Frost in Charitum Montes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-387, 10 June 2003

This is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle view of the Charitum Montes, south of Argyre Planitia, in early June 2003. The seasonal south polar frost cap, composed of carbon dioxide, has been retreating southward through this area since spring began a month ago. The bright features toward the bottom of this picture are surfaces covered by frost. The picture is located near 57oS, 43oW. North is at the top, south is at the bottom. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. The area shown is about 217 km (135 miles) wide.

Single-unit labeling of medial olivocochlear neurons: the cochlear frequency map for efferent axons.

PubMed

Brown, M Christian

2014-06-01

Medial olivocochlear (MOC) neurons are efferent neurons that project axons from the brain to the cochlea. Their action on outer hair cells reduces the gain of the "cochlear amplifier," which shifts the dynamic range of hearing and reduces the effects of noise masking. The MOC effects in one ear can be elicited by sound in that ipsilateral ear or by sound in the contralateral ear. To study how MOC neurons project onto the cochlea to mediate these effects, single-unit labeling in guinea pigs was used to study the mapping of MOC neurons for neurons responsive to ipsilateral sound vs. those responsive to contralateral sound. MOC neurons were sharply tuned to sound frequency with a well-defined characteristic frequency (CF). However, their labeled termination spans in the organ of Corti ranged from narrow to broad, innervating between 14 and 69 outer hair cells per axon in a "patchy" pattern. For units responsive to ipsilateral sound, the midpoint of innervation was mapped according to CF in a relationship generally similar to, but with more variability than, that of auditory-nerve fibers. Thus, based on CF mappings, most of the MOC terminations miss outer hair cells involved in the cochlear amplifier for their CF, which are located more basally. Compared with ipsilaterally responsive neurons, contralaterally responsive neurons had an apical offset in termination and a larger span of innervation (an average of 10.41% cochlear distance), suggesting that when contralateral sound activates the MOC reflex, the actions are different than those for ipsilateral sound. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Single-unit labeling of medial olivocochlear neurons: the cochlear frequency map for efferent axons

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Medial olivocochlear (MOC) neurons are efferent neurons that project axons from the brain to the cochlea. Their action on outer hair cells reduces the gain of the “cochlear amplifier,” which shifts the dynamic range of hearing and reduces the effects of noise masking. The MOC effects in one ear can be elicited by sound in that ipsilateral ear or by sound in the contralateral ear. To study how MOC neurons project onto the cochlea to mediate these effects, single-unit labeling in guinea pigs was used to study the mapping of MOC neurons for neurons responsive to ipsilateral sound vs. those responsive to contralateral sound. MOC neurons were sharply tuned to sound frequency with a well-defined characteristic frequency (CF). However, their labeled termination spans in the organ of Corti ranged from narrow to broad, innervating between 14 and 69 outer hair cells per axon in a “patchy” pattern. For units responsive to ipsilateral sound, the midpoint of innervation was mapped according to CF in a relationship generally similar to, but with more variability than, that of auditory-nerve fibers. Thus, based on CF mappings, most of the MOC terminations miss outer hair cells involved in the cochlear amplifier for their CF, which are located more basally. Compared with ipsilaterally responsive neurons, contralaterally responsive neurons had an apical offset in termination and a larger span of innervation (an average of 10.41% cochlear distance), suggesting that when contralateral sound activates the MOC reflex, the actions are different than those for ipsilateral sound. PMID:24598524

How High is that Dune? A Comparison of Methods Used to Constrain the Morphometry of Aeolian Bedforms on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bourke, M.; Balme, M.; Beyer, R. A.; Williams, K. K.

2004-01-01

Methods traditionally used to estimate the relative height of surface features on Mars include: photoclinometry, shadow length and stereography. The MOLA data set enables a more accurate assessment of the surface topography of Mars. However, many small-scale aeolian bedforms remain below the sample resolution of the MOLA data set. In response to this a number of research teams have adopted and refined existing methods and applied them to high resolution (2-6 m/pixel) narrow angle MOC satellite images. Collectively, the methods provide data on a range of morphometric parameters (many not previously available for dunes on Mars). These include dune height, width, length, surface area, volume, longitudinal and cross profiles). This data will facilitate a more accurate analysis of aeolian bedforms on Mars. In this paper we undertake a comparative analysis of methods used to determine the height of aeolian dunes and ripples.

Mars Daily Global Image from April 1999

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-09-08

Twelve orbits a day provide NASA Mars Global Surveyor MOC wide angle cameras a global napshot of weather patterns across the planet. Here, bluish-white water ice clouds hang above the Tharsis volcanoes.

Intelligibility in speech maskers with a binaural cochlear implant sound coding strategy inspired by the contralateral medial olivocochlear reflex.

PubMed

Lopez-Poveda, Enrique A; Eustaquio-Martín, Almudena; Stohl, Joshua S; Wolford, Robert D; Schatzer, Reinhold; Gorospe, José M; Ruiz, Santiago Santa Cruz; Benito, Fernando; Wilson, Blake S

2017-05-01

We have recently proposed a binaural cochlear implant (CI) sound processing strategy inspired by the contralateral medial olivocochlear reflex (the MOC strategy) and shown that it improves intelligibility in steady-state noise (Lopez-Poveda et al., 2016, Ear Hear 37:e138-e148). The aim here was to evaluate possible speech-reception benefits of the MOC strategy for speech maskers, a more natural type of interferer. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were measured in six bilateral and two single-sided deaf CI users with the MOC strategy and with a standard (STD) strategy. SRTs were measured in unilateral and bilateral listening conditions, and for target and masker stimuli located at azimuthal angles of (0°, 0°), (-15°, +15°), and (-90°, +90°). Mean SRTs were 2-5 dB better with the MOC than with the STD strategy for spatially separated target and masker sources. For bilateral CI users, the MOC strategy (1) facilitated the intelligibility of speech in competition with spatially separated speech maskers in both unilateral and bilateral listening conditions; and (2) led to an overall improvement in spatial release from masking in the two listening conditions. Insofar as speech is a more natural type of interferer than steady-state noise, the present results suggest that the MOC strategy holds potential for promising outcomes for CI users. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Comparing wind directions inferred from Martian dust devil tracks analysis with those predicted by the Mars Climate Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Statella, T.; Pina, P.; Silva, E. A.; Nervis Frigeri, Ary Vinicius; Neto, Frederico Gallon

2016-10-01

We have calculated the prevailing dust devil tracks direction as a means of verifying the Mars Climate Database (MCD) predicted wind directions accuracy. For that purpose we have applied an automatic method based on morphological openings for inferring the prevailing tracks direction in a dataset comprising 200 Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Narrow Angle (NA) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images of the Martian surface, depicting regions in the Aeolis, Eridania, Noachis, Argyre and Hellas quadrangles. The prevailing local wind directions were calculated from the MCD predicted speeds for the WE and SN wind components. The results showed that the MCD may not be able to predict accurately the locally dominant wind direction near the surface. In adittion, we confirm that the surface wind stress alone cannot produce dust lifting in the studied sites, since it never exceeds the threshold value of 0.0225 Nm-2 in the MCD.

High-Resolution Topomapping of Mars: Life After MER Site Selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirk, R. L.; Howington-Kraus, E.; Hare, T. M.; Soricone, R.; Ross, K.; Weller, L.; Rosiek, M.; Redding, B.; Galuszka, D.; Haldemann, A. F. C.

2004-01-01

In this abstract we describe our ongoing use of high-resolution images from the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Narrow-Angle subsystem (MGS MOC-NA) to derive quantitative topographic and slope data for the martian surface at 3 - 10-m resolution. Our efforts over the past several years focused on assessment of candidate landing sites for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) and culminated in the selection of sites in Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum as safe as well as scientifically compelling. As of this writing, MER-A (Spirit) has landed safely in Gusev and we are performing a limited amount of additional mapping near the landing point to support localization of the lander and rover operations planning. The primary focus of our work, however, has been extending our techniques to sample a variety of geologic terrains planetwide to support both a variety of geoscientific studies and planning and data analysis for missions such as Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Phoenix.

Have a Nice Spring! MOC Revisits "Happy Face" Crater

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-05-16

Smile! Spring has sprung in the martian southern hemisphere. With it comes the annual retreat of the winter polar frost cap. This view of "Happy Face Crater"--officially named "Galle Crater"--shows patches of white water ice frost in and around the crater's south-facing slopes. Slopes that face south will retain frost longer than north-facing slopes because they do not receive as much sunlight in early spring. This picture is a composite of images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red and blue wide angle cameras. The wide angle cameras were designed to monitor the changing weather, frost, and wind patterns on Mars. Galle Crater is located on the east rim of the Argyre Basin and is about 215 kilometers (134 miles) across. In this picture, illumination is from the upper left and north is up. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02325

MOC View of Mars98 Landing Zone - 12/24/97

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

On 12/24/1997 at shortly after 08:17 UTC SCET, the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took this high resolution image of a small portion of the potential Mars Surveyor '98 landing zone. For the purposes of planning MOC observations, this zone was defined as 75 +/- 2 degrees S latitude, 215 +/- 15 degrees W longitude. The image ran along the western perimeter of the Mars98 landing zone (e.g., near 245oW longitude). At that longitude, the layered deposits are farther south than at the prime landing longitude. The images were shifted in latitude to fall onto the layered deposits. The location of the image was selected to try to cover a range of possible surface morphologies, reliefs, and albedos.

This image is approximately 81.5 km long by 31 km wide. It covers an area of about 2640 sq. km. The center of the image is at 80.46oS, 243.12 degrees W. The viewing conditions are: emission angle 56.30 degrees, incidence angle 58.88 degrees, phase of 30.31 degrees, and 15.15 meters/pixel resolution. North is to the top of the image.

The effects of ground fog, which obscures the surface features(left), has been minimize by filtering (right).

Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

MOC View of Mars98 Landing Zone - 12/24/97

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

On 12/24/1997 at shortly after 08:17 UTC SCET, the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took this high resolution image of a small portion of the potential Mars Surveyor '98 landing zone. For the purposes of planning MOC observations, this zone was defined as 75 +/- 2 degrees S latitude, 215 +/- 15 degrees W longitude. The image ran along the western perimeter of the Mars98 landing zone (e.g., near 245oW longitude). At that longitude, the layered deposits are farther south than at the prime landing longitude. The images were shifted in latitude to fall onto the layered deposits. The location of the image was selected to try to cover a range of possible surface morphologies, reliefs, and albedos.

This image is approximately 83.3 km long by 31.7 km wide. It covers an area of about 2750 sq. km. The center of the image is at 81.97 degrees S, 246.74 degrees W. The viewing conditions are: emission angle 58.23 degrees, incidence angle 60.23 degrees, phase of 30.34 degrees, and 15.49 meters/pixel resolution. North is to the top of the image.

The effects of ground fog, which obscures the surface features(left), has been minimize by filtering (right).

Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

A lumped parameter method of characteristics approach and multigroup kernels applied to the subgroup self-shielding calculation in MPACT

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

Stimpson, Shane G.; Liu, Yuxuan; Collins, Benjamin S.

An essential component of the neutron transport solver is the resonance self-shielding calculation used to determine equivalence cross sections. The neutron transport code, MPACT, is currently using the subgroup self-shielding method, in which the method of characteristics (MOC) is used to solve purely absorbing fixed-source problems. Recent efforts incorporating multigroup kernels to the MOC solvers in MPACT have reduced runtime by roughly 2×. Applying the same concepts for self-shielding and developing a novel lumped parameter approach to MOC, substantial improvements have also been made to the self-shielding computational efficiency without sacrificing any accuracy. These new multigroup and lumped parameter capabilitiesmore » have been demonstrated on two test cases: (1) a single lattice with quarter symmetry known as VERA (Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications) Progression Problem 2a and (2) a two-dimensional quarter-core slice known as Problem 5a-2D. From these cases, self-shielding computational time was reduced by roughly 3–4×, with a corresponding 15–20% increase in overall memory burden. An azimuthal angle sensitivity study also shows that only half as many angles are needed, yielding an additional speedup of 2×. In total, the improvements yield roughly a 7–8× speedup. Furthermore given these performance benefits, these approaches have been adopted as the default in MPACT.« less

A lumped parameter method of characteristics approach and multigroup kernels applied to the subgroup self-shielding calculation in MPACT

DOE PAGES

Stimpson, Shane G.; Liu, Yuxuan; Collins, Benjamin S.; ...

2017-07-17

An essential component of the neutron transport solver is the resonance self-shielding calculation used to determine equivalence cross sections. The neutron transport code, MPACT, is currently using the subgroup self-shielding method, in which the method of characteristics (MOC) is used to solve purely absorbing fixed-source problems. Recent efforts incorporating multigroup kernels to the MOC solvers in MPACT have reduced runtime by roughly 2×. Applying the same concepts for self-shielding and developing a novel lumped parameter approach to MOC, substantial improvements have also been made to the self-shielding computational efficiency without sacrificing any accuracy. These new multigroup and lumped parameter capabilitiesmore » have been demonstrated on two test cases: (1) a single lattice with quarter symmetry known as VERA (Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications) Progression Problem 2a and (2) a two-dimensional quarter-core slice known as Problem 5a-2D. From these cases, self-shielding computational time was reduced by roughly 3–4×, with a corresponding 15–20% increase in overall memory burden. An azimuthal angle sensitivity study also shows that only half as many angles are needed, yielding an additional speedup of 2×. In total, the improvements yield roughly a 7–8× speedup. Furthermore given these performance benefits, these approaches have been adopted as the default in MPACT.« less

Martian Mystery: Do Some Materials Flow Uphill?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Some of the geological features of Mars defy conventional, or simple, explanations. A recent example is on the wall of a 72 kilometer-wide (45 mile-wide) impact crater in Promethei Terra. The crater (above left) is located at 39oS, 247oW. Its inner walls appear in low-resolution images to be deeply gullied.

A high resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows that each gully on the crater's inner wall contains a tongue of material that appears to have flowed (to best see this, click on the icon above right and examine the full image). Ridges and grooves that converge toward the center of each gully and show a pronounced curvature are oriented in a manner that seems to suggest that material has flowed from the top toward the bottom of the picture. This pattern is not unlike pouring pancake batter into a pan... the viscous fluid will form a steep, lobate margin and spread outward across the pan. The ridges and grooves seen in the image are also more reminiscent of the movement of material out and away from a place of confinement, as opposed to the types of features seen when they flow into a more confined area. Mud and lava-flows, and even some glaciers, for the most part behave in this manner. From these observations, and based solely on the appearance, one might conclude that the features formed by moving from the top of the image towards the bottom.

But this is not the case! The material cannot have flowed from the top towards the bottom of the area seen in the high resolution image (above, right), because the crater floor (which is the lowest area in the image) is at the top of the picture. The location and correct orientation of the high resolution image is shown by a white box in the context frame on the left. Since gravity pulls the material in the gullies downhill not uphill the pattern of ridges and grooves found on these gully-filling materials is puzzling. An explanation may lie in the nature of the material (e.g., how viscous was the pancake batter-like material?) and how rapidly it moved, but for now this remains an unexplained martian phenomenon.

The context image (above, left) was taken by the MOC red wide angle camera at the same time that the MOC narrow angle camera obtained the high resolution view (above, right). Context images such as this provide a simple way to determine the location of each new high resolution view of the planet. Both images are illuminated from the upper left. The high resolution image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Associations between Narrow Angle and Adult Anthropometry: The Liwan Eye Study

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yuzhen; He, Mingguang; Friedman, David S.; Khawaja, Anthony P.; Lee, Pak Sang; Nolan, Winifred P.; Yin, Qiuxia; Foster, Paul J.

2015-01-01

Purpose To assess the associations between narrow angle and adult anthropometry. Methods Chinese adults aged 50 years and older were recruited from a population-based survey in the Liwan District of Guangzhou, China. Narrow angle was defined as the posterior trabecular meshwork not visible under static gonioscopy in at least three quadrants (i.e. a circumference of at least 270°). Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between narrow angle and anthropomorphic measures (height, weight and body mass index, BMI). Results Among the 912 participants, lower weight, shorter height, and lower BMI were significantly associated with narrower angle width (tests for trend: mean angle width in degrees vs weight p<0.001; vs height p<0.001; vs BMI p = 0.012). In univariate analyses, shorter height, lower weight and lower BMI were all significantly associated with greater odds of narrow angle. The crude association between height and narrow angle was largely attributable to a stronger association with age and sex. Lower BMI and weight remained significantly associated with narrow angle after adjustment for height, age, sex, axial ocular biometric measures and education. In analyses stratified by sex, the association between BMI and narrow angle was only observed in women. Conclusion Lower BMI and weight were associated with significantly greater odds of narrow angle after adjusting for age, education, axial ocular biometric measures and height. The odds of narrow angle increased 7% per 1 unit decrease in BMI. This association was most evident in women. PMID:24707840

Associations between narrow angle and adult anthropometry: the Liwan Eye Study.

PubMed

Jiang, Yuzhen; He, Mingguang; Friedman, David S; Khawaja, Anthony P; Lee, Pak Sang; Nolan, Winifred P; Yin, Qiuxia; Foster, Paul J

2014-06-01

To assess the associations between narrow angle and adult anthropometry. Chinese adults aged 50 years and older were recruited from a population-based survey in the Liwan District of Guangzhou, China. Narrow angle was defined as the posterior trabecular meshwork not visible under static gonioscopy in at least three quadrants (i.e. a circumference of at least 270°). Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between narrow angle and anthropomorphic measures (height, weight and body mass index, BMI). Among the 912 participants, lower weight, shorter height, and lower BMI were significantly associated with narrower angle width (tests for trend: mean angle width in degrees vs weight p < 0.001; vs height p < 0.001; vs BMI p = 0.012). In univariate analyses, shorter height, lower weight and lower BMI were all significantly associated with greater odds of narrow angle. The crude association between height and narrow angle was largely attributable to a stronger association with age and sex. Lower BMI and weight remained significantly associated with narrow angle after adjustment for height, age, sex, axial ocular biometric measures and education. In analyses stratified by sex, the association between BMI and narrow angle was only observed in women. Lower BMI and weight were associated with significantly greater odds of narrow angle after adjusting for age, education, axial ocular biometric measures and height. The odds of narrow angle increased 7% per 1 unit decrease in BMI. This association was most evident in women.

Layered Outcrops of Far West Candor Chasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

Images from Mariner 9 in 1972 revealed that some of the mesas and mounds found within the chasms of the martian 'Grand Canyon'--the Valles Marineris--have layers in them. Speculations as to the origin of these interior layered materials ranged from volcanic ash deposits to sediments laid down in lakes that could have partially filled the Vallis Marineris troughs, much as lakes now occupy portions of the rift valleys of eastern Africa. The proposal that the Valles Marineris once hosted deep martian lakes led to additional speculation as to the prospects for finding fossil evidence of martian life.

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images have ten or more times better resolution than the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images taken in the 1970s. MOC images have indeed confirmed the presence of layered outcrops within the Valles Marineris. They have also shown places previously not suspected to have layered rock, and they have shown that these materials might not have formed in the Valles Marineris, but were instead deposited in craters that were subsequently buried long before the chasms opened up (see discussion below). The layered rock is now visible because of faulting and erosion.

The high resolution picture shown here (B, above right) was the first image received by MOC scientists that began to hint at a larger story of layered sedimentary rock on Mars. The picture shows a 1.5 km by 2.9 km (0.9 mi by 1.8 mi) area in far southwestern Candor Chasma (A, above left) that was--based on Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images--not previously expected to exhibit layers. The MOC image reveals that the floor of western Candor Chasma at this location is indeed layered. What is most striking about the picture is the large number and uniformity of the layers, or beds. There are over 100 beds in this area, and each has about the same thickness (estimated to be about 10 meters (11 yards) thick). Each layer has a relatively smooth upper surface, and each is hard enough to form steep cliffs at its margins.

Layers indicate change. The uniform pattern seen here--beds of similar properties and thickness repeated over a hundred times--suggest that the deposition of materials that made the layers was interrupted at regular or episodic intervals. Patterns like this, when found on Earth, usually indicate the presence of sediment deposited in dynamic, energetic, underwater environments. On Mars, these same patterns could very well indicate that the materials were deposited in a lake or shallow sea. Other MOC images suggest that these layers would not have formed in a lake in Candor Chasma, but instead were deposited in a crater or other basin that existed before Candor Chasma was cut (by faulting and erosion) into the surrounding terrain. However, it is not known for certain that these materials actually formed underwater, for it is possible that there were uniquely Martian processes occurring in the distant past that would mimic the pattern of sedimentation in water. For example, if the early Martian atmosphere was denser than it is today, and if the planet's atmospheric pressure changed on a cyclic basis (as it does today), then perhaps these materials are simply deposits of airborne dust that were later buried and cemented to create cliff-forming rock.

Sunlight illuminates both the wide angle context view and the narrow angle high resolution image from the left/upper left. In both, north is toward the top and east to the right.

Ocular Biometrics of Myopic Eyes With Narrow Angles.

PubMed

Chong, Gabriel T; Wen, Joanne C; Su, Daniel Hsien-Wen; Stinnett, Sandra; Asrani, Sanjay

2016-02-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the ocular biometrics between myopic patients with and without narrow angles. Patients with a stable myopic refraction (myopia worse than -1.00 D spherical equivalent) were prospectively recruited. Angle status was assessed using gonioscopy and biometric measurements were performed using an anterior segment optical coherence tomography and an IOLMaster. A total of 29 patients (58 eyes) were enrolled with 13 patients (26 eyes) classified as having narrow angles and 16 patients (32 eyes) classified as having open angles. Baseline demographics of age, sex, and ethnicity did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. The patients with narrow angles were on average older than those with open angles but the difference did not reach statistical significance (P=0.12). The central anterior chamber depth was significantly less in the eyes with narrow angles (P=0.05). However, the average lens thickness, although greater in the eyes with narrow angles, did not reach statistical significance (P=0.10). Refractive error, axial lengths, and iris thicknesses did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (P=0.32, 0.47, 0.15). Narrow angles can occur in myopic eyes. Routine gonioscopy is therefore recommended for all patients regardless of refractive error.

'Inca City' is Part of a Circular Feature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-319, 8 August 2002 [figure removed for brevity, see original site] 'Inca City' is the informal name given by Mariner 9 scientists in 1972 to a set of intersecting, rectilinear ridges that are located among the layered materials of the south polar region of Mars. Their origin has never been understood; most investigators thought they might be sand dunes, either modern dunes or, more likely, dunes that were buried, hardened, then exhumed. Others considered them to be dikes formed by injection of molten rock (magma) or soft sediment into subsurface cracks that subsequently hardened and then were exposed at the surface by wind erosion. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has provided new information about the 'Inca City' ridges, though the camera's images still do not solve the mystery. The new information comes in the form of a MOC red wide angle context frame taken in mid-southern spring, shown above left and above right. The original Mariner 9 view of the ridges is seen at the center. The MOC image shows that the 'Inca City' ridges, located at 82oS, 67oW, are part of a larger circular structure that is about 86 km (53 mi) across. It is possible that this pattern reflects an origin related to an ancient, eroded meteor impact crater that was filled-in, buried, then partially exhumed. In this case, the ridges might be the remains of filled-in fractures in the bedrock into which the crater formed, or filled-in cracks within the material that filled the crater. Or both explanations could be wrong. While the new MOC image shows that 'Inca City' has a larger context as part of a circular form, it does not reveal the exact origin of these striking and unusual martian landforms.

"Inca City" is Part of a Circular Feature

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-08-07

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-319, 8 August 2002. "Inca City" is the informal name given by Mariner 9 scientists in 1972 to a set of intersecting, rectilinear ridges that are located among the layered materials of the south polar region of Mars. Their origin has never been understood; most investigators thought they might be sand dunes, either modern dunes or, more likely, dunes that were buried, hardened, then exhumed. Others considered them to be dikes formed by injection of molten rock (magma) or soft sediment into subsurface cracks that subsequently hardened and then were exposed at the surface by wind erosion. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has provided new information about the "Inca City" ridges, though the camera's images still do not solve the mystery. The new information comes in the form of a MOC red wide angle context frame taken in mid-southern spring, shown above left and above right. The original Mariner 9 view of the ridges is seen at the center. The MOC image shows that the "Inca City" ridges, located at 82°S, 67°W, are part of a larger circular structure that is about 86 km (53 mi) across. It is possible that this pattern reflects an origin related to an ancient, eroded meteor impact crater that was filled-in, buried, then partially exhumed. In this case, the ridges might be the remains of filled-in fractures in the bedrock into which the crater formed, or filled-in cracks within the material that filled the crater. Or both explanations could be wrong. While the new MOC image shows that "Inca City" has a larger context as part of a circular form, it does not reveal the exact origin of these striking and unusual martian landforms. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03918

Assessment of narrow angles by gonioscopy, Van Herick method and anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Park, Seong Bae; Sung, Kyung Rim; Kang, Sung Yung; Jo, Jung Woo; Lee, Kyoung Sub; Kook, Michael S

2011-07-01

To evaluate anterior chamber (AC) angles using gonioscopy, Van Herick technique and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). One hundred forty-eight consecutive subjects were enrolled. The agreement between any two of three diagnostic methods, gonioscopy, AS-OCT and Van Herick, was calculated in narrow-angle patients. The area under receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUC) for discriminating between narrow and open angles determined by gonioscopy was calculated in all participants for AS-OCT parameter angle opening distance (AOD), angle recess area, trabecular iris surface area and anterior chamber depth (ACD). As a subgroup analysis, capability of AS-OCT parameters for detecting angle closure defined by AS-OCT was assessed in narrow-angle patients. The agreement between the Van Herick method and gonioscopy in detecting angle closure was excellent in narrow angles (κ = 0.80, temporal; κ = 0.82, nasal). However, agreement between gonioscopy and AS-OCT and between the Van Herick method and AS-OCT was poor (κ = 0.11-0.16). Discrimination capability of AS-OCT parameters between open and narrow angles determined by gonioscopy was excellent for all AS-OCT parameters (AUC, temporal: AOD500 = 0.96, nasal: AOD500 = 0.99). The AUCs for detecting angle closure defined by AS-OCT image in narrow angle subjects was good for all AS-OCT parameters (AUC, 0.80-0.94) except for ACD (temporal: ACD = 0.70, nasal: ACD = 0.63). Assessment of narrow angles by gonioscopy and the Van Herick technique showed good agreement, but both measurements revealed poor agreement with AS-OCT. The angle closure detection capability of AS-OCT parameters was excellent; however, it was slightly lower in ACD.

