Support Emergency Communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

Glenn Research Center awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to ManTech SRS Technologies, of Newport Beach, California, to develop thin film inflatable antennas for space communication. With additional funding, SRS modified the concepts for ground-based inflatable antennas. GATR (Ground Antenna Transmit and Receive) Technologies, of Huntsville, Alabama, licensed the technology and refined it to become the world s first inflatable antenna certified by the Federal Communications Commission. Capable of providing Internet access, voice over Internet protocol, e-mail, video teleconferencing, broadcast television, and other high-bandwidth communications, the systems have provided communication during the wildfires in California, after Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, and following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The effect of inflation on the cost of journals on the Brandon list.

PubMed Central

Thompson, J A; Kronenfeld, M R

1980-01-01

A study of the increases over the past twenty years in the cost of the journals included in the 1977 Brandon list was conducted. This information is compared to the general U.S. rate of inflation for the same period as represented by the consumer price index. Results indicate that the Brandon list journal's prices have been increasing at a significantly higher rate than the general rate of inflation for this period. This information should be useful to the hospital librarian who must justify to administrators the need for increased funding beyond the general rate of inflation. PMID:7356497

Quiet time inflation of the inner magnetosphere in the afternoon and evening quadrants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Y. C.; Cahill, L. J., Jr.

1975-01-01

The quiet-time depression of the magnetic field magnitude in the equatorial inner magnetosphere was studied for the interval Nov. 1971-June 1972. For periods when Kp was less than 2 and Dst was between +10 and -20 gamma, an inflated field region near the magnetic equator was found between noon and midnight. The inflation was greatest at the lowest altitude studied (L = 3) and appeared to be somewhat greater near midnight (-40 gamma) than near noon (-20 gamma). Protons of energy above 100 keV observed on the same satellite appeared to be sufficient to produce the quiet-time inflation.

Spacetime Curvature and Higgs Stability after Inflation.

PubMed

Herranen, M; Markkanen, T; Nurmi, S; Rajantie, A

2015-12-11

We investigate the dynamics of the Higgs field at the end of inflation in the minimal scenario consisting of an inflaton field coupled to the standard model only through the nonminimal gravitational coupling ξ of the Higgs field. Such a coupling is required by renormalization of the standard model in curved space, and in the current scenario also by vacuum stability during high-scale inflation. We find that for ξ≳1, rapidly changing spacetime curvature at the end of inflation leads to significant production of Higgs particles, potentially triggering a transition to a negative-energy Planck scale vacuum state and causing an immediate collapse of the Universe.

First observational tests of eternal inflation.

PubMed

Feeney, Stephen M; Johnson, Matthew C; Mortlock, Daniel J; Peiris, Hiranya V

2011-08-12

The eternal inflation scenario predicts that our observable Universe resides inside a single bubble embedded in a vast inflating multiverse. We present the first observational tests of eternal inflation, performing a search for cosmological signatures of collisions with other bubble universes in cosmic microwave background data from the WMAP satellite. We conclude that the WMAP 7-year data do not warrant augmenting the cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant with bubble collisions, constraining the average number of detectable bubble collisions on the full sky N(s) < 1.6 at 68% C.L. Data from the Planck satellite can be used to more definitively test the bubble-collision hypothesis.

Curvature perturbation and waterfall dynamics in hybrid inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbar Abolhasani, Ali; Firouzjahi, Hassan; Sasaki, Misao

2011-10-01

We investigate the parameter spaces of hybrid inflation model with special attention paid to the dynamics of waterfall field and curvature perturbations induced from its quantum fluctuations. Depending on the inflaton field value at the time of phase transition and the sharpness of the phase transition inflation can have multiple extended stages. We find that for models with mild phase transition the induced curvature perturbation from the waterfall field is too large to satisfy the COBE normalization. We investigate the model parameter space where the curvature perturbations from the waterfall quantum fluctuations vary between the results of standard hybrid inflation and the results obtained here.

Modification of one man life raft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soter, E. J. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A one man inflatable life raft is described. The raft has an inflatable tube perimetrically bounding the occupant receiving space with a flexible floor member. A zippered opening in the floor allows entry and facilitates the use of a constant diameter tube. An airtight fabric bulkhead divides the peripheral tube longitudinally into inflatable tube sections, where if either tube section were punctured, the bulkhead would move into the punctured section to substitute for the punctured wall portion and maintain the inflatable volume of the tube. The floor member is attached to the central portion of the tube wall so that either side of the raft can be the up side.

Vulnerability of larval and juvenile white sturgeon to barotrauma: can they handle the pressure?

PubMed

Brown, Richard S; Cook, Katrina V; Pflugrath, Brett D; Rozeboom, Latricia L; Johnson, Rachelle C; McLellan, Jason G; Linley, Timothy J; Gao, Yong; Baumgartner, Lee J; Dowell, Frederick E; Miller, Erin A; White, Timothy A

2013-01-01

Techniques were developed to determine which life stages of fish are vulnerable to barotrauma from expansion of internal gases during decompression. Eggs, larvae, and juvenile hatchery-reared white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus; up to 91 days post hatch; d.p.h.) were decompressed to assess vulnerability to barotrauma and identify initial swim bladder inflation. Barotrauma-related injury and mortality were first observed 9 d.p.h., on the same day as initial exogenous feeding. However, barotrauma-related injury did not occur again until swim bladder inflation 75 d.p.h. (visible at necropsy and on radiographs). Swim bladder inflation was not consistent among individuals, with only 44% being inflated 91 d.p.h. Additionally, swim bladder inflation did not appear to be size dependent among fish ranging in total length from 61 to 153 mm at 91 d.p.h. The use of a combination of decompression tests and radiography was validated as a method to determine initial swim bladder inflation and vulnerability to barotrauma. Extending these techniques to other species and life-history stages would help to determine the susceptibility of fish to hydro turbine passage and aid in fish conservation.