Content Based Image Matching for Planetary Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deans, M. C.; Meyer, C.

2006-12-01

Planetary missions generate large volumes of data. With the MER rovers still functioning on Mars, PDS contains over 7200 released images from the Microscopic Imagers alone. These data products are only searchable by keys such as the Sol, spacecraft clock, or rover motion counter index, with little connection to the semantic content of the images. We have developed a method for matching images based on the visual textures in images. For every image in a database, a series of filters compute the image response to localized frequencies and orientations. Filter responses are turned into a low dimensional descriptor vector, generating a 37 dimensional fingerprint. For images such as the MER MI, this represents a compression ratio of 99.9965% (the fingerprint is approximately 0.0035% the size of the original image). At query time, fingerprints are quickly matched to find images with similar appearance. Image databases containing several thousand images are preprocessed offline in a matter of hours. Image matches from the database are found in a matter of seconds. We have demonstrated this image matching technique using three sources of data. The first database consists of 7200 images from the MER Microscopic Imager. The second database consists of 3500 images from the Narrow Angle Mars Orbital Camera (MOC-NA), which were cropped into 1024×1024 sub-images for consistency. The third database consists of 7500 scanned archival photos from the Apollo Metric Camera. Example query results from all three data sources are shown. We have also carried out user tests to evaluate matching performance by hand labeling results. User tests verify approximately 20% false positive rate for the top 14 results for MOC NA and MER MI data. This means typically 10 to 12 results out of 14 match the query image sufficiently. This represents a powerful search tool for databases of thousands of images where the a priori match probability for an image might be less than 1%. Qualitatively, correct matches can also be confirmed by verifying MI images taken in the same z-stack, or MOC image tiles taken from the same image strip. False negatives are difficult to quantify as it would mean finding matches in the database of thousands of images that the algorithm did not detect.

High prevalence of narrow angles among Chinese-American glaucoma and glaucoma suspect patients.

PubMed

Seider, Michael I; Pekmezci, Melike; Han, Ying; Sandhu, Simi; Kwok, Shiu Y; Lee, Roland Y; Lin, Shan C

2009-01-01

To evaluate the prevalence of gonioscopically narrow angles in a Chinese-American population with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion. Charts from all Chinese-American patients seen in a comprehensive ophthalmology clinic in the Chinatown district of San Francisco in 2002 were reviewed. One eye from each patient with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion that met inclusion criteria was included (n=108). Data were collected for sex, age, race (self-declared), refraction (spherical equivalent), intraocular pressure, gonioscopy, and vertical cup-to-disk ratio. Sixty percent (n=65) of Chinese-American eyes with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion had gonioscopically narrow angles (Shaffer grade < or = 2 in 3 or more quadrants). Those with narrow angles were significantly older (P=0.004) than their open angle counterparts, but the 2 groups did not differ in terms of sex, refraction, intraocular pressure, or cup-to-disk ratio (all, P > or = 0.071). In a multivariate model including age, sex, and refraction as predictors of angle grade (open or narrow), only age was a significant predictor of angle grade (P=0.004). A large proportion of Chinese-Americans in our study population with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion had gonioscopically narrow angles. In multivariate analysis, patients with narrow angles were older than those with open angles but did not differ from them in terms of sex or refraction. Continued evaluation of angle closure glaucoma risk among Chinese-Americans is needed.

Arsia Mons Spiral Cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

One of the benefits of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Extended Mission is the opportunity to observe how the planet's weather changes during a second full martian year. This picture of Arsia Mons was taken June 19, 2001; southern spring equinox occurred the same day. Arsia Mons is a volcano nearly large enough to cover the state of New Mexico. On this particular day (the first day of Spring), the MOC wide angle cameras documented an unusual spiral-shaped cloud within the 110 km (68 mi) diameter caldera--the summit crater--of the giant volcano. Because the cloud is bright both in the red and blue images acquired by the wide angle cameras, it probably consisted mostly of fine dust grains. The cloud's spin may have been induced by winds off the inner slopes of the volcano's caldera walls resulting from the temperature differences between the walls and the caldera floor, or by a vortex as winds blew up and over the caldera. Similar spiral clouds were seen inside the caldera for several days; we don't know if this was a single cloud that persisted throughout that time or one that regenerated each afternoon. Sunlight illuminates this scene from the left/upper left.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

High Prevalence of Narrow Angles among Chinese-American Glaucoma and Glaucoma Suspect Patients

PubMed Central

Seider, Michael I; Pekmezci, Melike; Han, Ying; Sandhu, Simi; Kwok, Shiu Y; Lee, Roland Y; Lin, Shan C

2009-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the prevalence of gonioscopically narrow angles in a Chinese-American population with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion. Patients and Methods Charts from all Chinese-American patients seen in a comprehensive ophthalmology clinic in the Chinatown district of San Francisco in 2002 were reviewed. One eye from each patient with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion that met inclusion criteria was included (n=108). Data was collected for gender, age, race (self-declared), refraction (spherical equivalent), intraocular pressure (IOP), gonioscopy and vertical cup-to-disk ratio (CDR). Results Sixty percent (n=65) of Chinese-American eyes with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion had gonioscopically narrow angles (Shaffer grade ≤2 in three or more quadrants). Those with narrow angles were significantly older (P=0.004) than their open angle counterparts, but the two groups did not differ in terms of gender, refraction, IOP or CDR (all, P≥0.071). In a multivariate model including age, gender and refraction as predictors of angle grade (open or narrow), only age was a significant predictor of angle grade (P=0.004). Conclusions A large proportion of Chinese-Americans in our study population with glaucoma or glaucoma suspicion had gonioscopically narrow angles. In multivariate analysis, patients with narrow angles were older than those with open angles but did not differ from them in terms of gender or refraction. Continued evaluation of angle closure glaucoma risk among Chinese-Americans is needed. PMID:19826385

Thermophysical properties of the MER and Beagle II landing site regions on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakosky, Bruce M.; Hynek, Brian M.; Pelkey, Shannon M.; Mellon, Michael T.; Martínez-Alonso, Sara; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Murphy, Nate; Christensen, Philip R.

2006-08-01

We analyzed remote-sensing observations of the Isidis Basin, Gusev Crater, and Meridiani Planum landing sites for Beagle II, MER-A Spirit, and MER-B Opportunity spacecraft, respectively. We emphasized the thermophysical properties using daytime and nighttime radiance measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) and thermal inertias derived from nighttime data sets. THEMIS visible images, MGS Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) narrow-angle images, and MGS Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data are incorporated as well. Additionally, the remote-sensing data were compared with ground-truth at the MER sites. The Isidis Basin surface layer has been shaped by aeolian processes and erosion by slope winds coming off of the southern highlands and funneling through notches between massifs. In the Gusev region, surface materials of contrasting thermophysical properties have been interpreted as rocks or bedrock, duricrust, and dust deposits; these are consistent with a complex geological history dominated by volcanic and aeolian processes. At Meridiani Planum the many layers having different thermophysical and erosional properties suggest periodic deposition of differing sedimentological facies possibly related to clast size, grain orientation and packing, or mineralogy.

The type specimens of Tenthredo Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum.

PubMed

Taeger, Andreas

2013-01-01

The type specimens of Tenthredo sensu lato deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Budapest) are reviewed. The following synonyms are recognized and discussed: Rhogogastera aenescens Mocsáry, 1909, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Temuledo) finschi finschi W.F. Kirby, 1882; Macrophya prasinipes Konow, 1891, syn. nov. of Macrophya caucasica (Mocsáry, 1880); Tenthredo concinnoides Malaise, 1945, syn. nov. of Tenthredo concinna Mocsáry, 1883; Tenthredo fulviventris Mocsáry, 1909, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Tenthredella) crenata (Enslin, 1912); Tenthredo vespa inaffectata Muche, 1965, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Tenthredo) vespa Retzius, 1783; Rhogogaster kaszabi Zombori, 1973, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Eurogaster) aaliensis (Strand, 1898); Tenthredo kaszabi Muche, 1965, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Eurogaster) mesomela Linné, 1758; Rhogogastera opacella Mocsáry, 1909, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Eurogaster) stulta Jakowlew, 1891; Tenthredo tschinggischanensis Muche, 1965 syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Tenthredella) balteata Klug, 1817; Tenthredo unfasciata Mocsáry, 1909, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Tenthredella) colon Klug, 1817; Tenthredella cucullata Enslin, 1912, syn. nov. of Tenthredo (Tenthredella) colon Klug, 1817. Macrophya caucasica (Mocsáry, 1880) is a new combination (comb. nov.) for Allantus caucasicus Mocsáry, 1880. Tenthredo semicolon Mol, is a replacement name (nom. nov.) for Tenthredo punctulata Konow, 1887, nom. praeocc., nec Klug, 1817. Tenthredo chanae Taeger & Shinohara spec. nov., a species close to Tenthredo concinna, is described from Taiwan. Lectotypes are designated and illustrated for the following 30 nominal taxa: Rhogogastera aenescens Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus albiventris Mocsáry, 1880; Allantus almasyanus Mocsáry, 1909; Macrophya binaculata Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus brachycerus Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus caucasicus Mocsáry, 1880; Allantus centrorufus Mocsáry, 1909; Tenthredo chyzeri Mocsáry, 1891; Tenthredo concinna Mocsáry, 1883; Tenthredo concinnoides Malaise, 1945; Allantus eburneus Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus eburneus Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus fulvicornis Mocsáry, 1909; Tenthredo fulvicornis Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus fulvipennis Mocsáry, 1909; Tenthredo fulviventris Mocsáry, 1909; Tenthredo gribodoi Konow, 1898; Allantus lateralis Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus limbiferus Mocsáry, 1891; Allantus moestus Mocsáry, 1883; Rhogogastera nigrita Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus obesus Mocsáry, 1880; Macrophya prasinipes Konow, 1891; Tenthredo punctulata Konow, 1887; Allantus rufipes Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus sabariensis Mocsáry, 1880; Allantus sanguinolentus Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus temulus var. scutellatus Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus testaceus Mocsáry, 1909; Allantus variabilis Mocsáry, 1909. The first records of Tenthredo concinna for Vietnam and Nepal are given.

Mars Polar Lander: The Search Begins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

Beginning Thursday, December 16, 1999, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft initiated a search for visible evidence of the fate of the missing Mars Polar Lander using the high resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) operated by Malin Space Science Systems of San Diego, California. Mars Polar Lander was lost during its landing attempt near 76.3oS, 195.0oW on the martian south polar layered terrain on December 3, 1999. Although the likelihood of seeing the lander is quite small, the MOC effort might provide some clues that shed light on what happened to the lander. The problem, however, is one of 'pixels'--those little square boxes of different shades of gray that comprise a digital image.

The two pictures above illustrate the difficulty of finding the lander in MOC images. The picture at the top of the page is the first of the images that were acquired to look for the lander--this one was snapped by MOC around 3:36 p.m. Greenwich time on December 16th. Local time on Mars was about 2 p.m. Portions of this image are shown at 1/4th scale (left), full-scale (1.5 meters, or 5 feet, per pixel--middle), and 10 times enlarged (right). Because the landing site is very far south (at this latitude on Earth, you would be in Antarctica), the Sun illumination is not ideal for taking high resolution pictures with MOC. Thus, the full-resolution MOC data for this region show a large amount of 'salt and pepper' noise, which arises from statistical fluctuations in how light falling on the MOC charge-coupled-device (CCD) detector is converted to electricity. Other aspects of the MOC electronics also introduce noise. These effects are greatly reduced when taking pictures of portions of Mars that have better, more direct sunlight, or when the images are taken at reduced resolution to, in effect, 'average-out' the noise.

The lower picture shows a model of the Mars Polar Lander sitting on a carpet in a conference room at Malin Space Science Systems. This model is illuminated in the same way that sunlight would illuminate the real lander at 2 p.m. local time in December 1999--in other words, the model is illuminated exactly the way it would be if it occurred in the MOC image shown above (left). This figure shows what the Mars Polar Lander would look like if viewed from above by cameras of different resolutions from 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) per pixel in the upper left to 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel in the lower right. The 1.5 meters per pixel view is the best resolution that can be achieved by MOC. Note that at MOC resolution, the lander is just a few pixels across.

The problem of recognizing the lander in MOC images is obvious--all that might be seen is a pattern of a few bright and dark gray pixels. This means that it will be extremely difficult to identify the lander by looking at the relatively noisy MOC images that can be acquired at the landing site--like those shown in the top picture.

How, then, is the MGS MOC team looking for the lander? Primarily, they are looking for associations of features that, together, would suggest whether or not the Mars landing was successful. For example, the parachute that was used to slow the lander from supersonic speeds to just under 300 km/hr (187 mph) was to have been jettisoned, along with part of the aeroshell that protected the lander from the extreme heat of entry, about 40 seconds before landing. The parachute and aeroshell are likely to be within a kilometer (6 tenths of a mile) of the lander. The parachute and aeroshell are nearly white, so they should stand out well against the red martian soil. The parachute, if lying on the ground in a fully open, flat position, would measure about 6 meters (20 feet)--thus it would cover three or four pixels (at most) in a MOC image. If the parachute can be found, the search for the lander can be narrowed to a small, nearby zone. If, as another example, the landing rockets kicked up a lot of dust and roughened the surface around the lander, evidence for this might show up as a dark circle surrounding a bright pixel (part of the lander) in the middle. The MOC operations team is using a set of these and similar scenarios to guide the examination of these images. The search continues...

Monitoring the perennial martian northern polar cap with MGS MOC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hale, A. Snyder; Bass, D. S.; Tamppari, L. K.

2005-04-01

We have used the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Wide Angle (MGS MOC WA) dataset to study albedo trends on the martian northern residual cap. Six study regions were selected, the Chasma Boreale source region, three regions near the center of the cap ("fish hook" region, latitude = 87°; "bottle opener" region, latitude = 87°, "steep-shallow" region, latitude = 85°), and two lower latitude regions (crater, latitude = 77°, and polar outlier, latitude = 82°), and the albedos of these six regions were examined. These regions were chosen due to their good temporal coverage in the MOC dataset, as well as having been studied by other researchers (Bass et al., 2000, Icarus 144, 382-396; Calvin and Titus, 2004, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXV, Abstract 1455). The picture which emerges is complex. Most areas experience a combination of darkening and brightening through the northern summer; only one area consistently brightens (the polar outlier region). A good deal of interannual repeatability in each region's albedo behavior is seen, however. Possible causes for the observed complex behaviors include dust deposition from late summer storms, sintering of frost grains over the course of the summer, and cold trapping of volatiles on bright, cold surfaces.

Mars Orbiter Camera Acquires High Resolution Stereoscopic Images of the Viking One Landing Site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Two MOC images of the vicinity of the Viking Lander 1 (MOC 23503 and 25403), acquired separately on 12 April 1998 at 08:32 PDT and 21 April 1998 at 13:54 PDT (respectively), are combined here in a stereoscopic anaglyph. The more recent, slightly better quality image is in the red channel, while the earlier image is shown in the blue and green channels. Only the overlap portion of the images is included in the composite.

Image 23503 was taken at a viewing angle of 31.6o from vertical; 25403 was taken at an angle of 22.4o, for a difference of 9.4o. Although this is not as large a difference as is typically used in stereo mapping, it is sufficient to provide some indication of relief, at least in locations of high relief.

The image shows the raised rims and deep interiors of the larger impact craters in the area (the largest crater is about 650 m/2100 feet across). It shows that the relief on the ridges is very subtle, and that, in general, the Viking landing site is very flat. This result is, of course, expected: the VL-1 site was chosen specifically because it was likely to have low to very low slopes that represented potential hazards to the spacecraft.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Gullies in Sirenum Fossae Trough

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This mosaic of two Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images shows about 20 different gullies coming down the south-facing wall of a trough in the Sirenum Fossae/Gorgonum Chaos region of the martian southern hemisphere. Each channel and its associated fan--or apron--of debris appears to have started just below the same hard, resistant layer of bedrock located approximately 100 meters (about 325 feet) below the top of the trough wall. The layer beneath this hard, resistant bedrock is interpreted to be permeable, which allows ground water to percolate through it and--at the location of this trough--seep out onto the martian surface. The channels and aprons only occur on the south-facing slope of this valley created by faults on each side of the trough. The depression is approximately 1.4 km (0.9 mi) across.

The mosaic was constructed from two pictures taken on September 16, 1999, and May 1, 2000. The black line is a gap between the two images that was not covered by MOC. The scene covers an area approximately 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) wide by 4.9 km (3.0 mi) high. Sunlight illuminates the area from the upper left. The image is located near 38.5oS, 171.3oW. MOC high resolution images are taken black-and-white (grayscale); the color seen here has been synthesized from the colors of Mars observed by the MOC wide angle cameras and by the Viking Orbiters in the late 1970s.

MPACT Subgroup Self-Shielding Efficiency Improvements

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

Stimpson, Shane; Liu, Yuxuan; Collins, Benjamin S.

Recent developments to improve the efficiency of the MOC solvers in MPACT have yielded effective kernels that loop over several energy groups at once, rather that looping over one group at a time. These kernels have produced roughly a 2x speedup on the MOC sweeping time during eigenvalue calculation. However, the self-shielding subgroup calculation had not been reevaluated to take advantage of these new kernels, which typically requires substantial solve time. The improvements covered in this report start by integrating the multigroup kernel concepts into the subgroup calculation, which are then used as the basis for further extensions. The nextmore » improvement that is covered is what is currently being termed as “Lumped Parameter MOC”. Because the subgroup calculation is a purely fixed source problem and multiple sweeps are performed only to update the boundary angular fluxes, the sweep procedure can be condensed to allow for the instantaneous propagation of the flux across a spatial domain, without the need to sweep along all segments in a ray. Once the boundary angular fluxes are considered to be converged, an additional sweep that will tally the scalar flux is completed. The last improvement that is investigated is the possible reduction of the number of azimuthal angles per octant in the shielding sweep. Typically 16 azimuthal angles per octant are used for self-shielding and eigenvalue calculations, but it is possible that the self-shielding sweeps are less sensitive to the number of angles than the full eigenvalue calculation.« less

Association of narrow angles with anterior chamber area and volume measured with anterior-segment optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Wu, Ren-Yi; Nongpiur, Monisha E; He, Ming-Guang; Sakata, Lisandro M; Friedman, David S; Chan, Yiong-Huak; Lavanya, Raghavan; Wong, Tien-Yin; Aung, Tin

2011-05-01

To describe the measurement of anterior chamber area and anterior chamber volume by anterior-segment optical coherence tomography and to investigate the association of these parameters with the presence of narrow angles. This was a cross-sectional study of subjects aged at least 50 years without ophthalmic symptoms recruited from a community clinic. All participants underwent standardized ocular examination and anterior-segment optical coherence tomography. Customized software was used to measure anterior chamber area (cross-sectional area bounded by the corneal endothelium, anterior surface of iris, and lens within the pupil) and anterior chamber volume (calculated by rotating the anterior chamber area 360° around a vertical axis through the midpoint of the anterior chamber area). An eye was considered to have narrow angles if the posterior pigmented trabecular meshwork was not visible for at least 180° on gonioscopy with the eye in the primary position. A total of 1922 subjects were included in the final analyses, 317 (16.5%) of whom had narrow angles. Mean anterior chamber area (15.6 vs 21.1 mm(2); P < .001) and anterior chamber volume (97.6 vs 142.1 mm(3); P < .001) were smaller in eyes with narrow angles compared with those in eyes without narrow angles. After adjusting for age, sex, anterior chamber depth, axial length, and pupil size, smaller anterior chamber area (odds ratio, 53.2; 95% confidence interval, 27.1-104.5) and anterior chamber volume (odds ratio, 40.2; 95% confidence interval, 21.5-75.2) were significantly associated with the presence of narrow angles. Smaller anterior chamber area and anterior chamber volume were independently associated with narrow angles in Singaporeans, even after controlling for other known ocular risk factors.

Light-Toned, Layered Outcrops of Northern Terra Meridiani Mars: Viking, Phobos 2, and Mars Global Surveyor Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edgett, Kenneth S.

2002-01-01

Locating outcrops of sedimentary rock on Mars is an important step toward deciphering the planet's geologic and climatologic record. Sedimentary rock representing the earliest martian environments, are of particular interest in this context. This is a report about a vast exposure of material proposed to be martian sedimentary rock. The outcrops cover an area (approximately sq 300,000 km) roughly the size of the Colorado Plateau in North America (approximately 260,000 sq km). The materials occur in northern Terra Meridiani, near of one of the four sites being considered for a 2004 NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) landing. The landing ellipse, centered at deg S, deg W, lies in a region exhibiting smooth and rough (at meter scale) dark-toned surfaces, with scattered light-toned patches. Stratigraphically, the dark-toned materials at the MER site lie unconformably on top of a previously-eroded, light-toned surface; the light-toned patches in the landing ellipse are geologic windows down to this lower stratigraphic unit. North of the landing ellipse, the light-toned materials are well-exposed because the darker materials have been removed, stranding outlier remnants in a few locations. The light-toned materials are layered, vertically heterogeneous, and exhibit lateral continuity over hundreds of kilometers. Eroded layers produce cliffs; some outcrops are expressed as mesas, buttes, and spires; and impact craters ranging in diameter from a few meters to tens of kilometers are interbedded with the layers. The purpose of this report is to summarize the results of greater than 6 years of photogeologic investigation into the nature of the light-toned outcrops of northern Terra Meridiani. The work is a 'snapshot' of progress made toward eventual geologic mapping and establishment of the stratigraphic sequence for the materials through 30 September 2002, a day prior to the first release of Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) data to the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS). The main body of data examined were Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired through 30 September 2002. The data also 2 include Viking orbiter images, a Phobos 2 Termoscan image, MGS Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topographic observations, and the products of published Viking Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) and Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) analyses. Through September 2002, over 126,000 MOC images had been acquired, and greater than 600 of the MOC narrow angle (1.5-12 m/pixel) images occur within the portions of Terra Meridiani and southwestern Arabia Terra.

Predictors of Intraocular Pressure After Phacoemulsification in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Eyes with Wide Versus Narrower Angles (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis)

PubMed Central

Lin, Shan C.; Masis, Marisse; Porco, Travis C.; Pasquale, Louis R.

2017-01-01

Purpose To assess if narrower-angle status and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) parameters can predict intraocular pressure (IOP) drop in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients after cataract surgery. Methods This was a prospective case series of consecutive cataract surgery patients with POAG and no peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS) using a standardized postoperative management protocol. Preoperatively, patients underwent gonioscopy and AS-OCT. The same glaucoma medication regimen was resumed by 1 month. Potential predictors of IOP reduction included narrower-angle status by gonioscopy and angle-opening distance (AOD500) as well as other AS-OCT parameters. Mixed-effects regression adjusted for use of both eyes and other potential confounders. Results We enrolled 66 eyes of 40 glaucoma patients. The IOP reduction at 1 year was 4.2±3 mm Hg (26%, P<.001) in the narrower-angle group vs 2.2±3 mm Hg (14%, P<.001) in the wide-angle group (P=.027 for difference), as classified by gonioscopy. By AOD500 classification, the narrower-angle group had 3.4±3 mm Hg (21%, P<.001) reduction vs 2.5±3 mm Hg (16%, P<.001) in the wide-angle group (P=.031 for difference). When the entire cohort was assessed, iris thickness, iris area, and lens vault were correlated with increasing IOP reduction at 1 year (P<.05 for all). Conclusions In POAG eyes, cataract surgery lowered IOP to a greater degree in the narrower-angle group than in the wide-angle group, and parameters relating to iris thickness and area, as well as lens vault, were correlated with IOP reduction. These findings can guide ophthalmologists in their selection of cataract surgery as a potential management option. PMID:29147104

Predictors of Intraocular Pressure After Phacoemulsification in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Eyes with Wide Versus Narrower Angles (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

PubMed

Lin, Shan C; Masis, Marisse; Porco, Travis C; Pasquale, Louis R

2017-08-01

To assess if narrower-angle status and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) parameters can predict intraocular pressure (IOP) drop in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients after cataract surgery. This was a prospective case series of consecutive cataract surgery patients with POAG and no peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS) using a standardized postoperative management protocol. Preoperatively, patients underwent gonioscopy and AS-OCT. The same glaucoma medication regimen was resumed by 1 month. Potential predictors of IOP reduction included narrower-angle status by gonioscopy and angle-opening distance (AOD500) as well as other AS-OCT parameters. Mixed-effects regression adjusted for use of both eyes and other potential confounders. We enrolled 66 eyes of 40 glaucoma patients. The IOP reduction at 1 year was 4.2±3 mm Hg (26%, P <.001) in the narrower-angle group vs 2.2±3 mm Hg (14%, P <.001) in the wide-angle group ( P =.027 for difference), as classified by gonioscopy. By AOD500 classification, the narrower-angle group had 3.4±3 mm Hg (21%, P <.001) reduction vs 2.5±3 mm Hg (16%, P <.001) in the wide-angle group ( P =.031 for difference). When the entire cohort was assessed, iris thickness, iris area, and lens vault were correlated with increasing IOP reduction at 1 year ( P <.05 for all). In POAG eyes, cataract surgery lowered IOP to a greater degree in the narrower-angle group than in the wide-angle group, and parameters relating to iris thickness and area, as well as lens vault, were correlated with IOP reduction. These findings can guide ophthalmologists in their selection of cataract surgery as a potential management option.

Determinants of lens vault and association with narrow angles in patients from Singapore.

PubMed

Tan, Gavin S; He, Mingguang; Zhao, Wanting; Sakata, Lisandro M; Li, Jialiang; Nongpiur, Monisha E; Lavanya, Raghavan; Friedman, David S; Aung, Tin

2012-07-01

To describe the distribution and determinants of lens vault and to investigate the association of lens vault with narrow angles. Prospective cross-sectional study. Phakic subjects 50 years and older were evaluated at a primary healthcare clinic with gonioscopy, partial laser interferometry, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Narrow angles were defined as posterior trabecular meshwork not visible for ≥2 quadrants on non-indentation gonioscopy. Lens vault was defined as the perpendicular distance between the anterior pole of the crystalline lens and the horizontal line joining the 2 scleral spurs on horizontal AS-OCT scans. Analysis of covariance, multivariate logistic regression, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were performed. Of the 2047 subjects recruited, 582 were excluded because of poor image quality or inability to locate scleral spurs, leaving 1465 subjects for analysis. Eyes with narrow angles had greater lens vault compared to eyes with open angles (775.6 µm vs 386.5 µm, P < .0001). Women had significantly greater lens vault than men (497.28 µm vs 438.56 µm, P < .001), and lens vault increased significantly with age (P for trend <.001). Adjusted for age and sex, significant associations with greater lens vault were shorter axial length, shallower anterior chamber depth(ACD), higher intraocular pressure, and more hyperopic spherical equivalent (all P < .001). On multivariate analysis, subjects with lens vault >667.6 µm were more likely to have narrow angles (OR 2.201, 95% CI: 1.070-4.526) compared to those with lens vault ≤462.7 µm. The AUC for lens vault (0.816) and ACD (0.822) for detecting narrow angles were similar (P = .582). Lens vault was independently associated with narrow angles and may be useful in screening to detect eyes with narrow angles. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A model for the catabolism of rhizopine in Rhizobium leguminosarum involves a ferredoxin oxygenase complex and the inositol degradative pathway.

PubMed

Bahar, M; de Majnik, J; Wexler, M; Fry, J; Poole, P S; Murphy, P J

1998-11-01

Rhizopines are nodule-specific compounds that confer an intraspecies competitive nodulation advantage to strains that can catabolize them. The rhizopine (3-O-methyl-scyllo-inosamine, 3-O-MSI) catabolic moc gene cluster mocCABRDE(F) in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae strain 1a is located on the Sym plasmid. MocCABR are homologous to the mocCABR gene products from Sinorhizobium meliloti. MocD and MocE contain motifs corresponding to a TOL-like oxygenase and a [2Fe-2S] Rieske-like ferredoxin, respectively. The mocF gene encodes a ferredoxin reductase that would complete the oxygenase system, but is not essential for rhizopine catabolism. We propose a rhizopine catabolic model whereby MocB transports rhizopine into the cell and MocDE and MocF (or a similar protein elsewhere in the genome), under the regulation of MocR, act in concert to form a ferredoxin oxygenase system that demethylates 3-O-MSI to form scyllo-inosamine (SI). MocA, an NAD(H)-dependent dehydrogenase, and MocC continue the catabolic process. Compounds formed then enter the inositol catabolic pathway.

Hong's grading for evaluating anterior chamber angle width.

PubMed

Kim, Seok Hwan; Kang, Ja Heon; Park, Ki Ho; Hong, Chul

2012-11-01

To compare Hong's grading method with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), gonioscopy, and the dark-room prone-position test (DRPT) for evaluating anterior chamber width. The anterior chamber angle was graded using Hong's grading method, and Hong's angle width was calculated from the arctangent of Hong's grades. The correlation between Hong's angle width and AS-OCT parameters was analyzed. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for Hong's grading method when discriminating between narrow and open angles as determined by gonioscopy was calculated. Correlation analysis was performed between Hong's angle width and intraocular pressure (IOP) changes determined by DRPT. A total of 60 subjects were enrolled. Of these subjects, 53.5 % had a narrow angle. Hong's angle width correlated significantly with the AS-OCT parameters (r = 0.562-0.719, P < 0.01). A Bland-Altman plot showed relatively good agreement between Hong's angle width and the angle width obtained by AS-OCT. The ability of Hong's grading method to discriminate between open and narrow angles was good (AUC = 0.868, 95 % CI 0.756-0.942). A significant linear correlation was found between Hong's angle width and IOP change determined by DRPT (r = -0.761, P < 0.01). Hong's grading method is useful for detecting narrow angles. Hong's grading correlated well with AS-OCT parameters and DRPT.

Method of Characteristic (MOC) Nozzle Flowfield Solver - User’s Guide and Input Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Description: Axi or Planar calculation. Value Description Default 0.0 Planer solution 1.0 Axisymmetric solution * &INPUT: NI Date Type: Integer...angle error !... !... Set Control values !... DELTA = 1.0 !1 axi, 0 planer (Mass flux not working correctly) NI = 81...DELTA = 1.0 !1 axi, 0 planer NI = 71 !NUMBER OF RADIAL POINTS ON INFLOW PLANE (Max 99) NT = 35 !NUMBER OF

South Melea Planum, By The Dawn's Early Light

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

MOC 'sees' by the dawn's early light! This picture was taken over the high southern polar latitudes during the first week of May 1999. The area shown is currently in southern winter darkness. Because sunlight is scattered over the horizon by aerosols--dust and ice particles--suspended in the atmosphere, sufficient light reaches regions within a few degrees of the terminator (the line dividing night and day) to be visible to the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when the maximum exposure settings are used.

This image shows a bright, wispy cloud hanging over southern Malea Planum. This cloud would not normally be visible, since it is currently in darkness. At the time this picture was taken, the sun was more than 5.7o below the northern horizon. The scene covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide. Again, the illumination is from the top.

In this frame, the surface appears a relatively uniform gray. At the time the picture was acquired, the surface was covered with south polar wintertime frost. The highly reflective frost, in fact, may have contributed to the increased visibility of this surface.

This 'twilight imaging' technique for viewing Mars can only work near the terminator; thus in early May only regions between about 67oS and 74oS were visible in twilight images in the southern hemisphere, and a similar narrow latitude range could be imaged in the northern hemisphere. MOC cannot 'see' in the total darkness of full-borne night.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

South Melea Planum, By The Dawn's Early Light

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

MOC 'sees' by the dawn's early light! This picture was taken over the high southern polar latitudes during the first week of May 1999. The area shown is currently in southern winter darkness. Because sunlight is scattered over the horizon by aerosols--dust and ice particles--suspended in the atmosphere, sufficient light reaches regions within a few degrees of the terminator (the line dividing night and day) to be visible to the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when the maximum exposure settings are used.

This picture shows a polygonally-patterned surface on southern Malea Planum. At the time the picture was taken, the sun was more than 4.5o below the northern horizon. The scene covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide, with the illumination from the top of the picture.

In this frame, the surface appears a relatively uniform gray. At the time the picture was acquired, the surface was covered with south polar wintertime frost. The highly reflective frost, in fact, may have contributed to the increased visibility of this surface.

This 'twilight imaging' technique for viewing Mars can only work near the terminator; thus in early May only regions between about 67oS and 74oS were visible in twilight images in the southern hemisphere, and a similar narrow latitude range could be imaged in the northern hemisphere. MOC cannot 'see' in the total darkness of full-borne night.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Agreement between Gonioscopic Examination and Swept Source Fourier Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Donna; Minnal, Vandana R.

2016-01-01

Purpose. To evaluate interobserver, intervisit, and interinstrument agreements for gonioscopy and Fourier domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (FD ASOCT) for classifying open and narrow angle eyes. Methods. Eighty-six eyes with open or narrow anterior chamber angles were included. The superior angle was classified open or narrow by 2 of 5 glaucoma specialists using gonioscopy and imaged by FD ASOCT in the dark. The superior angle of each FD ASOCT image was graded as open or narrow by 2 masked readers. The same procedures were repeated within 6 months. Kappas for interobserver and intervisit agreements for each instrument and interinstrument agreements were calculated. Results. The mean age was 50.9 (±18.4) years. Interobserver agreements were moderate to good for both gonioscopy (0.57 and 0.69) and FD ASOCT (0.58 and 0.75). Intervisit agreements were moderate to excellent for both gonioscopy (0.53 to 0.86) and FD ASOCT (0.57 and 0.85). Interinstrument agreements were fair to good (0.34 to 0.63), with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. Conclusions. Both gonioscopy and FD ASOCT examiners were internally consistent with similar interobserver and intervisit agreements for angle classification. Agreement between instruments was fair to good, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. PMID:27990300

Ti plasmid-encoded genes responsible for catabolism of the crown gall opine mannopine by Agrobacterium tumefaciens are homologs of the T-region genes responsible for synthesis of this opine by the plant tumor.

PubMed

Kim, K S; Farrand, S K

1996-06-01

Agrobacterium tumefaciens NT1 harboring pSaB4, which contains the 14-kb BamHI fragment 4 from the octopine/mannityl opine-type Ti plasmid pTi15955, grew well with agropine (AGR) but slowly with mannopine (MOP) as the sole carbon source. When a second plasmid encoding a dedicated transport system for MOP was introduced, these cells grew well with both AGR and MOP. Transposon insertion mutagenesis and subcloning identified a 5.7-kb region of BamHI fragment 4 that encodes functions required for the degradation of MOP. DNA sequence analysis revealed seven putative genes in this region: mocD (moc for mannityl opine catabolism) and mocE, oriented from right to left, and mocRCBAS, oriented from left to right. Significant identities exist at the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequence levels between these moc genes and the mas genes that are responsible for opine biosynthesis in crown gall tumors. MocD is a homolog of Mas2, the anabolic conjugase encoded by mas2'. MocE and MocC are related to the amino half and the carboxyl half, respectively, of Mas1 (MOP reductase), the second enzyme for MOP biosynthesis. These results indicate that the moc and mas genes evolved from a common origin. MocR and MocS are related to each other and to a putative repressor for the AGR degradation system encoded by the rhizogenic plasmid pRiA4. MocB and MocA are homologs of 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, respectively. Mutations in mocD and mocE, but not mocC, are suppressed by functions encoded by the chromosome or the 450-kb megaplasmid present in many Agrobacterium isolates. We propose that moc genes derived from genes located elsewhere in the bacterial genome and that the tumor-expressed mas genes evolved from the bacterial moc genes.

Ti plasmid-encoded genes responsible for catabolism of the crown gall opine mannopine by Agrobacterium tumefaciens are homologs of the T-region genes responsible for synthesis of this opine by the plant tumor.

PubMed Central

Kim, K S; Farrand, S K

1996-01-01

Agrobacterium tumefaciens NT1 harboring pSaB4, which contains the 14-kb BamHI fragment 4 from the octopine/mannityl opine-type Ti plasmid pTi15955, grew well with agropine (AGR) but slowly with mannopine (MOP) as the sole carbon source. When a second plasmid encoding a dedicated transport system for MOP was introduced, these cells grew well with both AGR and MOP. Transposon insertion mutagenesis and subcloning identified a 5.7-kb region of BamHI fragment 4 that encodes functions required for the degradation of MOP. DNA sequence analysis revealed seven putative genes in this region: mocD (moc for mannityl opine catabolism) and mocE, oriented from right to left, and mocRCBAS, oriented from left to right. Significant identities exist at the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequence levels between these moc genes and the mas genes that are responsible for opine biosynthesis in crown gall tumors. MocD is a homolog of Mas2, the anabolic conjugase encoded by mas2'. MocE and MocC are related to the amino half and the carboxyl half, respectively, of Mas1 (MOP reductase), the second enzyme for MOP biosynthesis. These results indicate that the moc and mas genes evolved from a common origin. MocR and MocS are related to each other and to a putative repressor for the AGR degradation system encoded by the rhizogenic plasmid pRiA4. MocB and MocA are homologs of 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, respectively. Mutations in mocD and mocE, but not mocC, are suppressed by functions encoded by the chromosome or the 450-kb megaplasmid present in many Agrobacterium isolates. We propose that moc genes derived from genes located elsewhere in the bacterial genome and that the tumor-expressed mas genes evolved from the bacterial moc genes. PMID:8655509

A Cost Analysis of the American Board of Internal Medicine's Maintenance-of-Certification Program.

PubMed

Sandhu, Alexander T; Dudley, R Adams; Kazi, Dhruv S

2015-09-15

In 2014, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) substantially increased the requirements and fees for its maintenance-of-certification (MOC) program. Faced with mounting criticism, the ABIM suspended certain content requirements in February 2015 but retained the increased fees and number of modules. An objective appraisal of the cost of MOC would help inform upcoming consultations about MOC reform. To estimate the total cost of the 2015 version of the MOC program ("2015 MOC") and the incremental cost relative to the 2013 version ("2013 MOC"). Decision analytic model. Published literature. All ABIM-certified U.S. physicians. 10 years (2015 to 2024). Societal. 2015 MOC. Testing costs (ABIM fees) and time costs (monetary value of physician time). Internists will incur an average of $23 607 (95% CI, $5380 to $66 383) in MOC costs over 10 years, ranging from $16 725 for general internists to $40 495 for hematologists-oncologists. Time costs account for 90% of MOC costs. Cumulatively, 2015 MOC will cost $5.7 billion over 10 years, $1.2 billion more than 2013 MOC. This includes $5.1 billion in time costs (resulting from 32.7 million physician-hours spent on MOC) and $561 million in testing costs. Costs are sensitive to time spent on MOC and MOC credits obtainable from current continuing education activities. Precise estimates of time required for MOC are not available. The ABIM MOC program will generate considerable costs, predominantly due to demands on physician time. A rigorous evaluation of its effect on clinical and economic outcomes is warranted to balance potential gains in health care quality and efficiency against the high costs identified in this study. University of California, San Francisco, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Relationship between relative lens position and appositional closure in eyes with narrow angles.

PubMed

Otori, Yasumasa; Tomita, Yuki; Hamamoto, Ayumi; Fukui, Kanae; Usui, Shinichi; Tatebayashi, Misako

2011-03-01

To investigate the relationship between relative lens position (RLP) and appositional closure in eyes with narrow angles. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) was used to measure anterior chamber depth (ACD) and lens thickness (LT), and the IOLMaster to measure axial length (AL). The number of quadrants with appositional closure was assessed by UBM under dark conditions. The RLP was calculated thus: RLP = 10 × (ACD + 0.5 LT) /AL. This study comprised 30 consecutive patients (30 eyes) with narrow-angle eyes defined as Shaffer grade 2 or lower and without peripheral anterior synechiae (24 women, 6 men; mean age ± SD, 67.3 ± 10.4 years; range, 42-87 years). Under dark conditions, 66.7% of the eyes with narrow angles showed appositional closure in at least one quadrant. Of the various ocular biometric parameters, only the RLP significantly decreased with appositional closure in at least one quadrant (P = 0.005). A decrease in the RLP can be predictive of appositional closure for narrow-angle eyes under dark conditions.

Mars Global Digital Dune Database: MC2-MC29

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayward, Rosalyn K.; Mullins, Kevin F.; Fenton, L.K.; Hare, T.M.; Titus, T.N.; Bourke, M.C.; Colaprete, Anthony; Christensen, P.R.

2007-01-01

Introduction The Mars Global Digital Dune Database presents data and describes the methodology used in creating the database. The database provides a comprehensive and quantitative view of the geographic distribution of moderate- to large-size dune fields from 65? N to 65? S latitude and encompasses ~ 550 dune fields. The database will be expanded to cover the entire planet in later versions. Although we have attempted to include all dune fields between 65? N and 65? S, some have likely been excluded for two reasons: 1) incomplete THEMIS IR (daytime) coverage may have caused us to exclude some moderate- to large-size dune fields or 2) resolution of THEMIS IR coverage (100m/pixel) certainly caused us to exclude smaller dune fields. The smallest dune fields in the database are ~ 1 km2 in area. While the moderate to large dune fields are likely to constitute the largest compilation of sediment on the planet, smaller stores of sediment of dunes are likely to be found elsewhere via higher resolution data. Thus, it should be noted that our database excludes all small dune fields and some moderate to large dune fields as well. Therefore the absence of mapped dune fields does not mean that such dune fields do not exist and is not intended to imply a lack of saltating sand in other areas. Where availability and quality of THEMIS visible (VIS) or Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle (MOC NA) images allowed, we classifed dunes and included dune slipface measurements, which were derived from gross dune morphology and represent the prevailing wind direction at the last time of significant dune modification. For dunes located within craters, the azimuth from crater centroid to dune field centroid was calculated. Output from a general circulation model (GCM) is also included. In addition to polygons locating dune fields, the database includes over 1800 selected Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) infrared (IR), THEMIS visible (VIS) and Mars Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle (MOC NA) images that were used to build the database. The database is presented in a variety of formats. It is presented as a series of ArcReader projects which can be opened using the free ArcReader software. The latest version of ArcReader can be downloaded at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/download.html. The database is also presented in ArcMap projects. The ArcMap projects allow fuller use of the data, but require ESRI ArcMap? software. Multiple projects were required to accommodate the large number of images needed. A fuller description of the projects can be found in the Dunes_ReadMe file and the ReadMe_GIS file in the Documentation folder. For users who prefer to create their own projects, the data is available in ESRI shapefile and geodatabase formats, as well as the open Geographic Markup Language (GML) format. A printable map of the dunes and craters in the database is available as a Portable Document Format (PDF) document. The map is also included as a JPEG file. ReadMe files are available in PDF and ASCII (.txt) files. Tables are available in both Excel (.xls) and ASCII formats.

The dynamics of learning about a climate threshold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, Klaus; McInerney, David

2008-02-01

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions may trigger threshold responses of the climate system. One relevant example of such a potential threshold response is a shutdown of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC). Numerous studies have analyzed the problem of early MOC change detection (i.e., detection before the forcing has committed the system to a threshold response). Here we analyze the early MOC prediction problem. To this end, we virtually deploy an MOC observation system into a simple model that mimics potential future MOC responses and analyze the timing of confident detection and prediction. Our analysis suggests that a confident prediction of a potential threshold response can require century time scales, considerably longer that the time required for confident detection. The signal enabling early prediction of an approaching MOC threshold in our model study is associated with the rate at which the MOC intensity decreases for a given forcing. A faster MOC weakening implies a higher MOC sensitivity to forcing. An MOC sensitivity exceeding a critical level results in a threshold response. Determining whether an observed MOC trend in our model differs in a statistically significant way from an unforced scenario (the detection problem) imposes lower requirements on an observation system than the determination whether the MOC will shut down in the future (the prediction problem). As a result, the virtual observation systems designed in our model for early detection of MOC changes might well fail at the task of early and confident prediction. Transferring this conclusion to the real world requires a considerably refined MOC model, as well as a more complete consideration of relevant observational constraints.

Effect of Quenching Process on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Fe-0.9Mn-0.5Cr-2.4Ni-0.5Mo-C Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jie; Li, Changsheng; Jin, Xin; Chen, Liqing; Fang, Lei

2018-03-01

To develop an appropriate quenching process to produce Fe-0.9Mn-0.5Cr-2.4Ni-0.5Mo-C steel, the microstructures and mechanical properties of this steel were investigated under the direct quenching and tempering (DQT) and the direct quenching, reheated quenching and tempering (DQQT) heat treatment processes. The microstructure of the DQQT specimen was basically tempered sorbite with spherical precipitates, while quite a bit of tempered martensite was in the DQT specimen with dispersive nanoscaled precipitates. The yield strengths of the DQT and DQQT specimens were 1154 and 955 MPa, respectively. The yield strength of the DQT specimen was higher than that of the DQQT specimen because of its finer grain size, higher density of dislocations and dispersed precipitates. The DQQT specimen had spherical precipitates, which hindered the propagation of the crack. Moreover, the high-angle grain boundaries in the DQQT specimen took a higher proportion. Therefore, the Charpy impact values of DQT and DQQT specimens at - 60 °C were 38 and 75 J, respectively. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the Fe-0.9Mn-0.5Cr-2.4Ni-0.5Mo-C steel, which met the standard of 1000 MPa grade steel plate for hydropower station, were acquired by the DQQT process.

Mars on 25 December 2003

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

8 January 2004 This is how Mars appeared to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle system on 25 December 2003, the day that Beagle 2 and Mars Express reached the red planet. The large, dark region just left of center is Syrtis Major, a persistent low albedo terrain known to astronomers for nearly four centuries before the first spacecraft went to Mars. Immediately to the right (east) of Syrtis Major is the somewhat circular plain, Isidis Planitia. Beagle 2 arrived in Isidis Planitia only about 18 minutes before Mars Global Surveyor flew over the region and acquired a portion of this global view. Relative to other global images of Mars acquired by MGS over the past several martian years, the surface features were not as sharp and distinct on 25 December 2003 because of considerable haze kicked up by large dust storms in the western and southern hemispheres during th previous two weeks. The picture is a composite of several MGS MOC red and blue daily global images that have been map-projected and digitally wrapped to a sphere. Although the effect here is minor, inspection of this mosaic shows zones that appear smudged or blurry. The high dust opacity on 25 December impacted MOC's oblique viewing geometry toward the edges of each orbit's daily global mapping image, thus emphasizing the 'blurry' zones between images acquired on successive orbits.

Molecular and genetic characterization of the rhizopine catabolism (mocABRC) genes of Rhizobium meliloti L5-30.

PubMed

Rossbach, S; Kulpa, D A; Rossbach, U; de Bruijn, F J

1994-10-17

Rhizopine (L-3-O-methyl-scyllo-inosamine, 3-O-MSI) is a symbiosis-specific compound, which is synthesized in nitrogen-fixing nodules of Medicago sativa induced by Rhizobium meliloti strain L5-30. 3-O-MSI is thought to function as an unusual growth substrate for R. meliloti L5-30, which carries a locus (mos) responsible for its synthesis closely linked to a locus (moc) responsible for its degradation. Here, the essential moc genes were delimited by Tn5 mutagenesis and shown to be organized into two regions, separated by 3 kb of DNA. The DNA sequence of a 9-kb fragment spanning the two moc regions was determined, and four genes were identified that play an essential role in rhizopine catabolism (mocABC and mocR). The analysis of the DNA sequence and the amino acid sequence of the deduced protein products revealed that MocA resembles NADH-dependent dehydrogenases. MocB exhibits characteristic features of periplasmic-binding proteins that are components of high-affinity transport systems. MocC does not share significant homology with any protein in the database. MocR shows homology with the GntR class of bacterial regulator proteins. These results suggest that the mocABC genes are involved in the uptake and subsequent degradation of rhizopine, whereas mocR is likely to play a regulatory role.

Relationship Between Physicians' Active Participation in Maintenance of Certification and Patients' Perspective of Care Surveys.

PubMed

Morrell, Jessica; Stratman, Erik J

2016-06-01

Medical specialty boards have a Maintenance of Certification (MOC) paradigm whose intention is to ensure high-quality patient care. How the patient experience is affected by physician MOC enrollment/participation is unknown. Our goal was to determine if patient experience is associated with physician board certification and MOC status. We analyzed physician experience and MOC databases to determine the relationships among physicians' patient experience national percentile rankings and board certification status and MOC enrollment and activity status. Board-certified physicians enrolled in MOC did not have statistically significant different patient experience scores compared to board-certified physicians not enrolled in MOC. Mid-career physicians enrolled in MOC had patients more likely to recommend them and reported higher confidence in them. Patients did not perceive physicians participating in MOC patient safety modules as more cautious in providing patient care. Although most analyses did not demonstrate significant differences in patient experience scores for physicians actively participating in MOC compared to those not, some differences were noted. Higher provider-specific patient experience scores were noted, particularly for mid-career physicians.

Fresh Impact Crater and Rays in Tharsis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Extended Mission has included dozens of opportunities to point the spacecraft directly at features of interest so that pictures of things not seen during the earlier Mapping Mission can be obtained. The example shown here is a small meteorite impact crater in northern Tharsis near 17.2oN, 113.8oW. Viking Orbiter images from the late 1970's showed at this location what appeared to be a dark patch with dark rays emanating from a brighter center. The MOC team surmised that the dark rays may be indicating the location of afresh crater formed by impact sometime in the past few centuries (since dark ray are quickly covered by dust falling out of the martian atmosphere). All through MOC's Mapping Mission in 1999 and 2000, attempts were made to image the crater as predictions indicated that the spacecraft would pass over the site, but the crater was never seen. Finally, in June 2001, Extended Mission operations allowed the MOC team to point the spacecraft (and hence the camera, which is fixed to the spacecraft)directly at the center of the dark rays, where we expected to find the crater.

The picture on the left (above, A) is a mosaic of three MOC high resolution images and one much lower-resolution Viking image. From left to right, the images used in the mosaic are: Viking 1 516A55, MOC E05-01904, MOCM21-00272, and MOC M08-03697. Image E05-01904 is the one taken in June 2001 by pointing the spacecraft. It captured the impact crater responsible for the rays. A close-up of the crater, which is only 130 meters (427 ft)across, is shown on the right (above, B). This crater is only one-tenth the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona.