Exploring the String Landscape: The Dynamics, Statistics, and Cosmology of Parallel Worlds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahlqvist, Stein Pontus

This dissertation explores various facets of the low-energy solutions in string theory known as the string landscape. Three separate questions are addressed - the tunneling dynamics between these vacua, the statistics of their location in moduli space, and the potential realization of slow-roll inflation in the flux potentials generated in string theory. We find that the tunneling transitions that occur between a certain class of supersymmetric vacua related to each other via monodromies around the conifold point are sensitive to the details of warping in the near-conifold regime. We also study the impact of warping on the distribution of vacua near the conifold and determine that while previous work has concluded that the conifold point acts as an accumulation point for vacua, warping highly dilutes the distribution in precisely this regime. Finally we investigate a novel form of inflation dubbed spiral inflation to see if it can be realized near the conifold point. We conclude that for our particular models, spiral inflation seems to rely on a de Sitter-like vacuum energy. As a result, whenever spiral inflation is realized, the inflation is actually driven by a vacuum energy.

Application of zero-inflated poisson mixed models in prognostic factors of hepatitis C.

PubMed

Akbarzadeh Baghban, Alireza; Pourhoseingholi, Asma; Zayeri, Farid; Jafari, Ali Akbar; Alavian, Seyed Moayed

2013-01-01

In recent years, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a major public health problem. Evaluation of risk factors is one of the solutions which help protect people from the infection. This study aims to employ zero-inflated Poisson mixed models to evaluate prognostic factors of hepatitis C. The data was collected from a longitudinal study during 2005-2010. First, mixed Poisson regression (PR) model was fitted to the data. Then, a mixed zero-inflated Poisson model was fitted with compound Poisson random effects. For evaluating the performance of the proposed mixed model, standard errors of estimators were compared. The results obtained from mixed PR showed that genotype 3 and treatment protocol were statistically significant. Results of zero-inflated Poisson mixed model showed that age, sex, genotypes 2 and 3, the treatment protocol, and having risk factors had significant effects on viral load of HCV patients. Of these two models, the estimators of zero-inflated Poisson mixed model had the minimum standard errors. The results showed that a mixed zero-inflated Poisson model was the almost best fit. The proposed model can capture serial dependence, additional overdispersion, and excess zeros in the longitudinal count data.

Vulnerability of larval and juvenile white sturgeon to barotrauma: can they handle the pressure?

PubMed Central

Brown, Richard S.; Cook, Katrina V.; Pflugrath, Brett D.; Rozeboom, Latricia L.; Johnson, Rachelle C.; McLellan, Jason G.; Linley, Timothy J.; Gao, Yong; Baumgartner, Lee J.; Dowell, Frederick E.; Miller, Erin A.; White, Timothy A.

2013-01-01

Techniques were developed to determine which life stages of fish are vulnerable to barotrauma from expansion of internal gases during decompression. Eggs, larvae, and juvenile hatchery-reared white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus; up to 91 days post hatch; d.p.h.) were decompressed to assess vulnerability to barotrauma and identify initial swim bladder inflation. Barotrauma-related injury and mortality were first observed 9 d.p.h., on the same day as initial exogenous feeding. However, barotrauma-related injury did not occur again until swim bladder inflation 75 d.p.h. (visible at necropsy and on radiographs). Swim bladder inflation was not consistent among individuals, with only 44% being inflated 91 d.p.h. Additionally, swim bladder inflation did not appear to be size dependent among fish ranging in total length from 61 to 153 mm at 91 d.p.h. The use of a combination of decompression tests and radiography was validated as a method to determine initial swim bladder inflation and vulnerability to barotrauma. Extending these techniques to other species and life-history stages would help to determine the susceptibility of fish to hydro turbine passage and aid in fish conservation. PMID:27293603

Probing Inflation via Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chuss, David T.

2008-01-01

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) has been a rich source of information about the early Universe. Detailed measurements of its spectrum and spatial distribution have helped solidify the Standard Model of Cosmology. However, many questions still remain. Standard Cosmology does not explain why the early Universe is geometrically flat, expanding, homogenous across the horizon, and riddled with a small anisotropy that provides the seed for structure formation. Inflation has been proposed as a mechanism that naturally solves these problems. In addition to solving these problems, inflation is expected to produce a spectrum of gravitational waves that will create a particular polarization pattern on the CMB. Detection of this polarized signal is a key test of inflation and will give a direct measurement of the energy scale at which inflation takes place. This polarized signature of inflation is expected to be -9 orders of magnitude below the 2.7 K monopole level of the CMB. This measurement will require good control of systematic errors, an array of many detectors having the requisite sensitivity, and a reliable method for removing polarized foregrounds, and nearly complete sky coverage. Ultimately, this measurement is likely to require a space mission. To this effect, technology and mission concept development are currently underway.

Higgs Inflation in f(Φ, r) Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakravarty, Girish Kumar; Mohanty, Subhendra; Singh, Naveen K.

2014-02-01

We generalize the scalar-curvature coupling model ξΦ2R of Higgs inflation to ξΦaRb to study inflation. We compute the amplitude and spectral index of curvature perturbations generated during inflation and fix the parameters of the model by comparing these with the Planck + WP data. We find that if the scalar self-coupling λ is in the range 10-5-0.1, parameter a in the range 2.3-3.6 and b in the range 0.77-0.22 at the Planck scale, one can have a viable inflation model even for ξ ≃ 1. The tensor to scalar ratio r in this model is small and our model with scalar-curvature couplings is not ruled out by observational limits on r unlike the pure (λ )/(4) Φ 4 theory. By requiring the curvature coupling parameter to be of order unity, we have evaded the problem of unitarity violation in scalar-graviton scatterings which plague the ξΦ2R Higgs inflation models. We conclude that the Higgs field may still be a good candidate for being the inflaton in the early universe if one considers higher-dimensional curvature coupling.