The June 2001 MOC image reveals many surprises about this feature. For one, the crater is not located at the center of the bright area from which the dark rays radiate. The rays point to the center of this bright area, not the crater. Further, the dark material ejected from the crater--immediately adjacent to the crater rim in the picture on the right (above, B)--is not continuously connected to the larger pattern of rays. Asymmetries in crater form and ejecta patterns are generally believed to occur when the impact is oblique to the surface. The offset of the crater from the center of the rays suggests that the meteor struck at an angle, most likely from the bottom/lower right (south/southeast). The strange geometry of the rays is quite different from that seen for rays associated with impact craters on the Moon and other airless bodies; one possible explanation is that they resulted from disruption of dust on the martian surface by winds generated by the shock wave as the meteor plunged through the martian atmosphere before it struck the ground.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Contemporary Approach to the Diagnosis and Management of Primary Angle-Closure Disease.

PubMed

Razeghinejad, M Reza; Myers, Jonathan S

2018-05-16

Primary angle closure disease spectrum varies from a narrow angle to advanced glaucoma. A variety of imaging technologies may assist the clinician in determining the pathophysiology and diagnosis of primary angle closure, but gonioscopy remains a mainstay of clinical evaluation. Laser iridotomy effectively eliminates the pupillary block component of angle closure; however, studies show that in many patients the iridocorneal angle remains narrow from underlying anatomic issues, and increasing lens size often leads to further narrowing over time. Recent studies have further characterized the role of the lens in angle closure disease, and cataract or clear lens extraction is increasingly used earlier in its management. As a first surgical step in angle closure glaucoma, lens extraction alone often effectively controls the pressure with less risk of complications than concurrent or stand alone glaucoma surgery, but may not be sufficient in more advanced or severe disease. We provide a comprehensive review on the primary angle-closure disease nomenclature, imaging, and current laser and surgical management. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The 1997 Spring Regression of the Martian South Polar Cap: Mars Orbiter Camera Observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

James, P.B.; Cantor, B.A.; Malin, M.C.; Edgett, K.; Carr, M.H.; Danielson, G.E.; Ingersoll, A.P.; Davies, M.E.; Hartmann, W.K.; McEwen, A.S.; Soderblom, L.A.; Thomas, P.C.; Veverka, J.

2000-01-01

The Mars Orbiter cameras (MOC) on Mars Global Surveyor observed the south polar cap of Mars during its spring recession in 1997. The images acquired by the wide angle cameras reveal a pattern of recession that is qualitatively similar to that observed by Viking in 1977 but that does differ in at least two respects. The 1977 recession in the 0o to 120o longitude sector was accelerated relative to the 1997 observations after LS = 240o; the Mountains of Mitchel also detached from the main cap earlier in 1997. Comparison of the MOC images with Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data shows that the Mountains of Mitchel feature is controlled by local topography. Relatively dark, low albedo regions well within the boundaries of the seasonal cap were observed to have red-to-violet ratios that characterize them as frost units rather than unfrosted or partially frosted ground; this suggests the possibility of regions covered by CO2 frost having different grain sizes.

Effects of different dietary inclusion levels of macadamia oil cake on growth performance and carcass characteristics in South African mutton merino lambs.

PubMed

Acheampong-Boateng, Owoahene; Bakare, Archibold G; Nkosi, Douglas B; Mbatha, Khanyisile R

2017-04-01

Growth performance and carcass characteristics of South African mutton merino fed graded levels of macadamia oil cake were assessed. A total of 60 South African mutton merino lambs were used in the experiment (initial live weight 25.0 ± 0.45 kg). Five diets with different inclusion levels of macadamia oil cake (MOC) were formulated: T1 (0% MOC, control), T2 (5% MOC), T3 (10% MOC), T4 (15% MOC) and T5 (20% MOC). Effects of inclusion level of MOC on average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were not significant (P > 0.05). Effects of inclusion levels of MOC on feed conversion ratio (FCR) of sheep were significant (P < 0.05). Highest proportion (71.2%) of sheep in the study had a carcass fat classification of 2, followed by a proportion of 17.3% sheep with a carcass fat classification of 3 and lastly 11.5% sheep had carcass fat classification of 4. Warm and cold carcass mass, chest circumference, carcass length and dressing percentage were higher in sheep fed on 5% MOC compared to other treatment diets (0, 10, 15 and 20% MOC) (P < 0.05). Fat rib eye had a greater area in sheep fed on 5% MOC (P < 0.05). It was concluded that 5% MOC provided the best results in terms of carcass characteristic measurements in sheep.

Mars Orbiter Camera Views the 'Face on Mars' - Best View from Viking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.

The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the 'Face', located at approximately 40.8o N, 9.6o W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The 'morning' sun was 25o above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long.

This Viking Orbiter image is one of the best Viking pictures of the area Cydonia where the 'Face' is located. Marked on the image are the 'footprint' of the high resolution (narrow angle) Mars Orbiter Camera image and the area seen in enlarged views (dashed box). See PIA01440-1442 for these images in raw and processed form.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Distribution, morphology, and origins of Martian pit crater chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyrick, Danielle; Ferrill, David A.; Morris, Alan P.; Colton, Shannon L.; Sims, Darrell W.

2004-06-01

Pit craters are circular to elliptical depressions found in alignments (chains), which in many cases coalesce into linear troughs. They are common on the surface of Mars and similar to features observed on Earth and other terrestrial bodies. Pit craters lack an elevated rim, ejecta deposits, or lava flows that are associated with impact craters or calderas. It is generally agreed that the pits are formed by collapse into a subsurface cavity or explosive eruption. Hypotheses regarding the formation of pit crater chains require development of a substantial subsurface void to accommodate collapse of the overlying material. Suggested mechanisms of formation include: collapsed lava tubes, dike swarms, collapsed magma chamber, substrate dissolution (analogous to terrestrial karst), fissuring beneath loose material, and dilational faulting. The research described here is intended to constrain current interpretations of pit crater chain formation by analyzing their distribution and morphology. The western hemisphere of Mars was systematically mapped using Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images to generate ArcView™ Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages. All visible pit crater chains were mapped, including their orientations and associations with other structures. We found that pit chains commonly occur in areas that show regional extension or local fissuring. There is a strong correlation between pit chains and fault-bounded grabens. Frequently, there are transitions along strike from (1) visible faulting to (2) faults and pits to (3) pits alone. We performed a detailed quantitative analysis of pit crater morphology using MOC narrow angle images, Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visual images, and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. This allowed us to determine a pattern of pit chain evolution and calculate pit depth, slope, and volume. Volumes of approximately 150 pits from five areas were calculated to determine volume size distribution and regional trends. The information collected in the study was then compared with non-Martian examples of pit chains and physical analog models. We evaluated the various mechanisms for pit chain development based on the data collected and conclude that dilational normal faulting and sub-vertical fissuring provide the simplest and most comprehensive mechanisms to explain the regional associations, detailed geometry, and progression of pit chain development.

Maintenance of Certification Part 4 Credit and recruitment for practice-based research.

PubMed

Gorzkowski, Julie A; Klein, Jonathan D; Harris, Donna L; Kaseeska, Kristen R; Whitmore Shaefer, Regina M; Bocian, Alison B; Davis, James B; Gotlieb, Edward M; Wasserman, Richard C

2014-10-01

Competing priorities in pediatric practice have created challenges for practice-based research. To increase recruitment success, researchers must design studies that provide added value to participants. This study evaluates recruitment of pediatricians into a study, before and after the development and addition of a quality improvement (QI) curriculum approved for American Board of Pediatrics Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 4 Credit as an enrollment incentive. Researchers implemented multiple outreach methods to enroll pediatric practices over 28 months. Field note review revealed that many physicians declined enrollment, stating that they prioritized MOC Part 4 projects over research studies. A QI curriculum meeting standards for MOC Part 4 Credit was developed and added to the study protocol as an enrollment incentive. Enrollment rates and characteristics of practitioners enrolled pre- and post-MOC were compared. Pre-MOC enrollment contributed 48% of practices in 22 months; post-MOC enrollment contributed 49% of practices in 6 months. An average of 3.5 practices enrolled per month pre-MOC, compared with 13.1 per month post-MOC (P < .001). Clinicians in pre- and post-MOC groups were similar in age, gender, race, and time spent on patient care; practices enrolled post-MOC were more likely to be located in federally designated Medically Underserved Areas than those enrolled pre-MOC (28.6% vs 12%, P = .03). Addition of MOC Part 4 Credit increased recruitment success and increased enrollment of pediatricians working in underserved areas. Including QI initiatives meeting MOC Part 4 criteria in practice-based research protocols may enhance participation and aid in recruiting diverse practice and patient populations. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Glaucoma

MedlinePlus

Open-angle glaucoma; Chronic glaucoma; Chronic open-angle glaucoma; Primary open-angle glaucoma; Closed-angle glaucoma; Narrow-angle glaucoma; Angle-closure glaucoma; Acute glaucoma; Secondary glaucoma; Congenital glaucoma; Vision ...

High prevalence of narrow angles among Filipino-American patients.

PubMed

Seider, Michael I; Sáles, Christopher S; Lee, Roland Y; Agadzi, Anthony K; Porco, Travis C; Weinreb, Robert N; Lin, Shan C

2011-03-01

To determine the prevalence of gonioscopically narrow anterior chamber angles in a Filipino-American clinic population. The records of 122 consecutive, new, self-declared Filipino-American patients examined in a comprehensive ophthalmology clinic in Vallejo, California were reviewed retrospectively. After exclusion, 222 eyes from 112 patients remained for analysis. Data were collected for anterior chamber angle grade as determined by gonioscopy (Shaffer system), age, sex, manifest refraction (spherical equivalent), intraocular pressure, and cup-to-disk ratio. Data from both eyes of patients were included and modeled using standard linear mixed-effects regression. As a comparison, data were also collected from a group of 30 consecutive White patients from the same clinic. After exclusion, 50 eyes from 25 White patients remained for comparison. At least 1 eye of 24% of Filipino-American patients had a narrow anterior chamber angle (Shaffer grade ≤ 2). Filipino-American angle grade significantly decreased with increasingly hyperopic refraction (P=0.007) and larger cup-to-disk ratio (P=0.038). Filipino-American women had significantly decreased angle grades compared with men (P=0.028), but angle grade did not vary by intraocular pressure or age (all, P≥ 0.059). Narrow anterior chamber angles are highly prevalent in Filipino-American patients in our clinic population.

Glaucoma anterior chamber morphometry based on optical Scheimpflug images.

PubMed

Alonso, Ruiz Simonato; Ambrósio Junior, Renato; Paranhos Junior, Augusto; Sakata, Lisandro Massanori; Ventura, Marcelo Palis

2010-01-01

To compare the performance of gonioscopy and noncontact morphometry with anterior chamber tomography (High Resolution Pentacam - HR) using optical Scheimpflug images in the evaluation of the anterior chamber angle (ACA). Transversal study. 112 eyes from 74 subjects evaluated at the Glaucoma Department, Fluminense Federal University, underwent gonioscopy and Pentacam HR. Using gonioscopy, the ACA was graded using the Shaffer Classification (SC) by a single experienced examiner masked to the Pentacam HR findings. Narrow angle was determined in eyes in which the posterior trabecular meshwork could not be seen in two or more quadrants on non-indentation gonioscopy (SC Grade 2 or less). Pentacam HR images of the nasal and temporal quadrants were evaluated by custom software to automatically obtain anterior chamber measurements, such as: anterior chamber angle (ACA), anterior chamber volume (ACV) and anterior chamber depth (ACD). Based on gonioscopy results, 74 (60.07%) eyes of patients classified as open-angle (SC 3 and 4) and 38 (33.93%) eyes of patients classified as narrow-angle (SC 1 and 2). Noncontact morphometry with Scheimpflug images revealed a mean ACA of 39.20 ± 5.31 degrees for open-angle and 21.18 ± 7.98 degrees for narrow-angle. The open-angle group showed significant greater ACV and ACD values when compared to narrow-angle group (ACV of 193 ± 36 mm³ vs. 90 ± 25 mm³, respectively, p<0.001; and ACD of 3,09 ± 0,42 mm vs. 1,55 ± 0,64 mm, respectively, p<0.0001.). In screening eyes with open-angle and narrow-angle with the Pentacam ACA of 20º (SC Grade 2) using the ROC curves, the analysis showed 52.6% of sensitivity and 100% of specificity. The Pentacam showed ability in detecting eyes at risk for angle closure analyzing ACV and ACD.

Reconditioning of Cassini Narrow-Angle Camera

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-07-23

These five images of single stars, taken at different times with the narrow-angle camera on NASA Cassini spacecraft, show the effects of haze collecting on the camera optics, then successful removal of the haze by warming treatments.

Winter Frost and Fog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This somewhat oblique blue wide angle Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the 174 km (108 mi) diameter crater, Terby, and its vicinity in December 2004. Located north of Hellas, this region can be covered with seasonal frost and ground-hugging fog, even in the afternoon, despite being north of 30oS. The subtle, wavy pattern is a manifestation of fog.

Location near: 28oS, 286oW Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Winter

On the Spectral Variance of MGS TES Spectra in the 300-500 cm-1 Range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altieri, F.; Bellucci, G.

2001-11-01

The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) aboard NASA mission Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is collecting 200 - 1600 cm-1 thermal emission spectra since September 1997. The principal purpose of TES is to determine and map the Mars surface composition. Spectral features directly ascribable to surface minerals have been identified in the 300 - 500 cm-1 spectral range. Outcrops of hematite have been localized in Sinus Meridiani, Aram Chaos and Valles Marineris [1, 2] and areas with olivine have been individuated in Nili Fossae and in other limited regions [3]. On the other hand, TES spectra show, in general, significant variance between 300 and 500 cm-1; this variance is not directly attributable to surface mineralogical components. In this study we report some examples of spectra with typical hematite and olivine bands and spectra with a different spectral contrast. The spectral masking effect of a dust layer is suggested to explain this behaviour. Spectra characterized by hematite features have been localized also inside a crater near Baldet Crater. The MOC narrow-angle image M02-0039 acquired on the same area shows dark layers at the crater bottom. References: [1] Christensen P. R., et al., JGR, 105, 9623-9642, 2000. [2] Christensen P. R., et al., JGR, in press., 2001. [3] Hoefen T. M. and Clark R. N., LPS XXXII, 2049, 2001.

Comparison of Scheimpflug imaging and spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography for detection of narrow anterior chamber angles.

PubMed

Grewal, D S; Brar, G S; Jain, R; Grewal, S P S

2011-05-01

To compare the performance of anterior chamber volume (ACV) and anterior chamber depth (ACD) obtained using Scheimpflug imaging with angle opening distance (AOD500) and trabecular-iris space area (TISA500) obtained using spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (SD-ASOCT) in detecting narrow angles classified using gonioscopy. In this prospective, cross-sectional observational study, 265 eyes of 265 consecutive patients underwent sequential Scheimpflug imaging, SD-ASOCT imaging, and gonioscopy. Correlations between gonioscopy grading, ACV, ACD, AOD500, and TISA500 were evaluated. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated to assess the performance of ACV, ACD, AOD500, and TISA500 in detecting narrow angles (defined as Shaffer grade ≤1 in all quadrants). SD-ASOCT images were obtained at the nasal and temporal quadrants only. Twenty-eight eyes (10.6%) were classified as narrow angles on gonioscopy. ACV correlated with gonioscopy grading (P<0.001) for temporal (r=0.204), superior (r=0.251), nasal (r=0.213), and inferior (r=0.236) quadrants. ACV correlated with TISA500 for nasal (r=0.135, P=0.029) and temporal (P=0.160, P=0.009) quadrants and also with AOD500 for nasal (r=0.498, P<0.001) and temporal (r=0.517, P<0.001) quadrants. For detection of narrow angles, ACV (AUC=0.935; 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.898-0.961) performed similar to ACD (AUC=0.88, P=0.06) and significantly better than AOD500 nasal (AUC=0.761, P=0.001), AOD500 temporal (AUC=0.808, P<0.001), TISA500 nasal (AUC=0.756, P<0.001), and TISA500 temporal (AUC=0.738, P<0.001). Using a cutoff of 113 mm(3), ACV had 90% sensitivity and 88% specificity for detecting narrow angles. Positive and negative LRs for ACV were 8.63 (95% CI=7.4-10.0) and 0.11 (95% CI=0.03-0.4), respectively. ACV measurements using Scheimpflug imaging outperformed AOD500 and TISA500 using SD-ASOCT for detecting narrow angles.

Getting maintenance of certification to work: a grounded theory study of physicians' perceptions.

PubMed

Cook, David A; Holmboe, Eric S; Sorensen, Kristi J; Berger, Richard A; Wilkinson, John M

2015-01-01

Despite general support for the goals of maintenance of certification (MOC), concerns have been raised about its effectiveness, relevance, and value. To identify barriers and enabling features associated with MOC and how MOC can be changed to better accomplish its intended purposes. Grounded theory focus group study of 50 board-certified primary care and subspecialist internal medicine and family medicine physicians in an academic medical center and outlying community sites. Eleven focus groups. Constant comparative method to analyze transcripts and identify themes related to MOC perceptions and purposes and to construct a model to guide improvement. Participants identified misalignments between the espoused purposes of MOC (eg, to promote high-quality care, commitment to the profession, lifelong learning, and the science of quality improvement) and MOC as currently implemented. At present, MOC is perceived by physicians as an inefficient and logistically difficult activity for learning or assessment, often irrelevant to practice, and of little benefit to physicians, patients, or society. To resolve these misalignments, we propose a model that invites increased support from organizations, effectiveness and relevance of learning activities, value to physicians, integration with clinical practice, and coherence across MOC tasks. Physicians view MOC as an unnecessarily complex process that is misaligned with its purposes. Acknowledging and correcting these misalignments will help MOC meet physicians' needs and improve patient care.

The American Board of Radiology Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program in Radiologic Physics

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

Thomas, Stephen R.; Hendee, William R.; Paliwal, Bhudatt R.

2005-01-01

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) recognizes that in addition to medical knowledge, several essential elements involved in delivering quality care must be developed and maintained throughout one's career. The MOC process is designed to facilitate and document the professional development of each diplomate of The American Board of Radiology (ABR) through its focus on the essential elements of quality care in Diagnostic Radiology and its subspecialties, and in the specialties of Radiation Oncology and Radiologic Physics. The initial elements of the ABR-MOC have been developed in accord with guidelines of The American Board of Medical Specialties. All diplomates with a ten-year,more » time-limited primary certificate in Diagnostic Radiologic Physics, Therapeutic Radiologic Physics, or Medical Nuclear Physics who wish to maintain certification must successfully complete the requirements of the appropriate ABR-MOC program for their specialty. Holders of multiple certificates must meet ABR-MOC requirements specific to the certificates held. Diplomates with lifelong certificates are not required to participate in the MOC, but are strongly encouraged to do so. MOC is based on documentation of individual participation in the four components of MOC: (1) professional standing, (2) lifelong learning and self-assessment, (3) cognitive expertise, and (4) performance in practice. Within these components, MOC addresses six competencies: medical knowledge, patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice.« less

Return to "Giant's Footprint" 3 Decades After Mariner 7 Flyby

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-04-24

As we head into the 21st Century, it seems hard to believe that human beings have been sending spacecraft toward Mars for more than 3 decades already. The first spacecraft to reach Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965. This success was followed by two spacecraft in 1969, Mariners 6 and 7. Now the wonders and alien beauty of Mars continue to unfold with each day that the Mars Global Surveyor -- which arrived in September 1997 -- continues to radio its data to Earth. Mars exploration was always difficult and each bit of data returned from the planet is a marvel. On August 5, 1969, the Mariner 7 spacecraft flew past Mars at a minimum altitude of about 4200 km. It acquired 14 wide/narrow angle image pairs during the few minutes of the "near encounter" flyby. One of these image pairs, 7N19/7N20, shows the south polar region and contains a feature that at the time was nicknamed "the Giant's Footprint." Shown in the first two pictures, above, the feature consists of two adjoining craters, one about 80 km (50 mi) in diameter and the other about 50 km (31 mi) across near latitude 76°S, longitude 276°W. The oblique geometry of the Mariner 7 image enhances the impression of a footprint. The "Giant's Footprint" was almost missed when Mariner 7 suffered a near-catastrophic battery failure just a few days before the encounter -- on July 30 -- that put the spacecraft sporadically out of contact with Earth for two days. Ground controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)recovered the spacecraft, re-planned its imaging sequence based on results from the Mariner 6 flyby on July 31, and salvaged all of the mission's science goals in under a week! In the 1970's, the larger crater in "giant's footprint" was named "Vishniac" in honor of Wolf Vishniac, an American microbiologist of the University of Rochester who was instrumental in the development of methods to search for life on Mars. Vishniac was tragically killed in a fall in Antarctica in 1973 while retrieving a life detection experiment, and the crater was named in honor of this "giant" in the search for life on Mars. More than three decades after the Mariner 7 flyby, Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired a commemorative view of the interior of Vishniac Crater on October 25, 1999. The context image and the 3-meters (9.8 feet)-per-pixel narrow angle view are shown above (in the lower image pair). Mariner 7's 7N20 has a nominal resolution of about 180 meters (591 feet) per pixel, while the MOC high resolution view is about 60 times higher (in actuality, the lower quality of the Mariner 7 images makes the resolution gain even more dramatic). The MOC high resolution view (lower right, above) shows a 1.5 kilometer-(0.9 mile)-wide portion of the floor of Vishniac in the process of defrosting during southern spring. The bright areas are still frost-covered, while the darker areas are either defrosted or composed of darkened or "dirty" frost. The dark patches in the image seem to serve as sources for dark streaks of material that has either been blown across the landscape by wind, or has somehow caused the erosion of frost to create the streaks. Dark streaks follow the local topography, as might the wind that blew across this landscape. This pattern of spots and streaks was quite common on the defrosting south polar cap during the spring that lasted from early August 1999 to late December 1999. All images shown here are illuminated by sunlight from the lower right. Image orientation with north toward the bottom was selected in order to show the "footprint" visible in Mariner 7 image 7N20. The Mariner 7 images were recovered at Malin Space Science Systems from the original 7-track magnetic tapes, archived on CD-ROM by the JPL Data Preservation activity. More images relating to the release can be viewed at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02365

Climate, soil texture, and soil types affect the contributions of fine-fraction-stabilized carbon to total soil organic carbon in different land uses across China.

PubMed

Cai, Andong; Feng, Wenting; Zhang, Wenju; Xu, Minggang

2016-05-01

Mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC), that is stabilized by fine soil particles (i.e., silt plus clay, <53 μm), is important for soil organic carbon (SOC) persistence and sequestration, due to its large contribution to total SOC (TSOC) and long turnover time. Our objectives were to investigate how climate, soil type, soil texture, and agricultural managements affect MOC contributions to TSOC in China. We created a dataset from 103 published papers, including 1106 data points pairing MOC and TSOC across three major land use types: cropland, grassland, and forest. Overall, the MOC/TSOC ratio ranged from 0.27 to 0.80 and varied significantly among soil groups in cropland, grassland, and forest. Croplands and forest exhibited significantly higher median MOC/TSOC ratios than in grassland. Moreover, forest and grassland soils in temperate regions had higher MOC/TSOC ratios than in subtropical regions. Furthermore, the MOC/TSOC ratio was much higher in ultisol, compared with the other soil types. Both the MOC content and MOC/TSOC ratio were positively correlated with the amount of fine fraction (silt plus clay) in soil, highlighting the importance of soil texture in stabilizing organic carbon across various climate zones. In cropland, different fertilization practices and land uses (e.g., upland, paddy, and upland-paddy rotation) significantly altered MOC/TSOC ratios, but not in cropping systems (e.g., mono- and double-cropping) characterized by climatic differences. This study demonstrates that the MOC/TSOC ratio is mainly driven by soil texture, soil types, and related climate and land uses, and thus the variations in MOC/TSOC ratios should be taken into account when quantitatively estimating soil C sequestration potential of silt plus clay particles on a large scale. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 80101 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-21

... entry, cancellation of such orders and the calculation and publication of imbalances. In particular... a Mandatory MOC/LOC Imbalance Publication. The rule therefore suggests that members or member... all MOC/LOC orders that would join the same side of a published MOC/LOC imbalance and the entry of MOC...

Outer planets mission television subsystem optics study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

An optics study was performed to establish a candidate optical system design for the proposed NASA Mariner Jupiter/Saturn 77 mission. The study was performed over the 6-month period from January through June 1972. The candidate optical system contains both a wide angle (A) and a narrow angle (B) lens. An additional feature is a transfer mirror mechanism that allows image transfer from the B lens to the vidicon initially used for the A lens. This feature adds an operational redundancy to the optical system in allowing for narrow angle viewing if the narrow angle vidicon were to fail. In this failure mode, photography in the wide angle mode would be discontinued. The structure of the candidate system consists mainly of aluminum with substructures of Invar for athermalization. The total optical system weighs (excluding vidicons) approximately 30 pounds and has overall dimensions of 26.6 by 19.5 by 12.3 inches.