Comparative analysis between Payen and Daedalia Planum lava fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giacomini, Lorenza; Massironi, Matteo; Pasquarè, Giorgio; Carli, Cristian; Martellato, Elena; Frigeri, Alessandro; Cremonese, Gabriele; Bistacchi, Andrea; Federico, Costanzo

The Payen volcanic complex is a large Quaternary fissural structure belonging to the back-arc extensional area of the Andes in the Mendoza Province (Argentina). From the eastern portion of this volcanic structure huge pahoehoe lava flows were emitted, extending more than 180 km from the feeding vents. These huge flows propagated over the nearly flat surface of the Pampean foreland (ca 0.3° slope). The very low viscosity of the olivine basalt lavas, coupled with the inflation process are the most probable explanation for their considerable length. In an inflation process a thin viscoelastic crust, produced at an early stage, is later inflated by the underlying fluid core, which remains hot and fluid thanks to the thermal-shield effect of the crust. The inflation shows some typical morphological fingerprints like tumuli, lava lobes, lava rises and lava ridges. In order to compare the morphology of the Argentinean Payen flows with lava flows on Mars, MOLA, THEMIS, MOC, MRO/HIRISE, and MEX/OMEGA data have been analysed, providing a multi-scale characterisation of Martian flows. Mars Global Surveyor/MOLA data were used to investigate the topographic environment over which flows propagated on Mars in order to detect very low angle slopes where possibly inflation processes could have developed. Then Mars Odyssey/THEMIS and Mars Global Surveyor's MOC data were used to detect Martian lava flows with inflation "fingerprints", whereas OMEGA data were used to obtain some inferences about their composition. Finally the MRO/HIRISE images recently acquired, can provide further details and constraints on surface morphologies and lava fronts. All these data were used to analyze Daedalia Planum lava field, at about 300 km southwest of Arsia Mons, and clear morphological similarities with the longest flows of the Payen lava fields were found. These striking morphological analogies suggest that inflation process is quite common also for the Daedalia field. This is also supported by simple calculation of effusion rates for not inflated lava flows foreseeing for the Daedalia Planum long lava flows improbable huge rates. Consequently lower effusion rates coupled with very efficient spreading process are more likely. Nonetheless the comparison of typology vs frequency and dimension of inflation related features of Payen and Daedalia Planum field suggest that even the effusion rates responsible of inflated flows on Mars are by far higher than the one on the Earth.

Inspiratory capacity at inflation hold in ventilated newborns: a surrogate measure for static compliance of the respiratory system.

PubMed

Hentschel, Roland; Semar, Nicole; Guttmann, Josef

2012-09-01

To study appropriateness of respiratory system compliance calculation using an inflation hold and compare it with ventilator readouts of pressure and tidal volume as well as with measurement of compliance of the respiratory system with the single-breath-single-occlusion technique gained with a standard lung function measurement. Prospective clinical trial. Level III neonatal unit of a university hospital. Sixty-seven newborns, born prematurely or at term, ventilated for a variety of pathologic conditions. A standardized sigh maneuver with a predefined peak inspiratory pressure of 30 cm H2O, termed inspiratory capacity at inflation hold, was applied. Using tidal volume, exhaled from inspiratory pause down to ambient pressure, as displayed by the ventilator, and predefined peak inspiratory pressure, compliance at inspiratory capacity at inflation hold conditions could be calculated as well as ratio of tidal volume and ventilator pressure using tidal volume and differential pressure at baseline ventilator settings: peak inspiratory pressure minus positive end-expiratory pressure. For the whole cohort, the equation for the regression between tidal volume at inspiratory capacity at inflation hold and compliance of the respiratory system was: compliance of the respiratory system = 0.052 * tidal volume at inspiratory capacity at inflation hold - 0.113, and compliance at inspiratory capacity at inflation hold conditions was closely related to the standard lung function measurement method of compliance of the respiratory system (R = 0.958). In contrast, ratio of tidal volume and ventilator pressure per kilogram calculated from the ventilator readouts and displayed against compliance of the respiratory system per kilogram yielded a broad scatter throughout the whole range of compliance; both were only weakly correlated (R = 0.309) and also the regression line was significantly different from the line of identity (p < .05). Peak inspiratory pressure at study entry did not affect the correlation between compliance at inspiratory capacity at inflation hold conditions and compliance of the respiratory system. After a standard sigh maneuver, inspiratory capacity at inflation hold and the derived quantity compliance at inspiratory capacity at inflation hold conditions can be regarded as a valid, accurate, and reliable surrogate measure for standard compliance of the respiratory system in contrast to ratio of tidal volume and ventilator pressure calculated from the ventilator readouts during ongoing mechanical ventilation at respective ventilator settings.