A New Approach to Micro-arcsecond Astrometry with SIM Allowing Early Mission Narrow Angle Measurements of Compelling Astronomical Targets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaklan, Stuart; Pan, Xiaopei

2004-01-01

The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is capable of detecting and measuring the mass of terrestrial planets around stars other than our own. It can measure the mass of black holes and the visual orbits of radio and x-ray binary sources. SIM makes possible a new level of understanding of complex astrophysical processes. SIM achieves its high precision in the so-called narrow-angle regime. This is defined by a 1 degree diameter field in which the position of a target star is measured with respect to a set of reference stars. The observation is performed in two parts: first, SIM observes a grid of stars that spans the full sky. After a few years, repeated observations of the grid allow one to determine the orientation of the interferometer baseline. Second, throughout the mission, SIM periodically observes in the narrow-angle mode. Every narrow-angle observation is linked to the grid to determine the precise attitude and length of the baseline. The narrow angle process demands patience. It is not until five years after launch that SIM achieves its ultimate accuracy of 1 microarcsecond. The accuracy is degraded by a factor of approx. 2 at mid-mission. Our work proposes a technique for narrow angle astrometry that does not rely on the measurement of grid stars. This technique, called Gridless Narrow Angle Astrometry (GNAA) can obtain microarcsecond accuracy and can detect extra-solar planets and other exciting objects with a few days of observation. It can be applied as early as during the first six months of in-orbit calibration (IOC). The motivations for doing this are strong. First, and obviously, it is an insurance policy against a catastrophic mid-mission failure. Second, at the start of the mission, with several space-based interferometers in the planning or implementation phase, NASA will be eager to capture the public's imagination with interferometric science. Third, early results and a technique that can duplicate those results throughout the mission will give the analysts important experience in the proper use and calibration of SIM.

Phase angle, frailty and mortality in older adults.

PubMed

Wilhelm-Leen, Emilee R; Hall, Yoshio N; Horwitz, Ralph I; Chertow, Glenn M

2014-01-01

Frailty is a multidimensional phenotype that describes declining physical function and a vulnerability to adverse outcomes in the setting of physical stress such as illness or hospitalization. Phase angle is a composite measure of tissue resistance and reactance measured via bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Whether phase angle is associated with frailty and mortality in the general population is unknown. To evaluate associations among phase angle, frailty and mortality. Population-based survey. Third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (1988-1994). In all, 4,667 persons aged 60 and older. Frailty was defined according to a set of criteria derived from a definition previously described and validated. Narrow phase angle (the lowest quintile) was associated with a four-fold higher odds of frailty among women and a three-fold higher odds of frailty among men, adjusted for age, sex, race-ethnicity and comorbidity. Over a 12-year follow-up period, the adjusted relative hazard for mortality associated with narrow phase angle was 2.4 (95 % confidence interval [95 % CI] 1.8 to 3.1) in women and 2.2 (95 % CI 1.7 to 2.9) in men. Narrow phase angle was significantly associated with mortality even among participants with little or no comorbidity. Analyses of BIA and frailty were cross-sectional; BIA was not measured serially and incident frailty during follow-up was not assessed. Participants examined at home were excluded from analysis because they did not undergo BIA. Narrow phase angle is associated with frailty and mortality independent of age and comorbidity.

MRO Mars Color Imager (MARCI) Investigation Primary Mission Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edgett, K. S.; Cantor, B. A.; Malin, M. C.; Science; Operations Teams, M.

2008-12-01

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Mars Color Imager (MARCI) investigation was designed to recover the wide angle camera science objectives of the Mars Climate Orbiter MARCI which was destroyed upon arrival at Mars in 1999 and extend the daily meteorological coverage of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle investigation that was systematically conducted from March 1999 to October 2006. MARCI consists of two wide angle cameras, each with a 180° field of view. The first acquires data in 5 visible wavelength channels (420, 550, 600, 650, 720 nm), the second in 2 UV channels (260, 320 nm). Data have been acquired daily, except during spacecraft upsets, since 24 September 2006. From the MRO 250 to 315 km altitude orbit, inclined 93 degrees, visible wavelength images usually have a pixel scale of about 1 km at nadir and the UV data are at about 8 km per pixel. Data are obtained during every orbit on the day side of the planet from terminator to terminator. These provide a nearly continuous record of meteorological events and changes in surface frost and albedo patterns that span more than 1 martian year and extend the daily global record of such events documented by the MGS MOC. For a few weeks in September and October 2006, both camera systems operated simultaneously, providing views of weather events at about 1400 local time (MOC) and an hour later at about 1500 (MARCI). The continuous meteorological record, now spanning more than 5 Mars years, shows very repeatable weather from year to year with cloud and dust-raising events occurring in the same regions within about 2 weeks of their prior occurrence in previous years. This provides a measure of predictability ideal for assessing future landing sites, orbiter aerobraking plans, and conditions to be encountered by the current landed spacecraft on Mars. However, less predictable are planet-encircling dust events. MOC observed one in 2001, the next was observed by MARCI in 2007. These occurred at different times of year. While popularly known as global dust storms, the nomenclature is misleading, as in each case a storm did not raise dust nor saltate sand on a global basis. Instead, multiple regional storms created a dust haze which obscured much of the martian surface from viewpoints above the lower atmosphere, but in each case the dust opacity was never so high that one could not determine where dust was being raised and where it was not. Within weeks of the end of the 2001 and 2007 global dust events, martian weather returned to its normal, repeatable pattern, with one exception: occasionally thereafter, dust storms were observed in regions where dust-raising had not been seen in the previous years. In these cases, winds capable of raising dust likely occurred at that location every year, but only became visible following a planet-encircling dust event and deposition of dust on a surface that previously did not have sufficient dust to raise. Other MARCI results center on seasonal monitoring of water vapor in the atmosphere, particularly by taking advantage of the anti-correlation between ozone (observable using the UV channels) and water vapor. Owing to their higher spatial resolution than the MOC daily global coverage, details of seasonal polar cap retreat became more apparent, as with these data it is now possible to separate surface frost from ground-hugging fog which forms along the retreating cap edge. MARCI images and meteorological observations are posted weekly on the Internet for public consumption, and the data are archived every 6 months with the NASA Planetary Data System.

Expanding Educators' Contributions to Continuous Quality Improvement of American Board of Medical Specialties Maintenance of Certification.

PubMed

Nora, Lois Margaret; Pouwels, Mellie Villahermosa; Irons, Mira

2016-01-01

The American Board of Medical Specialties board certification has transformed into a career-long process of learning, assessment, and performance improvement through its Program for Maintenance of Certification (MOC). Medical educators across many medical professional organizations, specialty societies, and other institutions have played important roles in shaping MOC and tailoring its overarching framework to the needs of different specialties. This Commentary addresses potential barriers to engagement in work related to MOC for medical school (MS) and academic health center (AHC) educators and identifies reasons for, and ways to accomplish, greater involvement in this work. The authors present ways that medical and other health professions educators in these settings can contribute to the continuous improvement of the MOC program including developing educational and assessment activities, engaging in debate about MOC, linking MOC with institutional quality improvement activities, and pursuing MOC-related scholarship. MS- and AHC-based educators have much to offer this still-young and continually improving program, and their engagement is sought, necessary, and welcomed.

Comparison of Scheimpflug imaging and spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography for detection of narrow anterior chamber angles

PubMed Central

Grewal, D S; Brar, G S; Jain, R; Grewal, S P S

2011-01-01

Purpose To compare the performance of anterior chamber volume (ACV) and anterior chamber depth (ACD) obtained using Scheimpflug imaging with angle opening distance (AOD500) and trabecular-iris space area (TISA500) obtained using spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (SD-ASOCT) in detecting narrow angles classified using gonioscopy. Methods In this prospective, cross-sectional observational study, 265 eyes of 265 consecutive patients underwent sequential Scheimpflug imaging, SD-ASOCT imaging, and gonioscopy. Correlations between gonioscopy grading, ACV, ACD, AOD500, and TISA500 were evaluated. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated to assess the performance of ACV, ACD, AOD500, and TISA500 in detecting narrow angles (defined as Shaffer grade ≤1 in all quadrants). SD-ASOCT images were obtained at the nasal and temporal quadrants only. Results Twenty-eight eyes (10.6%) were classified as narrow angles on gonioscopy. ACV correlated with gonioscopy grading (P<0.001) for temporal (r=0.204), superior (r=0.251), nasal (r=0.213), and inferior (r=0.236) quadrants. ACV correlated with TISA500 for nasal (r=0.135, P=0.029) and temporal (P=0.160, P=0.009) quadrants and also with AOD500 for nasal (r=0.498, P<0.001) and temporal (r=0.517, P<0.001) quadrants. For detection of narrow angles, ACV (AUC=0.935; 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.898–0.961) performed similar to ACD (AUC=0.88, P=0.06) and significantly better than AOD500 nasal (AUC=0.761, P=0.001), AOD500 temporal (AUC=0.808, P<0.001), TISA500 nasal (AUC=0.756, P<0.001), and TISA500 temporal (AUC=0.738, P<0.001). Using a cutoff of 113 mm3, ACV had 90% sensitivity and 88% specificity for detecting narrow angles. Positive and negative LRs for ACV were 8.63 (95% CI=7.4–10.0) and 0.11 (95% CI=0.03–0.4), respectively. Conclusions ACV measurements using Scheimpflug imaging outperformed AOD500 and TISA500 using SD-ASOCT for detecting narrow angles. PMID:21336254

Star PolyMOCs with Diverse Structures, Dynamics, and Functions by Three-Component Assembly

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

Wang, Yufeng; Gu, Yuwei; Keeler, Eric G.

2016-12-05

We report star polymer metal–organic cage (polyMOC) materials whose structures, mechanical properties, functionalities, and dynamics can all be precisely tailored through a simple three-component assembly strategy. The star polyMOC network is composed of tetra-arm star polymers functionalized with ligands on the chain ends, small molecule ligands, and palladium ions; polyMOCs are formed via metal–ligand coordination and thermal annealing. The ratio of small molecule ligands to polymer-bound ligands determines the connectivity of the MOC junctions and the network structure. The use of large M12L24 MOCs enables great flexibility in tuning this ratio, which provides access to a rich spectrum of materialmore » properties including tunable moduli and relaxation dynamics.« less

Polar Cap Retreat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

13 August 2004 This red wide angle Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a view of the retreating seasonal south polar cap in the most recent spring in late 2003. Bright areas are covered with frost, dark areas are those from which the solid carbon dioxide has sublimed away. The center of this image is located near 76.5oS, 28.2oW. The scene is large; it covers an area about 250 km (155 mi) across. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Annotated type catalogue of the Chrysididae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) deposited in the collection of Radoszkowski in the Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków

PubMed Central

Rosa, Paolo; Wiśniowski, Bogdan; Xu, Zai-fu

2015-01-01

Abstract A critical and annotated catalogue of 183 types of Hymenoptera Chrysididae belonging to 124 taxa housed in the Radoszkowski collection is given. Radoszkowski type material from other institutes has also been checked. Six lectotypes are designated in Kraków (ISEA-PAN): Chrysis acceptabilis Radoszkowski, 1891; Chrysis persica Radoczkowsky, 1881; Chrysis daphnis Mocsáry, 1889; Chrysis lagodechii Radoszkowski, 1889; Chrysis remota Mocsáry, 1889 and Chrysis vagans Radoszkowski, 1877. The lectotype of Brugmoia pellucida Radoszkowski, 1877 is designated in Moscow (MMU). Four new combinations are proposed: Philoctetes araraticus (Radoszkowski, 1890), comb. n.; Pseudomalus hypocrita (du Buysson, 1893), comb. n.; Chrysis eldari (Radoszkowski, 1893), comb. n.; and Chrysura mlokosewitzi (Radoszkowski, 1889), comb. n.. Ten new synonyms are given: Chrysis auropunctata Mocsáry, 1889, syn. n. of Chrysis angolensis Radoszkovsky, 1881; Chrysis chrysochlora Mocsáry, 1889, syn. n. and Chrysis viridans Radoszkowski, 1891, syn. n. of Chrysis keriensis Radoszkowski, 1887; Chrysis angustifrons var. ignicollis Trautmann, 1926, syn. n. of Chrysis eldari (Radoszkowski, 1893); Chrysis maracandensis var. simulatrix Radoszkowski, 1891, syn. n. of Chrysis maracandensis Radoszkowski, 1877; Chrysis pulchra Radoszkovsky, 1880, syn. n. of Spinolia dallatorreana (Mocsáry, 1896); Chrysis rubricollis du Buysson, 1900, syn. n. of Chrysis eldari (Radoszkowski, 1893); Chrysis subcoerulea Radoszkowski, 1891, syn. n. of Chrysis chlorochrysa Mocsáry, 1889; Chrysis therates Mocsáry, 1889, syn. n. of Chrysis principalis Smith, 1874; and Notozus komarowi Radoszkowski, 1893, syn. n. of Elampus obesus (Mocsáry, 1890). One species is revaluated: Chrysis chalcochrysa Mocsáry, 1887. Chrysis kizilkumiana Rosa is the new name for Chrysis uljanini Radoszkowski & Mocsáry, 1889 nec Radoszkowski, 1877. Pictures of seventy-seven type specimens are given. PMID:25829848

Effect of primary iris and ciliary body cyst on anterior chamber angle in patients with shallow anterior chamber*

PubMed Central

Wang, Bing-hong; Yao, Yu-feng

2012-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of primary iris and/or ciliary body cysts in eyes with shallow anterior chamber and their effect on the narrowing of the anterior chamber angle. Methods: Among the general physical check-up population, subjects with shallow anterior chambers, as judged by van Herick technique, were recruited for further investigation. Ultrasound biomicroscope (UBM) was used to detect and measure the cysts located in the iris and/or ciliary body, the anterior chamber depth (ACD), the angle opening distance at 500 μm (AOD500), and the trabecular-iris angle (TIA). A-scan ultrasonography was used to measure the ocular biometry, including lens thickness, axial length, lens/axial length factor (LAF), and relative lens position (RLP). The effect of the cyst on narrowing the corresponding anterior chamber angle and the entire angle was evaluated by the UBM images, ocular biometry, and gonioscopic grading. The eye with unilateral cyst was compared with the eye without the cyst for further analysis. Results: Among the 727 subjects with shallow anterior chamber, primary iris and ciliary body cysts were detected in 250 (34.4%) patients; among them 96 (38.4%) patients showed unilateral single cyst, 21 (8.4%) patients had unilateral double cysts, and 42 (16.8%) patients manifested unilateral multiple and multi-quadrants cysts. Plateau iris configuration was found in 140 of 361 (38.8%) eyes with cysts. The mean size of total cysts was (0.6547±0.2319) mm. In evaluation of the effect of the cyst size and location on narrowing the corresponding angle to their position, the proportion of the cysts causing corresponding angle narrowing or closure among the cysts larger than 0.8 mm (113/121, 93.4%) was found to be significantly higher than that of the cysts smaller than 0.8 mm (373/801, 46.6%), and a significant higher proportion was also found in the cysts located at iridociliary sulcus (354/437, 81.0%) than in that at the pars plicata (131/484, 27.1%). In evaluating the effect of the cyst on the entire anterior chamber angle, the eyes with multiple and multi-quadrants cysts manifested significant narrowing of the entire anterior chamber angle as compared with the eyes without cysts, based on the data analysis in comparison of TIA, AOD500, and gonioscopic grading evaluation. The unilateral single or double cysts in the eyes had no significant effect on narrowing of anterior chamber angle as compared with eyes without cysts. The iris and/or ciliary body cysts did not seem to affect the axial length, ACD, lens thickness, RLP, LAF. Conclusions: The prevalence of primary iris and ciliary body cyst was 34.4% in the subjects with shallow anterior chamber. The cysts larger than 0.8 mm, locating at iridociliary sulcus, or multiple and extensive cysts were inclined to cause the angle narrowing or closure. PMID:22949363

Quantifying colocalization by correlation: the Pearson correlation coefficient is superior to the Mander's overlap coefficient.

PubMed

Adler, Jeremy; Parmryd, Ingela

2010-08-01

The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) and the Mander's overlap coefficient (MOC) are used to quantify the degree of colocalization between fluorophores. The MOC was introduced to overcome perceived problems with the PCC. The two coefficients are mathematically similar, differing in the use of either the absolute intensities (MOC) or of the deviation from the mean (PCC). A range of correlated datasets, which extend to the limits of the PCC, only evoked a limited response from the MOC. The PCC is unaffected by changes to the offset while the MOC increases when the offset is positive. Both coefficients are independent of gain. The MOC is a confusing hybrid measurement, that combines correlation with a heavily weighted form of co-occurrence, favors high intensity combinations, downplays combinations in which either or both intensities are low and ignores blank pixels. The PCC only measures correlation. A surprising finding was that the addition of a second uncorrelated population can substantially increase the measured correlation, demonstrating the importance of excluding background pixels. Overall, since the MOC is unresponsive to substantial changes in the data and is hard to interpret, it is neither an alternative to nor a useful substitute for the PCC. The MOC is not suitable for making measurements of colocalization either by correlation or co-occurrence.

Use of Dynamic Models and Operational Architecture to Solve Complex Navy Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grande, Darby; Black, J. Todd; Freeman, Jared; Sorber, TIm; Serfaty, Daniel

2010-01-01

The United States Navy established 8 Maritime Operations Centers (MOC) to enhance the command and control of forces at the operational level of warfare. Each MOC is a headquarters manned by qualified joint operational-level staffs, and enabled by globally interoperable C41 systems. To assess and refine MOC staffing, equipment, and schedules, a dynamic software model was developed. The model leverages pre-existing operational process architecture, joint military task lists that define activities and their precedence relations, as well as Navy documents that specify manning and roles per activity. The software model serves as a "computational wind-tunnel" in which to test a MOC on a mission, and to refine its structure, staffing, processes, and schedules. More generally, the model supports resource allocation decisions concerning Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership, Personnel and Facilities (DOTMLPF) at MOCs around the world. A rapid prototype effort efficiently produced this software in less than five months, using an integrated process team consisting of MOC military and civilian staff, modeling experts, and software developers. The work reported here was conducted for Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, code N5-0LW (Operational Level of War) that facilitates the identification, consolidation, and prioritization of MOC capabilities requirements, and implementation and delivery of MOC solutions.

Coagulation mechanism of salt solution-extracted active component in Moringa oleifera seeds.

PubMed

Okuda, T; Baes, A U; Nishijima, W; Okada, M

2001-03-01

This study focuses on the coagulation mechanism by the purified coagulant solution (MOC-SC-PC) with the coagulation active component extracted from M. oleifera seeds using salt solution. The addition of MOC-SC-PC tap water formed insoluble matters. This formation was responsible for kaolin coagulation. On the other hand, insoluble matters were not formed when the MOC-SC-PC was added into distilled water. The formation was affected by Ca2+ or other bivalent cations which may connect each molecule of the active coagulation component in MOC-SC-PC and form a net-like structure. The coagulation mechanism of MOC-SC-PC seemed to be an enmeshment of Kaolin by the insoluble matters with the net-like structure. In case of Ca2+ ion (bivalent cations), at least 0.2 mM was necessary for coagulation at 0.3 mgC l-1 dose of MOC-SC-PC. Other coagulation mechanisms like compression of double layer, interparticle bridging or charge neutralization were not responsible for the coagulation by MOC-SC-PC.

Evaluation of the anterior chamber angle in Asian Indian eyes by ultrasound biomicroscopy and gonioscopy.

PubMed

Kaushik, Sushmita; Jain, Rajeev; Pandav, Surinder Singh; Gupta, Amod

2006-09-01

To compare the ultrasound biomicroscopic measurement of the anterior chamber angle in Asian Indian eyes, with the angle width estimated by gonioscopy. Patients with open and closed angles attending a glaucoma clinic were recruited for the study. Temporal quadrants of the angles of patients were categorized by gonioscopy as Grade 0 to Grade 4, using Shaffer's classification. These angles were quantified by ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) using the following biometric characteristics: Angle opening distance at 250 micro (AOD 250) and 500 micro (AOD 500) from the scleral spur and trabecular meshwork-ciliary process distance (TCPD). The angles were further segregated as "narrow angles" (Schaffer's Grade 2 or less) and "open angles" (Schaffer's Grade 3 and 4). The UBM measurements were computed in each case and analyzed in relation to the gonioscopic angle evaluation. One hundred and sixty three eyes of 163 patients were analyzed. One hundred and six eyes had "narrow angles" and 57 eyes had "open angles" on gonioscopy. There was a significant difference among the mean UBM measurements of each angle grade estimated by gonioscopy (P < 0.001). The Pearson correlation coefficient between all UBM parameters and gonioscopy grades was significant at the 0.01 level. The mean AOD 250, AOD 500 and TCPD in narrow angles were 58+/-49 micro, 102+/-84 micro and 653+/-124 respectively, while it was 176+/-47 micro, 291+/-62 micro and 883+/-94 micro in eyes with open angles (P < 0.001) respectively. The angle width estimated by gonioscopy correlated significantly with the angle dimensions measured by UBM. Gonioscopy, though a subjective test, is a reliable method for estimation of the angle width.

The dependence of the oceans MOC on mesoscale eddy diffusivities: A model study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, John; Scott, Jeffery R.; Romanou, Anastasia; Kelley, Maxwell; Leboissetier, Anthony

2017-01-01

The dependence of the depth and strength of the ocean's global meridional overturning cells (MOC) on the specification of mesoscale eddy diffusivity (K) is explored in two ocean models. The GISS and MIT ocean models are driven by the same prescribed forcing fields, configured in similar ways, spun up to equilibrium for a range of K 's and the resulting MOCs mapped and documented. Scaling laws implicit in modern theories of the MOC are used to rationalize the results. In all calculations the K used in the computation of eddy-induced circulation and that used in the representation of eddy stirring along neutral surfaces, is set to the same value but is changed across experiments. We are able to connect changes in the strength and depth of the Atlantic MOC, the southern ocean upwelling MOC, and the deep cell emanating from Antarctica, to changes in K.

Practical Applications for Maintenance of Certification Products in Child and Adolescent Residency Training.

PubMed

Williams, Laurel L; Sexson, Sandra; Dingle, Arden D; Young-Walker, Laine; John, Nadyah; Hunt, Jeffrey

2016-04-01

The authors evaluated whether Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Performance-in-Practice products in training increases trainee knowledge of MOC processes and is viewed by trainees as a useful activity. Six child and adolescent psychiatry fellowships used MOC products in continuity clinics to assess their usefulness as training tools. Two surveys assessed initial knowledge of MOC and usefulness of the activity. Forty-one fellows completed the initial survey. A majority of first-year fellows indicated lack of awareness of MOC in contrast to a majority of second-year fellows who indicated some awareness. Thirty-five fellows completed the second survey. A majority of first- and second-year fellows found the activity easy to execute and would change something about their practice as a result. Using MOC products in training appears to be a useful activity that may assist training programs in teaching the principles of self- and peer-learning.

Frequency tuning of medial-olivocochlear-efferent acoustic reflexes in humans as functions of probe frequency

PubMed Central

Lilaonitkul, Watjana

2012-01-01

The medial-olivocochlear (MOC) acoustic reflex is thought to provide frequency-specific feedback that adjusts the gain of cochlear amplification, but little is known about how frequency specific the reflex actually is. We measured human MOC tuning through changes in stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions (SFOAEs) from 40-dB-SPL tones at probe frequencies (fps) near 0.5, 1.0, and 4.0 kHz. MOC activity was elicited by 60-dB-SPL ipsilateral, contralateral, or bilateral tones or half-octave noise bands, with elicitor frequency (fe) varied in half-octave steps. Tone and noise elicitors produced similar results. At all probe frequencies, SFOAE changes were produced by a wide range of elicitor frequencies with elicitor frequencies near 0.7–2.0 kHz being particularly effective. MOC-induced changes in SFOAE magnitude and SFOAE phase were surprisingly different functions of fe: magnitude inhibition largest for fe close to fp, phase change largest for fe remote from fp. The metric ΔSFOAE, which combines both magnitude and phase changes, provided the best match to reported (cat) MOC neural inhibition. Ipsilateral and contralateral MOC reflexes often showed dramatic differences in plots of MOC effect vs. elicitor frequency, indicating that the contralateral reflex does not give an accurate picture of ipsilateral-reflex properties. These differences in MOC effects appear to imply that ipsilateral and contralateral reflexes have different actions in the cochlea. The implication of these results for MOC function, cochlear mechanics, and the production of SFOAEs are discussed. PMID:22190630

Gonioscopy in adult Chinese: the Liwan Eye Study.

PubMed

He, Mingguang; Foster, Paul J; Ge, Jian; Huang, Wenyong; Wang, Dandan; Friedman, David S; Khaw, Peng T

2006-11-01

To assess gonioscopic characteristics of the drainage angle in adult Chinese in an urban area of southern China. Clustered random sampling was used to select adults aged 50 years and older in Liwan District, Guangzhou. Gonioscopy was performed on all the subjects. The geometric angle width was graded in the superior and inferior quadrants, according to the Spaeth system. In addition, apparent and true iris insertion was classified in four quadrants with static and dynamic gonioscopy. The peripheral iris profile was described as steep, regular, concave, and plateau. Data are presented for all phakic right eyes. Secondary or iatrogenic cases were excluded in the analysis of peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS). Among 1405 participants in the study, data from 1330 (95%) right eyes were available for analysis. Iridotrabecular angles (ITA) < or =20 degrees were present in 36.9% (95% CI: 34.3%-40.0%) of eyes superiorly and in 27.9% (95% CI: 25.5%-30.4%) inferiorly. Narrower ITAs were more common in the older people (sex-adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.1 per year of life; P < 0.001) and the women (age-adjusted OR = 2.5, P < 0.001). Apparent iris insertion of grade A or B (with pigmented trabecular meshwork not visible) by quadrant was observed in 27.2% superiorly, 12.0% nasally, 7.7% inferiorly, and 14.2% temporally. Narrow angles (in which pigmented trabecular meshwork was not visible in three or more quadrants) were identified in 11.0% (95% CI: 9.3%-12.7%) of right eyes. Overall, 33.3% of eyes had a steep iris profile, 54.2% were normal, 2.7% were concave, and 10.1% were graded plateau. PAS were seen in 30 of 146 (20.5%) eyes with narrow angles and in 7 (0.6%) of 1184 eyes with angles that did not meet criteria for narrow angles. PAS were more likely with narrower angles, with 0%, 0.3%, and 1.9% of eyes with a mean ITA of 40 degrees, 30 degrees, and 20 degrees, respectively, having PAS as opposed to 12.6% and 27.5% for those with ITA 10 degrees and 0 degrees , respectively. Ten percent of this population of southern Chinese persons 50 years of age and older had narrow angles. PAS were present in one fifth of these people. From these cross-sectional data, it is unclear which of these individuals are at highest risk of the development of primary angle-closure (PAC) glaucoma. Longitudinal studies are necessary to determine appropriate strategies for preventing this potentially blinding outcome.

Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Channels and Aprons in East Gorgonum Crater

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Warning!This link leads to a very large image that may be too long for some web browsers (in these cases, you must save the link to your desktop and view with other software) [figure removed for brevity, see original site]

This suite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) pictures provides a vista of martian gullies on the northern wall of a 12 kilometer-(7.4 mile)-wide meteor impact crater east of the Gorgonum Chaos region on the red planet.

The first picture (above left) is a composite of three different high resolution MOC views obtained in 1999 and 2000. The second picture (above right)shows the location of the high resolution views relative to the whole crater as it appeared in the highest resolution image previously acquired of the area, taken by the Viking 1 orbiter in 1978. The release image (top) shows a close-up of one of the channels and debris aprons found in the northwestern quarter of the impact crater.

Some of the channels in this crater are deeply-entrenched and cut into lighter-toned deposits. The numerous channels and apron deposits indicate that many tens to hundreds of individual events involving the flow of water and debris have occurred here. The channels and aprons have very crisp, sharp relief and there are no small meteor impact craters on them, suggesting that these features are extremely young relative to the 4.5 billion year history of Mars. It is possible that these landforms are still being created by water seeping from the layered rock in the crater wall today.

The crater has no name and it is located near 37.4oS, 168.0oW. The composite view in (above left) includes a picture taken by MOC on September 10, 1999, a picture obtained April 26, 2000, and another on May 22, 2000. The scene from left to right (including the dark gap between photos) covers an area approximately 7.6 kilometers (4.7 miles) wide by 18 km (11.1 mi) long. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. MOC high resolution images are taken black-and-white (grayscale); the color seen here has been synthesized from the colors of Mars observed by the MOC wide angle cameras and by the Viking Orbiters in the late 1970s.

Simultaneous measurement of noise-activated middle-ear muscle reflex and stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions.

PubMed

Goodman, Shawn S; Keefe, Douglas H

2006-06-01

Otoacoustic emissions serve as a noninvasive probe of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex. Stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions (SFOAEs) elicited by a low-level probe tone may be the optimal type of emission for studying MOC effects because at low levels, the probe itself does not elicit the MOC reflex [Guinan et al. (2003) J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. 4:521]. Based on anatomical considerations, the MOC reflex activated by ipsilateral acoustic stimulation (mediated by the crossed olivocochlear bundle) is predicted to be stronger than the reflex to contralateral stimulation. Broadband noise is an effective activator of the MOC reflex; however, it is also an effective activator of the middle-ear muscle (MEM) reflex, which can make results difficult to interpret. The MEM reflex may be activated at lower levels than measured clinically, and most previous human studies have not explicitly included measurements to rule out MEM reflex contamination. The current study addressed these issues using a higher-frequency SFOAE probe tone to test for cochlear changes mediated by the MOC reflex, while simultaneously monitoring the MEM reflex using a low-frequency probe tone. Broadband notched noise was presented ipsilaterally at various levels to elicit probe-tone shifts. Measurements are reported for 15 normal-hearing subjects. With the higher-frequency probe near 1.5 kHz, only 20% of subjects showed shifts consistent with an MOC reflex in the absence of an MEM-induced shift. With the higher-frequency probe near 3.5 kHz, up to 40% of subjects showed shifts in the absence of an MEM-induced shift. However, these responses had longer time courses than expected for MOC-induced shifts, and may have been dominated by other cochlear processes, rather than MOC reflex. These results suggest caution in the interpretation of effects observed using ipsilaterally presented acoustic activators intended to excite the MOC reflex.

Comparative genomics of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent transcription factor regulons in Bacteria

PubMed Central

Suvorova, Inna A.

2016-01-01

The MocR-subfamily transcription factors (MocR-TFs) characterized by the GntR-family DNA-binding domain and aminotransferase-like sensory domain are broadly distributed among certain lineages of Bacteria. Characterized MocR-TFs bind pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) and control transcription of genes involved in PLP, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine metabolism via binding specific DNA operator sites. To identify putative target genes and DNA binding motifs of MocR-TFs, we performed comparative genomics analysis of over 250 bacterial genomes. The reconstructed regulons for 825 MocR-TFs comprise structural genes from over 200 protein families involved in diverse biological processes. Using the genome context and metabolic subsystem analysis we tentatively assigned functional roles for 38 out of 86 orthologous groups of studied regulators. Most of these MocR-TF regulons are involved in PLP metabolism, as well as utilization of GABA, taurine and ectoine. The remaining studied MocR-TF regulators presumably control genes encoding enzymes involved in reduction/oxidation processes, various transporters and PLP-dependent enzymes, for example aminotransferases. Predicted DNA binding motifs of MocR-TFs are generally similar in each orthologous group and are characterized by two to four repeated sequences. Identified motifs were classified according to their structures. Motifs with direct and/or inverted repeat symmetry constitute the majority of inferred DNA motifs, suggesting preferable TF dimerization in head-to-tail or head-to-head configuration. The obtained genomic collection of in silico reconstructed MocR-TF motifs and regulons in Bacteria provides a basis for future experimental characterization of molecular mechanisms for various regulators in this family. PMID:28348826

Massively parallel sequencing analysis of mucinous ovarian carcinomas: genomic profiling and differential diagnoses.

PubMed

Mueller, Jennifer J; Schlappe, Brooke A; Kumar, Rahul; Olvera, Narciso; Dao, Fanny; Abu-Rustum, Nadeem; Aghajanian, Carol; DeLair, Deborah; Hussein, Yaser R; Soslow, Robert A; Levine, Douglas A; Weigelt, Britta

2018-05-21

Mucinous ovarian cancer (MOC) is a rare type of epithelial ovarian cancer resistant to standard chemotherapy regimens. We sought to characterize the repertoire of somatic mutations in MOCs and to define the contribution of massively parallel sequencing to the classification of tumors diagnosed as primary MOCs. Following gynecologic pathology and chart review, DNA samples obtained from primary MOCs and matched normal tissues/blood were subjected to whole-exome (n = 9) or massively parallel sequencing targeting 341 cancer genes (n = 15). Immunohistochemical analysis of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, PTEN, ARID1A/BAF250a, and the DNA mismatch (MMR) proteins MSH6 and PMS2 was performed for all cases. Mutational frequencies of MOCs were compared to those of high-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSOCs) and mucinous tumors from other sites. MOCs were heterogeneous at the genetic level, frequently harboring TP53 (75%) mutations, KRAS (71%) mutations and/or CDKN2A/B homozygous deletions/mutations (33%). Although established criteria for diagnosis were employed, four cases harbored mutational and immunohistochemical profiles similar to those of endometrioid carcinomas, and one case for colorectal or endometrioid carcinoma. Significant differences in the frequencies of KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, FBXW7, PIK3CA and/or APC mutations between the confirmed primary MOCs (n = 19) and HGSOCs, mucinous gastric and/or mucinous colorectal carcinomas were found, whereas no differences in the 341 genes studied between MOCs and mucinous pancreatic carcinomas were identified. Our findings suggest that the assessment of mutations affecting TP53, KRAS, PIK3CA, ARID1A and POLE, and DNA MMR protein expression may be used to further aid the diagnosis and treatment decision-making of primary MOC. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spectral data of specular reflectance, narrow-angle transmittance and angle-resolved surface scattering of materials for solar concentrators.

PubMed

Good, Philipp; Cooper, Thomas; Querci, Marco; Wiik, Nicolay; Ambrosetti, Gianluca; Steinfeld, Aldo

2016-03-01

The spectral specular reflectance of conventional and novel reflective materials for solar concentrators is measured with an acceptance angle of 17.5 mrad over the wavelength range 300-2500 nm at incidence angles 15-60° using a spectroscopic goniometry system. The same experimental setup is used to determine the spectral narrow-angle transmittance of semi-transparent materials for solar collector covers at incidence angles 0-60°. In addition, the angle-resolved surface scattering of reflective materials is recorded by an area-scan CCD detector over the spectral range 350-1050 nm. A comprehensive summary, discussion, and interpretation of the results are included in the associated research article "Spectral reflectance, transmittance, and angular scattering of materials for solar concentrators" in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.

Effects of Southern Hemisphere Wind Changes on the Meridional Overturning Circulation in Ocean Models.

PubMed

Gent, Peter R

2016-01-01

Observations show that the Southern Hemisphere zonal wind stress maximum has increased significantly over the past 30 years. Eddy-resolving ocean models show that the resulting increase in the Southern Ocean mean flow meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is partially compensated by an increase in the eddy MOC. This effect can be reproduced in the non-eddy-resolving ocean component of a climate model, providing the eddy parameterization coefficient is variable and not a constant. If the coefficient is a constant, then the Southern Ocean mean MOC change is balanced by an unrealistically large change in the Atlantic Ocean MOC. Southern Ocean eddy compensation means that Southern Hemisphere winds cannot be the dominant mechanism driving midlatitude North Atlantic MOC variability.

Possible Rootless Cones or Pseudo craters on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

High-resolution images from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) have revealed small cone-shaped structures on lava flows in southern Elysium Planitia, Marte Valles, and northwestern Amazonis Planitia in the northern hemisphere of the red planet. The most likely interpretation of these cones is that they may be volcanic features known as 'pseudo craters' or 'rootless cones.' They share several key characteristics with pseudo craters on Earth: they are distributed in small clusters independent of structural patterns, are superimposed on fresh lava flows, and they do not appear to have erupted lavas themselves. The white box in the picture above left shows the location of one of the MOC images of possible pseudocraters on Mars. The white box is drawn upon a MOC red wide angle context image acquired at the same time as the high resolution view, shown on the right above. Located in northwestern Amazonis Planitia near 24.8oN, 171.3oW, both the context image and high-resolution view are illuminated from the lower left. The high resolution view shows several possible pseudocraters (cone-shaped features with holes or pits at their summits) that occur on top of a rough-textured lava plain. The context frame covers an area 115 km (71 mi) across, the high-resolution view is 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Pseudocraters form by explosions due to the interaction of molten lava with a water-rich surface. Possible martian pseudocraters are of interest because they may mark the locations of shallow water or ice at the time the lava was emplaced. Viking Orbiter images have shown structures in other regions of Mars that were interpreted to be pseudocraters, but the interpretations were uncertain because the morphology was poorly resolved, it was unclear if they occurred on volcanic surfaces, and they have diameters as much as a factor of 3 larger than terrestrial pseudocraters. The cone-shaped morphology is well resolved in the cones imaged by MOC, and they have basal diameters of less than 250 m (273 yards), consistent with terrestrial examples. The cones rest on a surface with a distinctive morphology consisting of ridged plates that have rafted apart, which MOC team members have interpreted as the surface of voluminous lava flows. The surface shown here (above right) looks relatively fresh and has very few impact craters on it, which suggests that the lava flows and the cones are both geologically young. However, MOC images in other areas reveal such apparently young surfaces being exhumed (presumably by wind erosion) from beneath a blanket of overlying material. Impact processes may harden the blanket, or cover it with materials that cannot be removed by wind, so the wind erosion leaves behind elevated 'pedestalcraters.' The cones shown here are not typical of pedestal craters, but it is important to consider this alternative interpretation. MGS MOC first began taking pictures of Mars in mid-September 1997. The planet that has been revealed by this camera is often strange, new, and exciting. The possibility that lava and water or ice have interacted to create features like pseudocraters indicates that Mars has had a diverse and complex past that researchers are only just beginning to understand.

Separating the contributions of olivocochlear and middle ear muscle reflexes in modulation of distortion product otoacoustic emission levels.

PubMed

Wolter, Nikolaus E; Harrison, Robert V; James, Adrian L

2014-01-01

Mediated by the medial olivocochlear system (MOCS), distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) levels are reduced by presentation of contralateral acoustic stimuli. Such acoustic signals can also evoke a middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR) that also attenuates recorded DPOAE levels. Our aim is to clearly differentiate these two inhibitory mechanisms and to analyze each separately, perhaps allowing the development of novel tests of hearing function. DPOAE were recorded in real time from chinchillas with normal auditory brainstem response thresholds and middle ear function. Amplitude reduction and its onset latency caused by contralateral presentation of intermittent narrow-band noise (NBN) were measured. Stapedius and tensor tympani muscle tendons were divided without disturbing the ossicular chain, and DPOAE testing was repeated. Peak reduction of (2f1 - f2) DPOAE levels occurred when the center frequency of contralateral NBN approximated the primary tone f2, indicating an f2-frequency-specific response. For a 4.5-kHz centered NBN, DPOAE (f2 = 4.4 kHz) inhibition was 0.1 dB (p < 0.001). This response remained present after tendon division, consistent with an MOCS origin. Low-frequency NBN (center frequency: 0.5 kHz) reduced otoacoustic emission levels (0.1 dB, p < 0.001) across a wide range of DPOAE frequencies. This low-frequency response was abolished by division of the middle ear muscle tendons, clearly indicating MEMR involvement. Following middle ear muscle tendon division, DPOAE inhibition by contralateral stimuli approximating the primary tone f2 persists, whereas responses evoked by lower contralateral frequencies are abolished. This distinguishes the different roles of the MOCS (f2 frequency specific) and MEMR (low frequency only) in contralateral modulation of DPOAE. This analysis helps clarify the pathways involved in an objective test that might have clinical benefit in the testing of neonates.

Basin-Wide Oceanographic Array Bridges the South Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansorge, I. J.; Baringer, M. O.; Campos, E. J. D.; Dong, S.; Fine, R. A.; Garzoli, S. L.; Goni, G.; Meinen, C. S.; Perez, R. C.; Piola, A. R.; Roberts, M. J.; Speich, S.; Sprintall, J.; Terre, T.; Van den Berg, M. A.

2014-02-01

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is a global system of surface, intermediate, and deep ocean currents. The MOC connects the surface layer of the ocean and the atmosphere with the huge reservoir of the deep sea and is the primary mechanism for transporting heat, freshwater, and carbon between ocean basins. Climate models show that past changes in the strength of the MOC were linked to historical climate variations. Further research suggests that the MOC will continue to modulate climate change scenarios on time scales ranging from decades to centuries [Latif et al., 2006].

The Relationship between MOC Reflex and Masked Threshold

PubMed Central

Garinis, Angela; Werner, Lynne; Abdala, Carolina

2011-01-01

Otoacoustic emission (OAE) amplitude can be reduced by acoustic stimulation. This effect is produced by the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex. Past studies have shown that the MOC reflex is related to listening in noise and attention. In the present study, the relationship between strength of the contralateral MOC reflex and masked threshold was investigated in 19 adults. Detection thresholds were determined for a 1000-Hz, 300-ms tone presented simultaneously with one repetition of a 300-ms masker in an ongoing train of 300-ms masker bursts at 600-ms intervals. Three masking conditions were tested: 1) broadband noise 2) a fixed-frequency 4-tone complex masker and 3) a random-frequency 4-tone complex masker. Broadband noise was expected to produce energetic masking and the tonal maskers were expected to produce informational masking in some listeners. DPOAEs were recorded at fine frequency interval from 500 to 4000 Hz, with and without contralateral acoustic stimulation. MOC reflex strength was estimated as a reduction in baseline level and a shift in frequency of DPOAE fine-structure maxima near 1000-Hz. MOC reflex and psychophysical testing were completed in separate sessions. Individuals with poorer thresholds in broadband noise and in random-frequency maskers were found to have stronger MOC reflexes. PMID:21878379

Maintenance of Certification for Radiation Oncology

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

Kun, Larry E.; Ang, Kian; Erickson, Beth

2005-06-01

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) recognizes that in addition to medical knowledge, several essential elements involved in delivering quality care must be developed and maintained throughout one's career. The MOC process is designed to facilitate and document professional development of American Board of Radiology (ABR) diplomates in the essential elements of quality care in Radiation Oncology and Radiologic Physics. ABR MOC has been developed in accord with guidelines of the American Board of Medical Specialties. All Radiation Oncology certificates issued since 1995 are 10-year, time-limited certificates; diplomates with time-limited certificates who wish to maintain specialty certification must complete specific requirements ofmore » the American Board of Radiology MOC program. Diplomates with lifelong certificates are not required to participate but are strongly encouraged to do so. Maintenance of Certification is based on documentation of participation in the four components of MOC: (1) professional standing, (2) lifelong learning and self-assessment, (3) cognitive expertise, and (4) performance in practice. Through these components, MOC addresses six competencies-medical knowledge, patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice. Details of requirements for components 1, 2, and 3 of MOC are outlined along with aspects of the fourth component currently under development.« less

Schiaparelli Crater Rim and Interior Deposits - High Resolution Image

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

A portion of the rim and interior of the large impact crater Schiaparelli is seen at high resolution in this image acquired October 18, 1997 by the Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter Camera (MOC). The area covered is very small--3.9 X 10.2 km (2.4 X 6.33 mi)--but is seen at 63 times higher resolution than the Viking image. The subdued relief and bright surface are attributed to blanketing by dust; many small craters have been completely filled in, and only the most recent (and very small) craters appear sharp and bowl-shaped. Some of the small craters are only 10-12 m (30-35 feet) across. Occasional dark streaks on steeper slopes are small debris slides that have probably occurred in the past few decades. The two prominent, narrow ridges in the center of the image may be related to the adjustment of the crater floor to age or the weight of the material filling the basin.

Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

What's in It for Me? Maintenance of Certification as an Incentive for Faculty Supervision of Resident Quality Improvement Projects.

PubMed

Rosenbluth, Glenn; Tabas, Jeffrey A; Baron, Robert B

2016-01-01

Residents are required to engage in quality improvement (QI) activities, which requires faculty engagement. Because of increasing program requirements and clinical demands, faculty may be resistant to taking on additional teaching and supervisory responsibilities without incentives. The authors sought to create an authentic benefit for University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Pediatrics Residency Training Program faculty who supervise pediatrics residents' QI projects by offering maintenance of certification (MOC) Part 4 (Performance in Practice) credit. The authors identified MOC as an ideal framework to both more actively engage faculty who were supervising QI projects and provide incentives for doing so. To this end, in 2011, the authors designed an MOC portfolio program which included faculty development, active supervision of residents, and QI projects designed to improve patient care. The UCSF Pediatrics Residency Training Program's Portfolio Sponsor application was approved by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) in 2012, and faculty whose projects were included in the application were granted MOC Part 4 credit. As of December 2013, six faculty had received MOC Part 4 credit for their supervision of residents' QI projects. Based largely on the success of this program, UCSF has transitioned to the MOC portfolio program administered through the American Board of Medical Specialties, which allows the organization to offer MOC Part 4 credit from multiple specialty boards including the ABP. This may require refinements to screening, over sight, and reporting structures to ensure the MOC standards are met. Ongoing faculty development will be essential.

Internists' Views of Maintenance of Certification: A Stages-of-Change Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Gerald K.; Hess, Brian J.; Lipner, Rebecca S.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Board certification has evolved from a "point-in-time" event to a process of periodic learning and reevaluation of medical competence through maintenance of certification (MOC). To better understand MOC participation, the transtheoretical model (TTM) was used to describe physicians' perceptions of MOC as a sequence of…

Synthesis and characterization of mangan oxide coated sand from Capkala kaolin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Destiarti, Lia; Wahyuni, Nelly; Prawatya, Yopa Eka; Sasri, Risya

2017-03-01

Synthesis and characterization of mangan oxide coated sand from quartz sand fraction of Capkala kaolin has been conducted. There were two methods on synthesis of Mangan Oxide Coated Sand (MOCS) from Capkala Kaolin compared in this research. Characterization of MOCS was done by using Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (SEM/EDX) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The MOCS was tested to reduce phosphate in laundry waste. The result showed that the natural sand had bigger agregates and a relatively uniform structural orientation while both MOCS had heterogen structural orientation and manganese oxide formed in cluster. Manganese in first and second methods were 1,93% and 2,63%, respectively. The XRD spectrum showed clear reflections at 22,80°, 36,04°, 37,60° and a broad band at 26,62° (SiO2). Based on XRD spectrum, it can be concluded that mineral constituents of MOCS was verified corresponding to pyrolusite (MnO2). The former MOCS could reduce almost 60% while the later could reduce 70% phosphate in laundry waste.

Maintenance of Certification®, Maintenance of Public Trust

PubMed Central

Chung, Kevin C.; Clapham, Philip J.; Lalonde, Donald H.

2010-01-01

The Maintenance of Certification® (MOC) program has been well received by many physicians, but faced significant opposition from others, who complain that it is overly tedious, costly, and irrelevant to their practice. This article offers a consolidated and concise history of the MOC program and a summary of what plastic surgeons need to know to successfully complete the American Board of Plastic Surgery’s (ABPS) own MOC requirements. The authors have justified each step of the ABPS’s MOC process in terms of how it improves the quality of care delivered to Plastic Surgery patients. Finally, a summary of research is presented that demonstrates both that the public supports the MOC process for all physicians and that continuing education and formal assessment and improvement initiatives have been linked in multiple studies to a better and more evidence-based medical practice. PMID:21285803

Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in 'Aerobraking Crater' Revisited

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

(A) [figure removed for brevity, see original site] (B) [figure removed for brevity, see original site] (C) (D) You will need 3D glasses to view this anaglyph

The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65oS, 15oW (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill.

Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed 'seepage' sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each 'v'. Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue '3D' glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas.

The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image; it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is 'up' in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C).

MO-B-19A-01: MOC: A How-To Guide

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

Ibbott, G; Seibert, J; Allison, J

2014-06-15

Medical physicists who were certified in 2002 or later, as well as those who become certified in the future, are enrolled in Maintenance of Certification. Many physicists with life-time certificates have voluntarily enrolled in MOC, as have physicists who volunteer their time to participate in the ABR exam development and administration processes. MOC consists of four components: Part 1, Professional standing; Part 2, Lifelong learning and self-assessment; Part 3, Cognitive expertise; and Part 4, Practice quality improvement. These four components together evaluate six competencies: Medical knowledge, patient care and procedural skills, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement,more » and systems-based practice. Parts 1, 2, and 3 of MOC are fairly straightforward, although many participants have questions about the process for attesting to professional standing, the opportunities for obtaining self-assessed continuing education, and the timing of the cognitive exam. MOC participants also have questions about Part 4, Practice Quality Improvement. PQI projects are powerful tools for improving the quality and safety of the environments in which we practice medical physics. In the current version of MOC known as “Continuous Certification” a medical physicist must have completed a PQI project within the previous three years, at the time of the ABR's annual look-back each March. For the first “full” annual look-back in March 2016, diplomates will be given an additional year, so that a PQI project completed in 2012, 2013, 2014, or 2015 will fulfill this requirement. Each component of MOC will be addressed, and the specifics of interest to medical physicists will be discussed. Learning Objectives: Understand the four components and six competencies evaluated by MOC. Become familiar with the annual requirements of Continuous Certification. Learn about opportunities for Practice Quality Improvement projects. Understand refinements occurring in the MOC program.« less

FDG PET/CT findings in a case of myositis ossificans circumscripta of the forearm.

PubMed

Clarençon, Frédéric; Larousserie, Frédérique; Babinet, Antoine; Zylbersztein, Christophe; Talbot, Jean-Noël; Kerrou, Khaldoun

2011-01-01

Myositis ossificans circumscripta (MOC) is a rare benign neoplasm located in soft tissues that, most of the time, appears after a local trauma. The positive diagnosis of MOC may be challenging on CT or MRI findings. We report on an atypical case of a spontaneous nontraumatic MOC in a 54-year-old man, located in the longus supinatus muscle diagnosed with MRI and F-18 FDG PET/CT findings. Rarely described F-18 FDG PET/CT features in MOC are presented. Pattern of avid FDG focus on PET/CT, that may wrongly suggest osteosarcoma, is presented.

An implicit dispersive transport algorithm for the US Geological Survey MOC3D solute-transport model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kipp, K.L.; Konikow, Leonard F.; Hornberger, G.Z.

1998-01-01

This report documents an extension to the U.S. Geological Survey MOC3D transport model that incorporates an implicit-in-time difference approximation for the dispersive transport equation, including source/sink terms. The original MOC3D transport model (Version 1) uses the method of characteristics to solve the transport equation on the basis of the velocity field. The original MOC3D solution algorithm incorporates particle tracking to represent advective processes and an explicit finite-difference formulation to calculate dispersive fluxes. The new implicit procedure eliminates several stability criteria required for the previous explicit formulation. This allows much larger transport time increments to be used in dispersion-dominated problems. The decoupling of advective and dispersive transport in MOC3D, however, is unchanged. With the implicit extension, the MOC3D model is upgraded to Version 2. A description of the numerical method of the implicit dispersion calculation, the data-input requirements and output options, and the results of simulator testing and evaluation are presented. Version 2 of MOC3D was evaluated for the same set of problems used for verification of Version 1. These test results indicate that the implicit calculation of Version 2 matches the accuracy of Version 1, yet is more efficient than the explicit calculation for transport problems that are characterized by a grid Peclet number less than about 1.0.