Viscoelastic crustal deformation by magmatic intrusion: A case study in the Kutcharo caldera, eastern Hokkaido, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamasaki, Tadashi; Kobayashi, Tomokazu; Wright, Tim J.; Fukahata, Yukitoshi

2018-01-01

Geodetic signals observed at volcanoes, particularly their temporal patterns, have required us to make the correlation between the surface displacement and magmatic process at depth in terms of viscoelastic crustal rheology. Here we use a parallelized 3-D finite element model to examine the response of the linear Maxwell viscoelastic crust and mantle to the inflation of a sill in order to show the characteristics of a long-term volcano deformation. In the model, an oblate-spheroidal sill is instantaneously or gradually inflated in a two-layered medium that consists of an elastic layer underlain by a viscoelastic layer. Our numerical experiments show that syn-inflation surface uplift is followed by post-inflation surface subsidence as the viscoelastic substrate relaxes. For gradual inflation events, the magnitude of inflation-induced uplift is reduced by the relaxation, through which the volume of a magma inferred by matching the prediction of an elastic model with observed surface uplift could be underestimated. For a given crustal viscosity, sill depth is the principal factor controlling subsidence caused by viscoelastic relaxation. The subsidence rate is highest when the inflation occurs at the boundary between the elastic and the viscoelastic layers. The mantle viscosity has an insignificant impact unless the depth of the inflation is greater than a half the crustal thickness. We apply the viscoelastic model to the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data in the Kutcharo caldera, eastern Hokkaido, Japan, where the surface has slowly subsided over a period of approximately three years following about a two-year period of inflation. The emplacement of a magmatic sill is constrained to occur at a depth of 4.5 km, which is significantly shallower than the geophysically imaged large-scale magma chamber. The geodetically detected deformation in the caldera reflects the small-scale emplacement of a magma that ascended from the deeper chamber, but not the inflation of the chamber itself. The observed ground displacement is controlled by a lower-crustal viscosity of 4 × 1017 Pa s, which is lower than that inferred from some studies of post-seismic deformation, perhaps due to higher temperatures beneath the active caldera. Our results suggest that geodetic signals observed during and following magmatic intrusions need to be revisited. Uzs‧ is the uplift at t‧ = Δt‧ for models with Δt‧ > 0.

Three essays on monetary policy responses to oil price shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plante, Michael

This dissertation contains three chapters which explore the question of how monetary policy should respond to changes in the price of oil. Each chapter explores the question from the perspective of a different economic environment. The first chapter examines welfare maximizing optimal monetary policy in a closed economy New Keynesian model that is extended to include household and firm demand for oil products, sticky wages, and capital accumulation. When households and firms demand oil products a natural difference arises between the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the core CPI, and the GDP deflator. I show that when nominal wages are flexible then the optimal policy places a heavy emphasis on stabilizing the inflation rate of the core CPI. If aggregate nominal wages are sticky then the central bank should focus on stabilizing some combination of core inflation and nominal wage inflation. Under no case examined is it optimal to stabilize either GDP deflator or CPI inflation. The second chapter examines monetary policy responses to oil price shocks in a small open economy with traded and non-traded goods. Oil and labor are used to produce the traded and non-traded goods and prices are sticky in the non-traded sector. I show analytically that the ratio of the oil and labor cost shares in the traded and non-traded sectors is crucial for determining the dynamic behavior of many macroeconomic variables after a rise in the price of oil. A policy of fixed exchange rates can produce higher or lower inflation in the non-traded sector depending upon the ratio. Likewise, a policy that stabilizes the inflation rate of prices in the non-traded sector can cause the nominal exchange rate to appreciate or depreciate. For the proper calibration, a policy that stabilizes core inflation produces results very close to the one that stabilizes non-traded inflation. Analytical results show that the fixed exchange rate always produces a unique solution. The policy of stabilizing non-traded inflation produces a unique solution so long as the nominal interest rate is raised more than one for one with increases in non-traded inflation. A policy of stabilizing core inflation, however, produces a unique solution only if the response is greater than one for one and less then one divided by one minus the share of the non-traded good in the CPI. In the third chapter I consider monetary and fiscal policy responses to oil price shocks in a low income oil importing country. The model used in this chapter differs from the model in the second chapter in that there is currency substitution, household demand for oil products, and a potential subsidy on the purchase of oil products by households. I examine the dynamic properties and the welfare implications of a set of inflation targeting policies and a group of policies that subsidize the price of oil and finance the subsidy through a combination of raising lump sum taxes and printing money. The dynamic properties of the inflation targeting policies are similar in many regards to those in the second chapter as the key assumptions driving the results are the same in the two models. For the policies which subsidize the price of oil I show that both the choice to have the subsidy and how to finance it matter a great deal for the behavior of the macroeconomic variables. In terms of welfare, for most calibrations there are only minor differences between the inflation targeting polices, the policy with a subsidy funded by lump sum taxes, and the baseline policy with no subsidy. The policy with a subsidy financed by the inflation tax generally causes significant welfare losses compared to the policy with no pass through.

Power suppression at large scales in string inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cicoli, Michele; Downes, Sean; Dutta, Bhaskar

2013-12-01

We study a possible origin of the anomalous suppression of the power spectrum at large angular scales in the cosmic microwave background within the framework of explicit string inflationary models where inflation is driven by a closed string modulus parameterizing the size of the extra dimensions. In this class of models the apparent power loss at large scales is caused by the background dynamics which involves a sharp transition from a fast-roll power law phase to a period of Starobinsky-like slow-roll inflation. An interesting feature of this class of string inflationary models is that the number of e-foldings of inflation is inversely proportional to the string coupling to a positive power. Therefore once the string coupling is tuned to small values in order to trust string perturbation theory, enough e-foldings of inflation are automatically obtained without the need of extra tuning. Moreover, in the less tuned cases the sharp transition responsible for the power loss takes place just before the last 50-60 e-foldings of inflation. We illustrate these general claims in the case of Fibre Inflation where we study the strength of this transition in terms of the attractor dynamics, finding that it induces a pivot from a blue to a redshifted power spectrum which can explain the apparent large scale power loss. We compute the effects of this pivot for example cases and demonstrate how magnitude and duration of this effect depend on model parameters.

Full Bayes Poisson gamma, Poisson lognormal, and zero inflated random effects models: Comparing the precision of crash frequency estimates.