Synergism of the method of characteristics and CAD technology for neutron transport calculation

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

Chen, Z.; Wang, D.; He, T.

2013-07-01

The method of characteristics (MOC) is a very popular methodology in neutron transport calculation and numerical simulation in recent decades for its unique advantages. One of the key problems determining whether the MOC can be applied in complicated and highly heterogeneous geometry is how to combine an effective geometry processing method with MOC. Most of the existing MOC codes describe the geometry by lines and arcs with extensive input data, such as circles, ellipses, regular polygons and combination of them. Thus they have difficulty in geometry modeling, background meshing and ray tracing for complicated geometry domains. In this study, amore » new idea making use of a CAD solid modeler MCAM which is a CAD/Image-based Automatic Modeling Program for Neutronics and Radiation Transport developed by FDS Team in China was introduced for geometry modeling and ray tracing of particle transport to remove these geometrical limitations mentioned above. The diamond-difference scheme was applied to MOC to reduce the spatial discretization error of the flat flux approximation in theory. Based on MCAM and MOC, a new MOC code was developed and integrated into SuperMC system, which is a Super Multi-function Computational system for neutronics and radiation simulation. The numerical testing results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the new idea for geometry treatment in SuperMC. (authors)« less

Awareness of and Participation in Maintenance of Professional Certification: A Prospective Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Elizabeth A.; Choi, Dongseok; Becker, Thomas M.; Girard, Donald E.

2007-01-01

Introduction: National health care concerns have led to the emergence of maintenance of certification (MOC) as a means to ensure the competence of practicing physicians. Little is known about physician perceptions of the barriers and/or benefits of MOC or proportions of physicians who participate in MOC programs. The purposes of this study were to…

Return to 'Giant's Footprint' 3 Decades After Mariner 7 Flyby

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Click for full-resolution image.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Click for full-resolution image.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Click for full-resolution image.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Click for full-resolution image.

As we head into the 21st Century, it seems hard to believe that human beings have been sending spacecraft toward Mars for more than 3 decades already. The first spacecraft to reach Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965. This success was followed by two spacecraft in 1969, Mariners 6 and 7. Now the wonders and alien beauty of Mars continue to unfold with each day that the Mars Global Surveyor--which arrived in September 1997--continues to radio its data to Earth.

Mars exploration was always difficult and each bit of data returned from the planet is a marvel. On August 5, 1969, the Mariner 7 spacecraft flew past Mars at a minimum altitude of about 4200 km. It acquired 14 wide/narrow angle image pairs during the few minutes of the 'near encounter' flyby. One of these image pairs, 7N19/7N20, shows the south polar region and contains a feature that at the time was nicknamed 'the Giant's Footprint.' Shown in the first two pictures, above, the feature consists of two adjoining craters, one about 80 km (50 mi) in diameter and the other about 50 km (31 mi) across near latitude 76oS, longitude 276oW. The oblique geometry of the Mariner 7 image enhances the impression of a footprint.

The 'Giant's Footprint' was almost missed when Mariner 7 suffered a near-catastrophic battery failure just a few days before the encounter--on July 30--that put the spacecraft sporadically out of contact with Earth for two days. Ground controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)recovered the spacecraft, re-planned its imaging sequence based on results from the Mariner 6 flyby on July 31, and salvaged all of the mission's science goals in under a week!

In the 1970's, the larger crater in 'giant's footprint' was named 'Vishniac' in honor of Wolf Vishniac, an American microbiologist of the University of Rochester who was instrumental in the development of methods to search for life on Mars. Vishniac was tragically killed in a fall in Antarctica in 1973 while retrieving a life detection experiment, and the crater was named in honor of this 'giant' in the search for life on Mars.

More than three decades after the Mariner 7 flyby, Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired a commemorative view of the interior of Vishniac Crater on October 25, 1999. The context image and the 3-meters (9.8 feet)-per-pixel narrow angle view are shown above (in the lower image pair). Mariner 7's 7N20 has a nominal resolution of about 180 meters (591 feet) per pixel, while the MOC high resolution view is about 60 times higher (in actuality, the lower quality of the Mariner 7 images makes the resolution gain even more dramatic).

The MOC high resolution view (lower right, above) shows a 1.5 kilometer-(0.9 mile)-wide portion of the floor of Vishniac in the process of defrosting during southern spring. The bright areas are still frost-covered, while the darker areas are either defrosted or composed of darkened or 'dirty' frost. The dark patches in the image seem to serve as sources for dark streaks of material that has either been blown across the landscape by wind, or has somehow caused the erosion of frost to create the streaks. Dark streaks follow the local topography, as might the wind that blew across this landscape. This pattern of spots and streaks was quite common on the defrosting south polar cap during the spring that lasted from early August 1999 to late December 1999.

All images shown here are illuminated by sunlight from the lower right. Image orientation with north toward the bottom was selected in order to show the 'footprint' visible in Mariner 7 image 7N20. The Mariner 7 images were recovered at Malin Space Science Systems from the original 7-track magnetic tapes, archived on CD-ROM by the JPL Data Preservation activity.

Contralateral Inhibition of Click- and Chirp-Evoked Human Compound Action Potentials

PubMed Central

Smith, Spencer B.; Lichtenhan, Jeffery T.; Cone, Barbara K.

2017-01-01

Cochlear outer hair cells (OHC) receive direct efferent feedback from the caudal auditory brainstem via the medial olivocochlear (MOC) bundle. This circuit provides the neural substrate for the MOC reflex, which inhibits cochlear amplifier gain and is believed to play a role in listening in noise and protection from acoustic overexposure. The human MOC reflex has been studied extensively using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) paradigms; however, these measurements are insensitive to subsequent “downstream” efferent effects on the neural ensembles that mediate hearing. In this experiment, click- and chirp-evoked auditory nerve compound action potential (CAP) amplitudes were measured electrocochleographically from the human eardrum without and with MOC reflex activation elicited by contralateral broadband noise. We hypothesized that the chirp would be a more optimal stimulus for measuring neural MOC effects because it synchronizes excitation along the entire length of the basilar membrane and thus evokes a more robust CAP than a click at low to moderate stimulus levels. Chirps produced larger CAPs than clicks at all stimulus intensities (50–80 dB ppeSPL). MOC reflex inhibition of CAPs was larger for chirps than clicks at low stimulus levels when quantified both in terms of amplitude reduction and effective attenuation. Effective attenuation was larger for chirp- and click-evoked CAPs than for click-evoked OAEs measured from the same subjects. Our results suggest that the chirp is an optimal stimulus for evoking CAPs at low stimulus intensities and for assessing MOC reflex effects on the auditory nerve. Further, our work supports previous findings that MOC reflex effects at the level of the auditory nerve are underestimated by measures of OAE inhibition. PMID:28420960

The American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification Examination and State Medical Board Disciplinary Actions: a Population Cohort Study.

PubMed

McDonald, Furman S; Duhigg, Lauren M; Arnold, Gerald K; Hafer, Ruth M; Lipner, Rebecca S

2018-03-07

Some have questioned whether successful performance in the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program is meaningful. The association of the ABIM Internal Medicine (IM) MOC examination with state medical board disciplinary actions is unknown. To assess risk of disciplinary actions among general internists who did and did not pass the MOC examination within 10 years of initial certification. Historical population cohort study. The population of internists certified in internal medicine, but not a subspecialty, from 1990 through 2003 (n = 47,971). ABIM IM MOC examination. General internal medicine in the USA. The primary outcome measure was time to disciplinary action assessed in association with whether the physician passed the ABIM IM MOC examination within 10 years of initial certification, adjusted for training, certification, demographic, and regulatory variables including state medical board Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements. The risk for discipline among physicians who did not pass the IM MOC examination within the 10 year requirement window was more than double than that of those who did pass the examination (adjusted HR 2.09; 95% CI, 1.83 to 2.39). Disciplinary actions did not vary by state CME requirements (adjusted HR 1.02; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.16), but declined with increasing MOC examination scores (Kendall's tau-b coefficient = - 0.98 for trend, p < 0.001). Among disciplined physicians, actions were less severe among those passing the IM MOC examination within the 10-year requirement window than among those who did not pass the examination. Passing a periodic assessment of medical knowledge is associated with decreased state medical board disciplinary actions, an important quality outcome of relevance to patients and the profession.

Mars global digital dune database and initial science results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayward, R.K.; Mullins, K.F.; Fenton, L.K.; Hare, T.M.; Titus, T.N.; Bourke, M.C.; Colaprete, A.; Christensen, P.R.

2007-01-01

A new Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) constructed using Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) infrared (IR) images provides a comprehensive and quantitative view of the geographic distribution of moderate- to large-size dune fields (area >1 kM2) that will help researchers to understand global climatic and sedimentary processes that have shaped the surface of Mars. MGD3 extends from 65??N to 65??S latitude and includes ???550 dune fields, covering ???70,000 km2, with an estimated total volume of ???3,600 km3. This area, when combined with polar dune estimates, suggests moderate- to large-size dune field coverage on Mars may total ???800,000 km2, ???6 times less than the total areal estimate of ???5,000,000 km2 for terrestrial dunes. Where availability and quality of THEMIS visible (VIS) or Mars Orbiter Camera. narrow-angle (MOC NA) images allow, we classify dunes and include dune slipface measurements, which are derived from gross dune morphology and represent the prevailing wind direction at the last time of significant dune modification. For dunes located within craters, the azimuth from crater centroid to dune field centroid (referred to as dune centroid azimuth) is calculated and can provide an accurate method for tracking dune migration within smooth-floored craters. These indicators of wind direction are compared to output from a general circulation model (GCM). Dune centroid azimuth values generally correlate to regional wind patterns. Slipface orientations are less well correlated, suggesting that local topographic effects may play a larger role in dune orientation than regional winds. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Utopia Cracks and Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-339, 23 April 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a pattern of polygonal cracks and aligned, elliptical pits in western Utopia Planitia. The picture covers an area about 3 km (about 1.9 mi) wide near 44.9oN, 274.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left.

Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Channeled Aprons in a Small Crater within Newton Crater

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

Newton Crater is a large basin formed by an asteroid impact that probably occurred more than 3 billion years ago. It is approximately 287 kilometers (178 miles) across. The picture shown here (top) highlights the north wall of a specific, smaller crater located in the southwestern quarter of Newton Crater (above). The crater of interest was also formed by an impact; it is about 7 km (4.4 mi) across, which is about 7 times bigger than the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona in North America.

The north wall of the small crater has many narrow gullies eroded into it. These are hypothesized to have been formed by flowing water and debris flows. Debris transported with the water created lobed and finger-like deposits at the base of the crater wall where it intersects the floor (bottom center top image). Many of the finger-like deposits have small channels indicating that a liquid--most likely water--flowed in these areas. Hundreds of individual water and debris flow events might have occurred to create the scene shown here. Each outburst of water from higher upon the crater slopes would have constituted a competition between evaporation, freezing, and gravity.

The individual deposits at the ends of channels in this MOC image mosaic were used to get a rough estimate of the minimum amount of water that might be involved in each flow event. This is done first by assuming that the deposits are like debris flows on Earth. In a debris flow, no less than about 10% (and no more than 30%) of their volume is water. Second, the volume of an apron deposit is estimated by measuring the area covered in the MOC image and multiplying it by a conservative estimate of thickness, 2 meters (6.5 feet). For a flow containing only 10% water, these estimates conservatively suggest that about 2.5 million liters (660,000 gallons) of water are involved in each event; this is enough to fill about 7 community-sized swimming pools or enough to supply 20 people with their water needs for a year.

The MOC high resolution view is located near 41.1oS, 159.8oW and is a mosaic of three different pictures acquired between January and May 2000. The MOC scene is illuminated from the left; north is up. The context picture was acquired in 1977 by the Viking 1 orbiter and is illuminated from the upper right.

Volcanoes Ceraunius Tholus and Uranius Tholus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Acquired in March 2002, this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle view shows the martian volcanoes, Ceraunius Tholus (lower) and Uranius Tholus (upper). The presence of impact craters on these volcanoes, particularly on Uranius Tholus; indicates that they are quite ancient and are not active today. The light-toned area on the southeastern face (toward lower right) of Ceraunius Tholus is a remnant of a once more extensive deposit of dust from the global dust storm events that occurred in 2001. The crater at the summit of Ceraunius Tholus is about 25 km (15.5 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Maintenance of certification: current attitudes of members of the American Society of Neuroradiology.

PubMed

Yousem, D M

2008-02-01

The maintenance of certification (MOC) process has begun in radiology, and many physicians will be affected by it. We sought to assess the compliance with and knowledge of the MOC steps by American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) members. An on-line survey was distributed via e-mail to the members of the ASNR for whom e-mail addresses were available. The survey addressed 3 components of the MOC currently implemented: 1) MOC cognitive examinations, 2) self-assessment modules (SAMs), and 3) continuing medical education (CME) credits. The response rate was 1020/2662 (38.3%). Of those responding, 11% stated that they either do not support the MOC examination (8%) or were unaware of it (3%), 21.4% of respondents have completed an SAM module, but >30% were unaware that they had to complete SAMs or did not know where they were offered. Many members will receive most of their 25 required CME hours for 2007 from sources besides the ASNR annual meeting. Of the small proportion of respondents who made comments (247/1020, 24.2%), those about the MOC process were favorable in 6.1% (15/247), unfavorable in 46.6% (115/247), and neutral in 47.4% (117/247). The MOC process remains poorly understood, with limited compliance. The radiology societies should spend additional effort publicizing the requirements and offering support and products aimed at allowing their members to achieve compliance in a reasonable cost-effective fashion.

Generation of tunable narrow-band surface-emitted terahertz radiation in periodically poled lithium niobate.

PubMed

Weiss, C; Torosyan, G; Avetisyan, Y; Beigang, R

2001-04-15

Generation of tunable narrow-band terahertz (THz) radiation perpendicular to the surface of periodically poled lithium niobate by optical rectification of femtosecond pulses is reported. The generated THz radiation can be tuned by use of different poling periods and different observation angles, limited only by the available bandwidth of the pump pulse. Typical bandwidths were 50-100 GHz, depending on the collection angle and the number of periods involved.

Reduced intraocular pressure after cataract surgery in patients with narrow angles and chronic angle-closure glaucoma.

PubMed

Brown, Reay H; Zhong, Le; Whitman, Allison L; Lynch, Mary G; Kilgo, Patrick D; Hovis, Kristen L

2014-10-01

To evaluate the effect of cataract surgery on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with narrow angles and chronic angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) and to determine whether the change in IOP was correlated with the preoperative pressure, axial length (AL), and anterior chamber depth (ACD). Private practice, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Retrospective case series. Charts of patients with narrow angles or chronic ACG who had cataract surgery were reviewed. All eyes had previous laser iridotomies. Data recorded included preoperative and postoperative IOP, AL, and ACD. The preoperative IOP was used to stratify eyes into 4 groups. The charts of 56 patients (83 eyes) were reviewed. The mean reduction IOP in all eyes was 3.28 mm Hg (18%), with 88% having a decrease in IOP. There was a significant correlation between preoperative IOP and the magnitude of IOP reduction (r = 0.68, P < .001). The mean decrease in IOP was 5.3 mm Hg in eyes with a preoperative IOP above 20 mm Hg, 4.6 mm Hg in the over 18 to 20 mm Hg group, 2.5 mm Hg in the over 15 to 18 mm Hg group, and 1.4 mm Hg in the 15 mm Hg or less group. The mean follow-up was 3.0 years ± 2.3 (SD). Cataract surgery reduced IOP in patients with narrow angles and chronic ACG. The magnitude of reduction was highly correlated with preoperative IOP and weakly correlated with ACD. No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Copyright © 2014 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

75 FR 80087 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Amex LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-21

..., cancellation of such orders and the calculation and publication of imbalances. In particular, Rule 123C(2)(b... Imbalance Publication. The rule therefore suggests that members or member organizations entering MOC or LOC... would join the same side of a published MOC/LOC imbalance and the entry of MOC/LOC orders after 3:45 p.m...

Quantification and characterization of colloids and organic carbon released under oscillating redox conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Yan; Afsar, Mohammad; Yan, Jing

2017-04-01

Wetlands account for 8-10% of the world's land surface but their soils contain 20-30% of globe terrestrial carbon. The carbon is intimately mixed with minerals in the soils. Thus, mineral-associated-organic carbon (MOC), which often exists as colloids, can directly affect global carbon cycling at multiple scales. When wetland soils become reduced, large quantities of MOC are released due to dissolution of metal oxides, and mobilized and discharged into adjacent streams during rainfall events. Despite the clear relevance of wetlands to global carbon reservoirs and cycling, MOC, as an important component of wetland carbon pool, is poorly understood. Further, understanding of the key factors controlling the fluxes and compositional characteristics of MOC thus the underlying reaction mechanisms that are responsible for the sequestration and stabilization of OC is also lacking. Here we present results from both field sampling and laboratory experiments on the amount, size distribution, and composition of MOC as influenced by oscillating redox conditions. Using both conventional and advanced analytical techniques, including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and isotope ratio mass spectroscopy (IRMS), we identify 4 MOC size fractions: 450-1000 nm, 100-450 nm, 2.3-100 nm and < 2.3 nm. Normalized atomic% of different elements obtained from XPS analysis reveal clear variations in mineral and OC compositions in the different size fractions. In particular, the "nano sized" MOC (i.e., 2.3-100 nm fraction) has the highest Mg/Al ratio and OC/mineral ratio, the lowest percentages of Al and Si, is mostly depleted in C-C/C-H functional groups but enriched with C=0 and C-O/C-N groups in contract to other size groups. IRMS analysis shows depletion of the heavier isotope 13C from the 2.3-100 nm fraction indicating the presence of more lignin derivatives in this size fraction. The observed size-dependent heterogeneity on C attachment and release to/from MOC can lead to more accurate assessment of OC stability in redox dynamic environments such as wetlands. We propose that size-dependent MOC behavior and associated processes must be considered in future studies of OC in natural systems.

Effect of pulverized fuel ash and CO{sub 2} curing on the water resistance of magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC)

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

He, Pingping; Poon, Chi Sun, E-mail: cecspoon@polyu.edu.hk; Tsang, Daniel C.W.

This paper presents a study on the use of pulverized fuel ash (PFA) to improve the water resistance of magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC). Strength retention coefficients and volume stability were tested to evaluate the water resistance of MOC, in which the addition of PFA resulted in a remarkable improvement. The characterization of hydration products before and after water immersion was carried out using quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD), thermogravimetric (TG), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). With the Q-XRD analysis, it was shown that the addition of PFA could result in the great increase of the amount ofmore » amorphous phase during air curing. This amorphous gel was identified as a mixture of magnesium-chloride-silicate-hydrate gel (M-Cl-S-H gel) and magnesium-chloride-hydrate gel (M-Cl-H gel) by elemental mapping scanning. It suggested that PFA could not only react with MOC to form M-Cl-S-H gel, but also change the morphology of magnesium oxychloride. The generation of insoluble M-Cl-S-H gel and M-Cl-H gel and densification of the microstructure contributed to the improvement of the water resistance of MOC. The MOC mortar expanded during air curing due to the hydration of excess MgO. Water immersion led to more expansion of MOC mortar as a result of the continuously hydration of excess MgO and the formation of Mg(OH){sub 2}. Adding PFA could increase the expansion of MOC mortar during air curing, which may because the amorphous gel could remain more water and benefit to the hydration of MgO. While, the addition of PFA could decrease the expansion of cement mortar during water immersion perhaps due to the reduction of the content of excess MgO and the insoluble amorphous-gel-layer that protect the MgO from hydration. Moreover, CO{sub 2} curing could further improve the performance of the PFA-blended MOC due to the formation of a higher content of amorphous gel.« less

Nitrogen electroreduction and hydrogen evolution on cubic molybdenum carbide: a density functional study

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

Matanovic, Ivana; Garzon, Fernando H.

We report in this paper a density functional theory study of the nitrogen electroreduction and hydrogen evolution reactions on cubic molybdenum carbide (MoC) in order to investigate the viability of using this material as an electro-catalyst for ammonia synthesis. Free energy diagrams for associative and dissociative Heyrovsky mechanisms showed that nitrogen reduction on cubic MoC(111) can proceed via an associative mechanism and that small negative potentials of -0.3 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode can onset the reduction of nitrogen to ammonia. Kinetic volcano plots for hydrogen evolution showed that the MoC[110] surface is expected to have a high rate formore » the hydrogen evolution reaction, which could compete with the reduction of nitrogen on cubic MoC. The comparison between the adsorption energies of H-adatoms and N-adatoms also shows that at low potentials adsorption of hydrogen atoms competes with nitrogen adsorption on all the MoC surfaces except the MoC(111) surface. Finally, the hydrogen evolution and accumulation of H-adatoms can be mitigated by introducing carbon vacancies i.e. increasing the ratio of metal to carbon atoms, which will significantly increase the affinity of the catalytic surface for both nitrogen molecules and N-adatoms.« less

Nitrogen electroreduction and hydrogen evolution on cubic molybdenum carbide: a density functional study

DOE PAGES

Matanovic, Ivana; Garzon, Fernando H.

2018-04-26

We report in this paper a density functional theory study of the nitrogen electroreduction and hydrogen evolution reactions on cubic molybdenum carbide (MoC) in order to investigate the viability of using this material as an electro-catalyst for ammonia synthesis. Free energy diagrams for associative and dissociative Heyrovsky mechanisms showed that nitrogen reduction on cubic MoC(111) can proceed via an associative mechanism and that small negative potentials of -0.3 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode can onset the reduction of nitrogen to ammonia. Kinetic volcano plots for hydrogen evolution showed that the MoC[110] surface is expected to have a high rate formore » the hydrogen evolution reaction, which could compete with the reduction of nitrogen on cubic MoC. The comparison between the adsorption energies of H-adatoms and N-adatoms also shows that at low potentials adsorption of hydrogen atoms competes with nitrogen adsorption on all the MoC surfaces except the MoC(111) surface. Finally, the hydrogen evolution and accumulation of H-adatoms can be mitigated by introducing carbon vacancies i.e. increasing the ratio of metal to carbon atoms, which will significantly increase the affinity of the catalytic surface for both nitrogen molecules and N-adatoms.« less

Modified Mixed Lagrangian-Eulerian Method Based on Numerical Framework of MT3DMS on Cauchy Boundary.

PubMed

Suk, Heejun

2016-07-01

MT3DMS, a modular three-dimensional multispecies transport model, has long been a popular model in the groundwater field for simulating solute transport in the saturated zone. However, the method of characteristics (MOC), modified MOC (MMOC), and hybrid MOC (HMOC) included in MT3DMS did not treat Cauchy boundary conditions in a straightforward or rigorous manner, from a mathematical point of view. The MOC, MMOC, and HMOC regard the Cauchy boundary as a source condition. For the source, MOC, MMOC, and HMOC calculate the Lagrangian concentration by setting it equal to the cell concentration at an old time level. However, the above calculation is an approximate method because it does not involve backward tracking in MMOC and HMOC or allow performing forward tracking at the source cell in MOC. To circumvent this problem, a new scheme is proposed that avoids direct calculation of the Lagrangian concentration on the Cauchy boundary. The proposed method combines the numerical formulations of two different schemes, the finite element method (FEM) and the Eulerian-Lagrangian method (ELM), into one global matrix equation. This study demonstrates the limitation of all MT3DMS schemes, including MOC, MMOC, HMOC, and a third-order total-variation-diminishing (TVD) scheme under Cauchy boundary conditions. By contrast, the proposed method always shows good agreement with the exact solution, regardless of the flow conditions. Finally, the successful application of the proposed method sheds light on the possible flexibility and capability of the MT3DMS to deal with the mass transport problems of all flow regimes. © 2016, National Ground Water Association.

Frequency specificity and left-ear advantage of medial olivocochlear efferent modulation: a study based on stimulus frequency otoacoustic emission.

PubMed

Xing, Dongjia; Gong, Qin

2017-09-06

The medial olivocochlear (MOC) bundle is an auditory nucleus that projects efferent nerve fibers to the outer hair cells (OHCs) for synaptic innervation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible existence of frequency and ear specificity in MOC efferent modulation, as well as how MOC activation influences cochlear tuning. Stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions (SFOAEs) were used to study MOC efferent modulation. Therefore, the current experiment was designed to compare the degree of SFOAE suppression in the both ears of 20 individuals at 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz. We also compared changes in Q10 values of SFOAE suppression tuning curves at 1, 2, and 4 kHz under contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS) and no-CAS conditions. We observed a significant reduction in SFOAE magnitude in the CAS condition compared with the no-CAS condition at 1 and 2 kHz in the left ear. A significant difference in CAS suppression was also found between the left and right ears at 1 and 2 kHz, with larger CAS suppression in the left ear. CAS further produced a statistically significant increase in the Q10 value at 1 kHz and a significant reduction in Q10 values at 2 and 4 kHz. These findings suggest a left-ear advantage in terms of CAS-induced MOC efferent SFOAE suppression, with larger MOC efferent modulation for lower frequencies, and cochlear tuning was sharpened by means of MOC activation at lower frequencies and broadened at higher frequencies.

Miranda

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-08-24

One wide-angle and eight narrow-angle camera images of Miranda, taken by NASA Voyager 2, were combined in this view. The controlled mosaic was transformed to an orthographic view centered on the south pole.

Large, Bright Wind Ripples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-397, 20 June 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows large, relatively bright ripples of windblown sediment in the Sinus Sabaeus region south of Schiaparelli Basin. The surrounding substrate is thickly mantled by very dark material, possibly windblown silt that settled out of the atmosphere. The picture is located near 7.1oS, 343.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left.