PubMed

Aguero-Valverde, Jonathan

2013-01-01

In recent years, complex statistical modeling approaches have being proposed to handle the unobserved heterogeneity and the excess of zeros frequently found in crash data, including random effects and zero inflated models. This research compares random effects, zero inflated, and zero inflated random effects models using a full Bayes hierarchical approach. The models are compared not just in terms of goodness-of-fit measures but also in terms of precision of posterior crash frequency estimates since the precision of these estimates is vital for ranking of sites for engineering improvement. Fixed-over-time random effects models are also compared to independent-over-time random effects models. For the crash dataset being analyzed, it was found that once the random effects are included in the zero inflated models, the probability of being in the zero state is drastically reduced, and the zero inflated models degenerate to their non zero inflated counterparts. Also by fixing the random effects over time the fit of the models and the precision of the crash frequency estimates are significantly increased. It was found that the rankings of the fixed-over-time random effects models are very consistent among them. In addition, the results show that by fixing the random effects over time, the standard errors of the crash frequency estimates are significantly reduced for the majority of the segments on the top of the ranking. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic PIV measurement of a compressible flow issuing from an airbag inflator nozzle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang Joon; Jang, Young Gil; Kim, Seok; Kim, Chang Soo

2006-12-01

Among many equipment for passenger safety, the air bag system is the most fundamental and effective device for an automobile. The inflator housing is a main part of the curtain-type air bag system, which supplies high-pressure gases in pumping up the air bag-curtain which is increasingly being adapted in deluxe cars for protecting passengers from the danger of side clash. However, flow information on the inflator housing is very limited. In this study, we measure the instantaneous velocity fields of a high-speed compressible flow issuing from the exit nozzle of an inflator housing using a dynamic PIV system. From the velocity field data measured at a high frame-rate, we evaluate the variation of the mass flow rate with time. The dynamic PIV system consists of a high-repetition Nd:YLF laser, a high-speed CMOS camera, and a delay generator. The flow images are taken at 4000 fps with synchronization of the trigger signal for inflator ignition. From the instantaneous velocity field data of flow ejecting from the airbag inflator housing at the initial stage, we can see a flow pattern of broken shock wave front and its downward propagation. The flow ejecting from the inflator housing is found to have very high velocity fluctuations, with the maximum velocity at about 700 m/s. The time duration of the high-speed flow is very short, and there is no perceptible flow after 100 ms.

Grade inflation at a north american college of veterinary medicine: 1985-2006.

PubMed

Rush, Bonnie R; Elmore, Ronnie G; Sanderson, Michael W

2009-01-01

Grade inflation, an upward shift in student grade-point averages without a similar rise in achievement, is considered pervasive by most experts in post-secondary education in the United States. Grade-point averages (GPAs) at US universities have increased by roughly 0.15 points per decade since the 1960s, with a 0.6-point increase since 1967. In medical education, grade inflation has been documented and is particularly evident in the clinical setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate grade inflation over a 22-year period in a college of veterinary medicine. Academic records from 2,060 students who graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University between 1985 and 2006 were evaluated, including cumulative GPAs earned during pre-clinical professional coursework, during clinical rotations, and at graduation. Grade inflation was documented at a rate of approximately 0.2 points per decade at this college of veterinary medicine. The difference in mean final GPA between the minimum (1986) and maximum (2003) years of graduation was 0.47 points. Grade inflation was similar for didactic coursework (years 1-3) and clinical rotations (final year). Demographic shifts, student qualifications, and tuition do not appear to have contributed to grade inflation over time. A change in academic standards and student evaluation of teaching may have contributed to relaxed grading standards, and technology in the classroom may have led to higher (earned) grades as a result of improved student learning.

Natural inflation with pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freese, Katherine; Frieman, Joshua A.; Olinto, Angela V.

1990-01-01

It is shown that a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson of given potential can naturally give rise to an epoch of inflation in the early universe. Mass scales which arise in particle physics models with a gauge group that becomes strongly interacting at a certain scales are shown to be conditions for successful inflation. The density fluctuation spectrum is nonscale-invariant, with extra power on large length scales.

Baryogenesis in extended inflation. 2: Baryogenesis via primordial black holes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrow, John D.; Copeland, Edmund J.; Kolb, Edward W.; Liddle, Andrew R.

1990-01-01

Baryogenesis at the end of extended inflation is studied. Extended inflation is brought to an end by the collisions of bubble walls surrounding regions of true vacuum, a process which produces particles well out of thermal equilibrium. The possibility that the wall collisions may provide a significant density of primordial black holes is considered and their possible role in generating a baryon asymmetry is examined.

77 FR 12182 - Safety Standard for Portable Bed Rails: Final Rule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-29

... of ASTM F2085- 10a, comply with the following: (i) 1.4.1 Foam and inflatable bed rails need meet only...--portable bed rail constructed primarily of nonrigid materials such as fabric or foam. 3.1.11 inflatable bed..., inflatable bed rail, are terms that are now incorporated as non-rigid bed rail under new section 3.1.12 in...

Electromagnetic Simulations for an Axisymmetric Gregorian Reflector System for a Space Deployed Inflatable Antenna

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-22

Q. J. Wei, S. Pan, S. Mohan, and S. Seager, Inflatable antenna for CubeSat : fabrication, deployment and results of experimental tests, 2014 IEEE...Aerospace Conference, pp. 1- 12. [8] A. Babuscia, T. Choi, C. Lee, and K-M. Cheung, Inflatable antennas and arrays for interplanetary communication using CubeSats and SmallSats, 2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference, pp. 1-9.

Plausible double inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holman, Richard; Kolb, Edward W.; Vadas, Sharon L.; Wang, Yun

1991-01-01

It is likely that extended inflation is followed by an epoch of slowroll inflation. Such a sequence of events may lead to a very interesting perturbation spectrum with significant power on the scale of the transition between the extended and slowroll phase, superimposed upon a power-law spectrum with deviations from the Harrison-Zeldovich slope. Normalization of the spectra above and below the transition scale is expected to differ.

46 CFR 160.077-31 - PFD Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... RISK OF DEATH BY DROWNING —YOU MAY HAVE TO INFLATE THIS PFD TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE PFD AND WEAR IT—FASTEN ALL... TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —[For...

46 CFR 160.077-31 - PFD Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... RISK OF DEATH BY DROWNING —YOU MAY HAVE TO INFLATE THIS PFD TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE PFD AND WEAR IT—FASTEN ALL... TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —[For...

46 CFR 160.077-31 - PFD Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... RISK OF DEATH BY DROWNING —YOU MAY HAVE TO INFLATE THIS PFD TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE PFD AND WEAR IT—FASTEN ALL... TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —[For...

46 CFR 160.077-31 - PFD Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... RISK OF DEATH BY DROWNING —YOU MAY HAVE TO INFLATE THIS PFD TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE PFD AND WEAR IT—FASTEN ALL... TO FLOAT. —TRY THIS PFD IN THE WATER EACH SEASON TO SEE IF IT WILL FLOAT YOU WITHOUT INFLATION. —[For...

Open inflation in the landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamauchi, Daisuke; Linde, Andrei; Naruko, Atsushi; Sasaki, Misao; Tanaka, Takahiro

2011-08-01

The open inflation scenario is attracting a renewed interest in the context of the string landscape. Since there are a large number of metastable de Sitter vacua in the string landscape, tunneling transitions to lower metastable vacua through the bubble nucleation occur quite naturally, which leads to a natural realization of open inflation. Although the deviation of Ω0 from unity is small by the observational bound, we argue that the effect of this small deviation on the large-angle CMB anisotropies can be significant for tensor-type perturbation in the open inflation scenario. We consider the situation in which there is a large hierarchy between the energy scale of the quantum tunneling and that of the slow-roll inflation in the nucleated bubble. If the potential just after tunneling is steep enough, a rapid-roll phase appears before the slow-roll inflation. In this case the power spectrum is basically determined by the Hubble rate during the slow-roll inflation. On the other hand, if such a rapid-roll phase is absent, the power spectrum keeps the memory of the high energy density there in the large angular components. Furthermore, the amplitude of large angular components can be enhanced due to the effects of the wall fluctuation mode if the bubble wall tension is small. Therefore, although even the dominant quadrupole component is suppressed by the factor (1-Ω0)2, one can construct some models in which the deviation of Ω0 from unity is large enough to produce measurable effects. We also consider a more general class of models, where the false vacuum decay may occur due to Hawking-Moss tunneling, as well as the models involving more than one scalar field. We discuss scalar perturbations in these models and point out that a large set of such models is already ruled out by observational data, unless there was a very long stage of slow-roll inflation after the tunneling. These results show that observational data allow us to test various assumptions concerning the structure of the string theory potentials and the duration of the last stage of inflation.

Variability of the 2014-present inflation source at Mauna Loa volcano revealed using time-dependent modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johanson, I. A.; Miklius, A.; Okubo, P.; Montgomery-Brown, E. K.

2017-12-01

Mauna Loa volcano is the largest active volcano on earth and in the 20thcentury produced roughly one eruption every seven years. The 33-year quiescence since its last eruption 1984 has been punctuated by three inflation episodes where magma likely entered the shallow plumbing system, but was not erupted. The most recent began in 2014 and is ongoing. Unlike prior inflation episodes, the current one is accompanied by a significant increase in shallow seismicity, a pattern that is similar to earlier pre-eruptive periods. We apply the Kalman filter based Network Inversion Filter (NIF) to the 2014-present inflation episode using data from a 27 station continuous GPS network on Mauna Loa. The model geometry consists of a point volume source and tabular, dike-like body, which have previously been shown to provide a good fit to deformation data from a 2004-2009 inflation episode. The tabular body is discretized into 1km x 1km segments. For each day, the NIF solves for the rates of opening on the tabular body segments (subject to smoothing and positivity constraints), volume change rate in the point source, and slip rate on a deep décollement fault surface, which is constrained to a constant (no transient slip allowed). The Kalman filter in the NIF provides for smoothing both forwards and backwards in time. The model shows that the 2014-present inflation episode occurred as several sub-events, rather than steady inflation. It shows some spatial variability in the location of the inflation sub-events. In the model, opening in the tabular body is initially concentrated below the volcano's summit, in an area roughly outlined by shallow seismicity. In October, 2015 opening in the tabular body shifts to be centered beneath the southwest portion of the summit and seismicity becomes concentrated in this area. By late 2016, the opening rate on the tabular body decreases and is once again under the central part of summit. This modeling approach has allowed us to track these features on a daily basis and capture the evolution of the inflation episode as it occurs.

The unique contribution of manual chest compression-vibrations to airflow during physiotherapy in sedated, fully ventilated children.

PubMed

Gregson, Rachael K; Shannon, Harriet; Stocks, Janet; Cole, Tim J; Peters, Mark J; Main, Eleanor

2012-03-01

This study aimed to quantify the specific effects of manual lung inflations with chest compression-vibrations, commonly used to assist airway clearance in ventilated patients. The hypothesis was that force applied during the compressions made a significant additional contribution to increases in peak expiratory flow and expiratory to inspiratory flow ratio over and above that resulting from accompanying increases in inflation volume. Prospective observational study. Cardiac and general pediatric intensive care. Sedated, fully ventilated children. Customized force-sensing mats and a commercial respiratory monitor recorded force and respiration during physiotherapy. Percentage changes in peak expiratory flow, peak expiratory to inspiratory flow ratios, inflation volume, and peak inflation pressure between baseline and manual inflations with and without compression-vibrations were calculated. Analysis of covariance determined the relative contribution of changes in pressure, volume, and force to influence changes in peak expiratory flow and peak expiratory to inspiratory flow ratio. Data from 105 children were analyzed (median age, 1.3 yrs; range, 1 wk to 15.9 yrs). Force during compressions ranged from 15 to 179 N (median, 46 N). Peak expiratory flow increased on average by 76% during compressions compared with baseline ventilation. Increases in peak expiratory flow were significantly related to increases in inflation volume, peak inflation pressure, and force with peak expiratory flow increasing by, on average, 4% for every 10% increase in inflation volume (p < .001), 5% for every 10% increase in peak inflation pressure (p = .005), and 3% for each 10 N of applied force (p < .001). By contrast, increase in peak expiratory to inspiratory flow ratio was only related to applied force with a 4% increase for each 10 N of force (p < .001). These results provide evidence of the unique contribution of compression forces in increasing peak expiratory flow and peak expiratory to inspiratory flow ratio bias over and above that related to accompanying changes from manual hyperinflations. Force generated during compression-vibrations was the single significant factor in multivariable analysis to explain the increases in expiratory flow bias. Such increases in the expiratory bias provide theoretically optimal physiological conditions for cephalad mucus movement in fully ventilated children.

The role of unsteady effusion rates on inflation in long-lived lava flow fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rader, E.; Vanderkluysen, L.; Clarke, A.

2017-11-01

The emission of volcanic gases and particles can have global and lasting environmental effects, but their timing, tempo, and duration can be problematic to quantify for ancient eruptions where real-time measurements are absent. Lava flows, for example, may be long-lasting, and their impact is controlled by the rate, tempo, and vigor of effusion. These factors are currently difficult to derive from the geologic record but can have large implications for the atmospheric impact of an eruption. We conducted a set of analogue experiments on lava flow inflation aiming at connecting lava morphologies preserved in the rock record to eruption tempo and dynamics through pulsating effusion rates. Inflation, a process where molten material is injected beneath the crust of an active lava flow and lifts it upwards, is a common phenomenon in basaltic volcanic systems. This mechanism requires three components: a) a coherent, insulating crust; b) a wide-spread molten core; and c) pressure built up beneath the crust from a sustained supply of molten material. Inflation can result in a lava flow growing tens of meters thick, even in flow fields that expand hundreds of square kilometers. It has been documented that rapid effusion rates tend to create channels and tubes, isolating the active part of the flow from the stagnant part, while slow effusion rates may cause crust to form quickly and seize up, forcing lava to overtop the crust. However, the conditions that allow for inflation of large flow fields have not previously been evaluated in terms of effusion rate. By using PEG 600 wax and a programmable pump, we observe how, by pulsating effusion rate, inflation occurs even in very low viscosity basaltic eruptions. We show that observations from inflating Hawaiian lava flows correlate well with experimental data and indicate that instantaneous effusion rates may have been 3 times higher than average effusion rates during the emplacement of the 23 January 1988 flow at Kīlauea (Hawai'i). The identification of a causal relationship between pulsating effusion rates and inflation may have implications for eruption tempo in the largest inflated flows: flood basalts.

Science with the space-based interferometer LISA. IV: probing inflation with gravitational waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartolo, Nicola; Caprini, Chiara; Domcke, Valerie; Figueroa, Daniel G.; Garcia-Bellido, Juan; Chiara Guzzetti, Maria; Liguori, Michele; Matarrese, Sabino; Peloso, Marco; Petiteau, Antoine; Ricciardone, Angelo; Sakellariadou, Mairi; Sorbo, Lorenzo; Tasinato, Gianmassimo

2016-12-01

We investigate the potential for the LISA space-based interferometer to detect the stochastic gravitational wave background produced from different mechanisms during inflation. Focusing on well-motivated scenarios, we study the resulting contributions from particle production during inflation, inflationary spectator fields with varying speed of sound, effective field theories of inflation with specific patterns of symmetry breaking and models leading to the formation of primordial black holes. The projected sensitivities of LISA are used in a model-independent way for various detector designs and configurations. We demonstrate that LISA is able to probe these well-motivated inflationary scenarios beyond the irreducible vacuum tensor modes expected from any inflationary background.

Instrumentation Development for Large Scale Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, Gregory T.; Cassell, Alan M.

2011-01-01

Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) technology is currently being considered for multiple atmospheric entry applications as the limitations of traditional entry vehicles have been reached. The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) has successfully demonstrated this technology as a viable candidate with a 3.0 m diameter vehicle sub-orbital flight. To further this technology, large scale HIADs (6.0 8.5 m) must be developed and tested. To characterize the performance of large scale HIAD technology new instrumentation concepts must be developed to accommodate the flexible nature inflatable aeroshell. Many of the concepts that are under consideration for the HIAD FY12 subsonic wind tunnel test series are discussed below.

Flight Performance of the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dillman, Robert; DiNonno, John; Bodkin, Richard; Gsell, Valerie; Miller, Nathanael; Olds, Aaron; Bruce, Walter

2013-01-01

The Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment 3 (IRVE-3) launched July 23, 2012, from NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on a Black Brant XI suborbital sounding rocket and successfully performed its mission, demonstrating the survivability of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (HIAD) in the reentry heating environment and also illustrating the effect of an offset center of gravity on the HIAD's lift-to-drag ratio. IRVE-3 was a follow-on to 2009's IRVE-II mission, which demonstrated exo-atmospheric inflation, reentry survivability - without significant heating - and the aerodynamic stability of a HIAD down to subsonic flight conditions. NASA Langley Research Center is leading the development of HIAD technology for use on future interplanetary and Earth reentry missions.

Scalar-tensor linear inflation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Artymowski, Michał; Racioppi, Antonio, E-mail: Michal.Artymowski@uj.edu.pl, E-mail: Antonio.Racioppi@kbfi.ee

2017-04-01

We investigate two approaches to non-minimally coupled gravity theories which present linear inflation as attractor solution: a) the scalar-tensor theory approach, where we look for a scalar-tensor theory that would restore results of linear inflation in the strong coupling limit for a non-minimal coupling to gravity of the form of f (φ) R /2; b) the particle physics approach, where we motivate the form of the Jordan frame potential by loop corrections to the inflaton field. In both cases the Jordan frame potentials are modifications of the induced gravity inflationary scenario, but instead of the Starobinsky attractor they lead tomore » linear inflation in the strong coupling limit.« less

Generic analysis of kinetically driven inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saitou, Rio

2018-04-01

We perform a model-independent analysis of kinetically driven inflation (KDI) which (partially) includes generalized G-inflation and ghost inflation. We evaluate the background evolution splitting into the inflationary attractor and the perturbation around it. We also consider the quantum fluctuation of the scalar mode with a usual scaling and derive the spectral index, ignoring the contribution from the second-order products of slow-roll parameters. Using these formalisms, we find that within our generic framework the models of KDI which possess the shift symmetry of scalar field cannot create the quantum fluctuation consistent with the observation. Breaking the shift symmetry, we obtain a few essential conditions for viable models of KDI associated with the graceful exit.

HYM-flation: Yang-Mills cosmology with Horndeski coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davydov, E.; Gal'tsov, D.

2016-02-01

We propose new mechanism for inflation using classical SU (2) Yang-Mills (YM) homogeneous and isotropic field non-minimally coupled to gravity via Horndeski prescription. This is the unique generally and gauge covariant ghost-free YM theory with the curvature-dependent action leading to second-order gravity and Yang-Mills field equations. We show that its solution space contains de Sitter boundary to which the trajectories are attracted for some finite time, ensuring the robust inflation with a graceful exit. The theory can be generalized to include the Higgs field leading to two-steps inflationary scenario, in which the Planck-scale YM-generated inflation naturally prepares the desired initial conditions for the GUT-scale Higgs inflation.

Bubbles in extended inflation and multi-production of universes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakai, Nobuyuki; Maeda, Kei-ichi

Developing the thin-wall method of Israel, we present a formalism to investigate bubble dynamics in generalized Einstein theories. We derive the equations of motion for a bubble, finding that the space-time inside a bubble is always inhomogeneous. Applying this formalism to extended inflation, we find the following two results: (1) Any true vacuum bubble expands, contrary to the results of Goldwirth-Zaglauer, who claim that bubbles created initially later collapse. We show that their initial conditions for collapsing bubbles are physically inconsistent. (2) Concerning the global space-time structure of the Universe in extended inflation, we show that worm-holes are produced as in old inflation, resulting in the multi-production of universes.

Controlling bias and inflation in epigenome- and transcriptome-wide association studies using the empirical null distribution.

PubMed

van Iterson, Maarten; van Zwet, Erik W; Heijmans, Bastiaan T

2017-01-27

We show that epigenome- and transcriptome-wide association studies (EWAS and TWAS) are prone to significant inflation and bias of test statistics, an unrecognized phenomenon introducing spurious findings if left unaddressed. Neither GWAS-based methodology nor state-of-the-art confounder adjustment methods completely remove bias and inflation. We propose a Bayesian method to control bias and inflation in EWAS and TWAS based on estimation of the empirical null distribution. Using simulations and real data, we demonstrate that our method maximizes power while properly controlling the false positive rate. We illustrate the utility of our method in large-scale EWAS and TWAS meta-analyses of age and smoking.

Observation weights unlock bulk RNA-seq tools for zero inflation and single-cell applications.

PubMed

Van den Berge, Koen; Perraudeau, Fanny; Soneson, Charlotte; Love, Michael I; Risso, Davide; Vert, Jean-Philippe; Robinson, Mark D; Dudoit, Sandrine; Clement, Lieven

2018-02-26

Dropout events in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) cause many transcripts to go undetected and induce an excess of zero read counts, leading to power issues in differential expression (DE) analysis. This has triggered the development of bespoke scRNA-seq DE methods to cope with zero inflation. Recent evaluations, however, have shown that dedicated scRNA-seq tools provide no advantage compared to traditional bulk RNA-seq tools. We introduce a weighting strategy, based on a zero-inflated negative binomial model, that identifies excess zero counts and generates gene- and cell-specific weights to unlock bulk RNA-seq DE pipelines for zero-inflated data, boosting performance for scRNA-seq.

Leptogenesis from Left-Handed Neutrino Production during Axion Inflation.

PubMed

Adshead, Peter; Sfakianakis, Evangelos I

2016-03-04

We propose that the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry can be naturally produced as a by-product of axion-driven slow-roll inflation by coupling the axion to standard model neutrinos. We assume that grand unified theory scale right-handed neutrinos are responsible for the masses of the standard model neutrinos and that the Higgs field is light during inflation and develops a Hubble-scale root-mean-square value. In this setup, the rolling axion generates a helicity asymmetry in standard model neutrinos. Following inflation, this helicity asymmetry becomes equal to a net lepton number as the Higgs condensate decays and is partially reprocessed by the SU(2)_{L} sphaleron into a net baryon number.