Assessment of Ipsilateral Efferent Effects in Human via ECochG

PubMed Central

Verschooten, Eric; Strickland, Elizabeth A.; Verhaert, Nicolas; Joris, Philip X.

2017-01-01

Development of electrophysiological means to assess the medial olivocochlear (MOC) system in humans is important to further our understanding of the function of that system and for the refinement and validation of psychoacoustical and otoacoustic emission methods which are thought to probe the MOC. Based on measurements in anesthetized animals it has been hypothesized that the MOC-reflex (MOCR) can enhance the response to signals in noise, and several lines of evidence support such a role in humans. A difficulty in these studies is the isolation of efferent effects. Efferent activation can be triggered by acoustic stimulation of the contralateral or ipsilateral ear, but ipsilateral stimulation is thought to be more effective. However, ipsilateral stimulation complicates interpretation of effects since these sounds can affect the perception of other ipsilateral sounds by mechanisms not involving olivocochlear efferents. We assessed the ipsilaterally evoked MOCR in human using a transtympanic procedure to record mass-potentials from the cochlear promontory or the niche of the round window. Averaged compound action potential (CAP) responses to masked probe tones of 4 kHz with and without a precursor (designed to activate the MOCR but not the stapedius reflex) were extracted with a polarity alternating paradigm. The masker was either a simultaneous narrow band noise masker or a short (20-ms) tonal ON- or OFF-frequency forward masker. The subjects were screened for normal hearing (audiogram, tympanogram, threshold stapedius reflex) and psychoacoustically tested for the presence of a precursor effect. We observed a clear reduction of CAP amplitude by the precursor, for different masking conditions. Even without an MOCR, this is expected because the precursor will affect the response to subsequent stimuli via neural adaptation. To determine whether the precursor also activated the efferent system, we measured the CAP over a range of masker levels, with or without precursor, and for different types of masker. The results show CAP reduction consistent with the type of gain reduction caused by the MOCR. These results generally support psychoacoustical paradigms designed to probe the efferent system as indeed activating the MOCR system, but not all observations are consistent with this mechanism. PMID:28642679

Anterior segment parameters as predictors of intraocular pressure reduction after phacoemulsification in eyes with open-angle glaucoma.

PubMed

Hsia, Yen C; Moghimi, Sasan; Coh, Paul; Chen, Rebecca; Masis, Marisse; Lin, Shan C

2017-07-01

To evaluate intraocular pressure (IOP) change after cataract surgery in eyes with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and its relationship to angle and anterior segment parameters measured by anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. Prospective case series. Eyes were placed into a narrow-angle group or open-angle group based on gonioscopy grading. Biometric parameters were measured using AS-OCT (Visante) preoperatively, and IOP 4 months after surgery was obtained. The IOP change and its relationship to AS-OCT parameters were evaluated. Eighty-one eyes of 69 patients were enrolled. The mean age of the patients was 76.8 years. The preoperative IOP was 15.02 mm Hg on 1.89 glaucoma medications. The average mean deviation of preoperative visual field was -4.58 dB. The mean IOP reduction was 2.1 mm Hg (12.8%) from a preoperative mean of 15.0 mm Hg. The IOP reduction was significantly greater in eyes with narrow angles than in eyes with open angles (20.4% versus 8.0%) (P = .002). In multivariate analysis, preoperative IOP (β = -0.53, P < .001, R 2  = 0.40), angle-opening distance at 500 mm (β = 5.83, P = .02, R 2  = 0.45), angle-opening distance at 750 mm (β = 5.82, P = .001, R 2  = 0.52), and lens vault (β = -0.002, P = .009, R 2  = 0.47) were associated with IOP reduction postoperatively. In eyes with OAG, IOP reduction after cataract surgery was greater in eyes with narrower angles. Preoperative IOP, angle-opening distance, and lens vault were predictors for IOP reduction. Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mars Orbiter Camera Views the 'Face on Mars' - Comparison with Viking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Shortly after midnight Sunday morning (5 April 1998 12:39 AM PST), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully acquired a high resolution image of the 'Face on Mars' feature in the Cydonia region. The image was transmitted to Earth on Sunday, and retrieved from the mission computer data base Monday morning (6 April 1998). The image was processed at the Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) facility 9:15 AM and the raw image immediately transferred to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for release to the Internet. The images shown here were subsequently processed at MSSS.

The picture was acquired 375 seconds after the spacecraft's 220th close approach to Mars. At that time, the 'Face', located at approximately 40.8o N, 9.6o W, was 275 miles (444 km) from the spacecraft. The 'morning' sun was 25o above the horizon. The picture has a resolution of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters) per pixel, making it ten times higher resolution than the best previous image of the feature, which was taken by the Viking Mission in the mid-1970's. The full image covers an area 2.7 miles (4.4 km) wide and 25.7 miles (41.5 km) long.

In this comparison, the best Viking image has been enlarged to 3.3 times its original resolution, and the MOC image has been decreased by a similar 3.3 times, creating images of roughly the same size. In addition, the MOC images have been geometrically transformed to a more overhead projection (different from the mercator map projection of PIA01440 & 1441) for ease of comparison with the Viking image. The left image is a portion of Viking Orbiter 1 frame 070A13, the middle image is a portion of MOC frame shown normally, and the right image is the same MOC frame but with the brightness inverted to simulate the approximate lighting conditions of the Viking image.

Processing Image processing has been applied to the images in order to improve the visibility of features. This processing included the following steps:

The image was processed to remove the sensitivity differences between adjacent picture elements (calibrated). This removes the vertical streaking.

The contrast and brightness of the image was adjusted, and 'filters' were applied to enhance detail at several scales.

The image was then geometrically warped to meet the computed position information for a mercator-type map. This corrected for the left-right flip, and the non-vertical viewing angle (about 45o from vertical), but also introduced some vertical 'elongation' of the image for the same reason Greenland looks larger than Africa on a mercator map of the Earth.

A section of the image, containing the 'Face' and a couple of nearly impact craters and hills, was 'cut' out of the full image and reproduced separately.

See PIA01440-1442 for additional processing steps. Also see PIA01236 for the raw image.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Optical coherence tomography in anterior segment imaging

PubMed Central

Kalev-Landoy, Maya; Day, Alexander C.; Cordeiro, M. Francesca; Migdal, Clive

2008-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the ability of optical coherence tomography (OCT), designed primarily to image the posterior segment, to visualize the anterior chamber angle (ACA) in patients with different angle configurations. Methods In a prospective observational study, the anterior segments of 26 eyes of 26 patients were imaged using the Zeiss Stratus OCT, model 3000. Imaging of the anterior segment was achieved by adjusting the focusing control on the Stratus OCT. A total of 16 patients had abnormal angle configurations including narrow or closed angles and plateau irides, and 10 had normal angle configurations as determined by prior full ophthalmic examination, including slit-lamp biomicroscopy and gonioscopy. Results In all cases, OCT provided high-resolution information regarding iris configuration. The ACA itself was clearly visualized in patients with narrow or closed angles, but not in patients with open angles. Conclusions Stratus OCT offers a non-contact, convenient and rapid method of assessing the configuration of the anterior chamber. Despite its limitations, it may be of help during the routine clinical assessment and treatment of patients with glaucoma, particularly when gonioscopy is not possible or difficult to interpret. PMID:17355288

[Multiple ocular coloboma (MOC) with persistent pupillary membrane in the snow leopard (Panthera uncia)].

PubMed

Schäffer, E; Wiesner, H; von Hegel, G

1988-01-01

In a litter of three snow leopards, bilateral colobomata of the upper temporal eyelids, bilateral persistent pupillary membranes and a unilateral coloboma of the optic nerve entrance are described as "Multiple Ocular Colobomata" (MOC). The causal pathogenesis of each of the colobomata is discussed comparatively. The colobomata of the eyelids, essential feature of the MOC syndrome in snow leopards, are most probably not of hereditary, but rather of intrauterine infectious viral origin.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) instrument overview

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, M.S.; Brylow, S.M.; Tschimmel, M.; Humm, D.; Lawrence, S.J.; Thomas, P.C.; Denevi, B.W.; Bowman-Cisneros, E.; Zerr, J.; Ravine, M.A.; Caplinger, M.A.; Ghaemi, F.T.; Schaffner, J.A.; Malin, M.C.; Mahanti, P.; Bartels, A.; Anderson, J.; Tran, T.N.; Eliason, E.M.; McEwen, A.S.; Turtle, E.; Jolliff, B.L.; Hiesinger, H.

2010-01-01

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) and Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) are on the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The WAC is a 7-color push-frame camera (100 and 400 m/pixel visible and UV, respectively), while the two NACs are monochrome narrow-angle linescan imagers (0.5 m/pixel). The primary mission of LRO is to obtain measurements of the Moon that will enable future lunar human exploration. The overarching goals of the LROC investigation include landing site identification and certification, mapping of permanently polar shadowed and sunlit regions, meter-scale mapping of polar regions, global multispectral imaging, a global morphology base map, characterization of regolith properties, and determination of current impact hazards.

Stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: A model intercomparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, Andrew J.; Sedláček, Jan; Eby, Michael; Alexander, Kaitlin; Crespin, Elisabeth; Fichefet, Thierry; Philippon-Berthier, Gwenaëlle; Joos, Fortunat; Kawamiya, Michio; Matsumoto, Katsumi; Steinacher, Marco; Tachiiri, Kaoru; Tokos, Kathy; Yoshimori, Masakazu; Zickfeld, Kirsten

2012-10-01

The evolution of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in 30 models of varying complexity is examined under four distinct Representative Concentration Pathways. The models include 25 Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) or Earth System Models (ESMs) that submitted simulations in support of the 5th phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and 5 Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity (EMICs). While none of the models incorporated the additional effects of ice sheet melting, they all projected very similar behaviour during the 21st century. Over this period the strength of MOC reduced by a best estimate of 22% (18%-25% 5%-95% confidence limits) for RCP2.6, 26% (23%-30%) for RCP4.5, 29% (23%-35%) for RCP6.0 and 40% (36%-44%) for RCP8.5. Two of the models eventually realized a slow shutdown of the MOC under RCP8.5, although no model exhibited an abrupt change of the MOC. Through analysis of the freshwater flux across 30°-32°S into the Atlantic, it was found that 40% of the CMIP5 models were in a bistable regime of the MOC for the duration of their RCP integrations. The results support previous assessments that it is very unlikely that the MOC will undergo an abrupt change to an off state as a consequence of global warming.

Agulhas leakage dynamics affects decadal variability in Atlantic overturning circulation.

PubMed

Biastoch, A; Böning, C W; Lutjeharms, J R E

2008-11-27

Predicting the evolution of climate over decadal timescales requires a quantitative understanding of the dynamics that govern the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). Comprehensive ocean measurement programmes aiming to monitor MOC variations have been established in the subtropical North Atlantic (RAPID, at latitude 26.5 degrees N, and MOVE, at latitude 16 degrees N) and show strong variability on intraseasonal to interannual timescales. Observational evidence of longer-term changes in MOC transport remains scarce, owing to infrequent sampling of transoceanic sections over past decades. Inferences based on long-term sea surface temperature records, however, supported by model simulations, suggest a variability with an amplitude of +/-1.5-3 Sv (1 Sv = 10(6) m(3) s(-1)) on decadal timescales in the subtropics. Such variability has been attributed to variations of deep water formation in the sub-arctic Atlantic, particularly the renewal rate of Labrador Sea Water. Here we present results from a model simulation that suggest an additional influence on decadal MOC variability having a Southern Hemisphere origin: dynamic signals originating in the Agulhas leakage region at the southern tip of Africa. These contribute a MOC signal in the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic that is of the same order of magnitude as the northern source. A complete rationalization of observed MOC changes therefore also requires consideration of signals arriving from the south.

Peripapillary Schisis in Glaucoma Patients With Narrow Angles and Increased Intraocular Pressure

PubMed Central

Kahook, Malik Y.; Noecker, Robert J.; Ishikawa, Hiroshi; Wollstein, Gadi; Kagemann, Larry; Wojtkowski, Maciej; Duker, Jay S.; Srinivasan, Vivek J.; Fujimoto, James G.; Schuman, Joel S.

2007-01-01

PURPOSE To describe two cases of peripapillary retinal schisis in patients with glaucoma without evidence of optic nerve pits, pseudopits, or X-linked retinoschisis. DESIGN Two observational case reports and literature review. METHODS Imaging of the peripapillary nerve fiber layer and schisis cavities was completed in two patients, and one patient was followed over time. RESULTS The first patient, diagnosed with narrow angle glaucoma, was noted to have peripapillary schisis in the right eye with matching changes on visual field and optical coherence tomographic (OCT) results. Follow-up examination revealed that the schisis disappeared in the right eye while appearing in the left. The findings were verified with high-speed ultra-high-resolution OCT performed in both eyes. The second case involved a patient with anatomically narrow angles, high intraocular pressure (IOP), and peripapillary schisis extending into the macula. CONCLUSIONS Peripapillary retinoschisis may represent a unique sequelae of intraocular fluctuations in patients with uncontrolled glaucoma. Further studies are needed to better understand this disease process. PMID:17386284

Revision of the Oriental genus Holophris Mocsáry, 1890 and description of the genus Leptopareia Rosa & Xu, gen. nov. (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae).

PubMed

Rosa, Paolo; Wei, Na-Sen; Notton, David; Xu, Zai-Fu

2016-02-19

Two Oriental genera of the tribe Elampini (Chrysidinae) are here discussed. The genus Holophris Mocsáry, 1890 is redescribed, and the genus Leptopareia Rosa & Xu, gen. nov. (type species Hedychrum borneanum Cameron, 1908) is established. Two new species are described: Holophris thailandica Rosa, Wei, Notton & Xu, sp. nov. (Thailand), and Leptopareia luzonensis Rosa, Wei, Notton & Xu, sp. nov. (Philippines, Luzon). The lectotype of Hedychrum borneanum Cameron, 1908 is designated. New combinations are proposed for L. borneana (Cameron, 1908), comb. nov., L. purpurea (Smith, 1860), comb. nov., L. abyssinica (Mocsáry, 1914), comb. nov., L. confusa (Kimsey, 1988), comb. nov., L. congoensis (du Buysson, 1900), comb. nov., and L. kalliopsis (Zimmermann, 1961), comb. nov. (all are from Holophris Mocsáry). Holophris marginella (Mocsáry, 1890) is newly recorded from China and Thailand; H. taiwana (Tsuneki, 1970) from India, Indonesia and Laos; and Leptopareia borneana (Cameron, 1908) from Thailand. Keys to Oriental genera of the tribe Elampini and to Oriental species of the two genera are provided.

Use of gonioscopy in medicare beneficiaries before glaucoma surgery.

PubMed

Coleman, Anne L; Yu, Fei; Evans, Stacy J

2006-12-01

The American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Patterns for angle closure and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients recommends performing bilateral gonioscopy upon initial presentation to evaluate the possibility of narrow angle or angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) and then repeating the examination at least every 5 years. This study aims to assess how commonly eye care providers perform gonioscopy before planned glaucoma surgery in OAG, anatomic narrow angle, and ACG in the Medicare population. Data obtained from a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries undergoing glaucoma surgery in the United States in 1999 were retrospectively reviewed. The proportion of patients with evidence of at least one gonioscopic examination before glaucoma surgery was determined for the period of 1995 to 1999. Demographic and clinical factors potentially influencing the decision to perform gonioscopy were also examined. Overall, gonioscopy is apparently performed in 49% of Medicare beneficiaries during the 4 to 5 years preceding glaucoma surgery. This rate was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in patients with OAG (46%), as compared with anatomic narrow angle (58%) and ACG (57%) patients. Hispanics, elderly (aged 70 to 84), patients undergoing laser iridotomy, and patients receiving care in the New York/New Jersey area all had significantly higher apparent preoperative gonioscopy rates (P < 0.05). Gonioscopy examination before glaucoma surgery in Medicare beneficiaries is underused, undercoded, and/or miscoded, given current recommendations. Underuse is of particular concern in patients undergoing laser iridotomy as it is the diagnostic test of choice in ACG.

Characterization of Terrain in the Mars Surveyor 2001 Landing Site Latitude and Elevation Region Using Mapping Phase Mars Global Surveyor MOC Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, M. C.; Edgett, K. S.; Parker, T. J.

1999-01-01

One of the original objectives of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), as proposed in 1985, was to acquire observations to be used in assessing future spacecraft landing sites. Images obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor MOC since March 1999 provide the highest resolution views (1.5-4.5 m/pixel) of the planet ever seen. We have been examining these new data to develop a general view of what Mars is like at meter-scale within the latitudes and elevations that are accessible to the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander. Our goal is to provide guidance to the 2001 landing site selection process, rather than to use MOC images to recommend a specific landing site.

Design of a Mach-15 Total-Enthalpy Nozzle With Non-uniform Inflow Using Rotational MOC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaffney, Richard L., Jr.

2004-01-01

A new computer program to design nozzles with non-uniform inflow has been developed using the rotational method of characteristics (MOC). This program has been used to design a nozzle for the NASA's HYPULSE shock-expansion tunnel for use in scramjet engine tests at a Mach-15 flight-enthalpy condition. The nozzle has an area ratio of 9.5:1 that expands the inflow from Mach 6 along the centerline to Mach 8.7. Although the density and Mach number vary radially at the exit due to the non-uniformities of the inflow, the MOC procedure produces exit flow that is parallel and has uniform static pressure. The design has been verified with CFD which compares favorably with the MOC solution.

Differences in iris thickness among African Americans, Caucasian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Chinese Americans, and Filipino-Americans.

PubMed

Lee, Roland Y; Huang, Guofu; Porco, Travis C; Chen, Yi-Chun; He, Mingguang; Lin, Shan C

2013-12-01

To evaluate the capability of iris thickness parameters to explain the difference in primary angle-closure glaucoma prevalence among the different racial groups. In this prospective study, 436 patients with open and narrow angles that met inclusion criteria were consecutively recruited from the UCSF general ophthalmology and glaucoma clinics to receive anterior segment optical coherence tomography imaging under standardized dark conditions. Images from 11 patients were removed due to poor visibility of the scleral spurs and the remaining images were analyzed using the Zhongshan Angle Assessment Program to assess the following measurements for the nasal and temporal angle of the anterior chamber: iris thickness at 750 and 2000 μm from the scleral spurs and the maximum iris thickness at middle one third of the iris. Iris thickness parameters were compared among and within the following 5 different racial groups: African Americans, Caucasian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Chinese Americans, and Filipino-Americans. In comparing iris parameters among the open-angle racial groups, significant differences were found for nasal iris thickness at 750 and 2000 μm from the scleral spurs in which Chinese Americans displayed the highest mean value (P=0.01, P<0.0001). Among the narrow-angle racial groups, significant difference was found for nasal iris thickness at 2000 μm from the scleral in which Chinese Americans showed the highest mean value (P<0.0001). Significant difference was also found for temporal maximum iris thickness at middle one third of the iris in which African Americans exhibited the highest mean value (P=0.021). Iris thickness was modeled as a function of angle status using linear mixed-effects regression, adjusting for age, sex, pupil diameter, spherical equivalent, ethnicity, and the use of both eyes in patients. The iris thickness difference between the narrow-angle and open-angle groups was significant (P=0.0007). Racial groups that historically showed higher prevalence of primary angle-closure glaucoma possess thicker irides.

Polygons in Martian Frost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-428, 21 July 2003

This June 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a polygonal pattern developed in seasonal carbon dioxide frost in the martian southern hemisphere. The frost accumulated during the recent southern winter; it is now spring, and the carbon dioxide frost is subliming away. This image is located near 80.4oS, 200.2oW; it is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across.

The Gulf Stream Pathway and the Impacts of the Eddy-Driven Abyssal Circulation and the Deep Western Boundary Current

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-06

bathymetry, wind forcing, and a meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the latter specified via ports in the northern and southern boundaries. The...small values below the sill depth in all of the simulations. e The upper ocean northward flow of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is...plus the northward upper ocean flow (14 Sv) of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). The mean Gulf Stream IR northwall pathway ±lrr from

Large, Windblown Ripples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-447, 9 August 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the plethora of large, windblown ripples (or small dunes) among wind-sculpted sedimentary rocks in eastern Candor Chasma. Candor Chasma is one of the troughs of the Valles Marineris, a system of chasms that would stretch all the way across North America if it were on Earth. This picture is located near 7.9oS, 64.9oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/upper left.

Large Windblown Ripples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-519, 20 October 2003

This April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) high resolution image shows a depression in the martian southern cratered highlands near 1.3oS, 244.3oW. The floor of the depression and some nearby craters are covered by large windblown ripples or small sand dunes. This image of ancient martian terrain covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

A Ti plasmid-encoded enzyme required for degradation of mannopine is functionally homologous to the T-region-encoded enzyme required for synthesis of this opine in crown gall tumors.

PubMed Central

Kim, K S; Chilton, W S; Farrand, S K

1996-01-01

The mocC gene encoded by the octopine/mannityl opine-type Ti plasmid pTi15955 is related at the nucleotide sequence level to mas1' encoded by the T region of this plasmid. While Mas1 is required for the synthesis of mannopine (MOP) by crown gall tumor cells, MocC is essential for the utilization of MOP by Agrobacterium spp. A cosmid clone of pTi15955, pYDH208, encodes mocC and confers the utilization of MOP on strain NT1 and on strain UIA5, a derivative of NT1 lacking the 450-kb cryptic plasmid pAtC58. NT1 or UIA5 harboring pYDH208 with an insertion mutation in mocC failed to utilize MOP as the sole carbon source. Plasmid pSa-C, which encodes only mocC, complemented this mutation in both strains. This plasmid also was sufficient to confer utilization of MOP on NT1 but not on UIA5. Computer analysis showed that MocC is related at the amino acid sequence level to members of the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase family of oxidoreductases. Lysates prepared from Escherichia coli cells expressing mocC contained an enzymatic activity that oxidizes MOP to deoxyfructosyl glutamine (santhopine [SOP]) in the presence of NAD+. The reaction catalyzed by the MOP oxidoreductase is reversible; in the presence of NADH, the enzyme reduced SOP to MOP. The apparent Km values of the enzyme for MOP and SOP were 6.3 and 1.2 mM, respectively. Among analogs of MOP tested, only N-1-(1-deoxy-D-lyxityl)-L-glutamine and N-1-(1-deoxy-D-mannityl)-L-asparagine served as substrates for MOP oxidoreductase. These results indicate that mocC encodes an oxidoreductase that, as an oxidase, is essential for the catabolism of MOP. The reductase activity of this enzyme is precisely the reaction ascribed to its T-region-encoded homolog, Mas1, which is responsible for biosynthesis of mannopine in crown gall tumors. PMID:8655510

A Ti plasmid-encoded enzyme required for degradation of mannopine is functionally homologous to the T-region-encoded enzyme required for synthesis of this opine in crown gall tumors.

PubMed

Kim, K S; Chilton, W S; Farrand, S K

1996-06-01

The mocC gene encoded by the octopine/mannityl opine-type Ti plasmid pTi15955 is related at the nucleotide sequence level to mas1' encoded by the T region of this plasmid. While Mas1 is required for the synthesis of mannopine (MOP) by crown gall tumor cells, MocC is essential for the utilization of MOP by Agrobacterium spp. A cosmid clone of pTi15955, pYDH208, encodes mocC and confers the utilization of MOP on strain NT1 and on strain UIA5, a derivative of NT1 lacking the 450-kb cryptic plasmid pAtC58. NT1 or UIA5 harboring pYDH208 with an insertion mutation in mocC failed to utilize MOP as the sole carbon source. Plasmid pSa-C, which encodes only mocC, complemented this mutation in both strains. This plasmid also was sufficient to confer utilization of MOP on NT1 but not on UIA5. Computer analysis showed that MocC is related at the amino acid sequence level to members of the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase family of oxidoreductases. Lysates prepared from Escherichia coli cells expressing mocC contained an enzymatic activity that oxidizes MOP to deoxyfructosyl glutamine (santhopine [SOP]) in the presence of NAD+. The reaction catalyzed by the MOP oxidoreductase is reversible; in the presence of NADH, the enzyme reduced SOP to MOP. The apparent Km values of the enzyme for MOP and SOP were 6.3 and 1.2 mM, respectively. Among analogs of MOP tested, only N-1-(1-deoxy-D-lyxityl)-L-glutamine and N-1-(1-deoxy-D-mannityl)-L-asparagine served as substrates for MOP oxidoreductase. These results indicate that mocC encodes an oxidoreductase that, as an oxidase, is essential for the catabolism of MOP. The reductase activity of this enzyme is precisely the reaction ascribed to its T-region-encoded homolog, Mas1, which is responsible for biosynthesis of mannopine in crown gall tumors.

Use of A-Train Aerosol Observations to Constrain Direct Aerosol Radiative Effects (DARE) Comparisons with Aerocom Models and Uncertainty Assessments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Redemann, J.; Shinozuka, Y.; Kacenelenbogen, M.; Segal-Rozenhaimer, M.; LeBlanc, S.; Vaughan, M.; Stier, P.; Schutgens, N.

2017-01-01

We describe a technique for combining multiple A-Train aerosol data sets, namely MODIS spectral AOD (aerosol optical depth), OMI AAOD (absorption aerosol optical depth) and CALIOP aerosol backscatter retrievals (hereafter referred to as MOC retrievals) to estimate full spectral sets of aerosol radiative properties, and ultimately to calculate the 3-D distribution of direct aerosol radiative effects (DARE). We present MOC results using almost two years of data collected in 2007 and 2008, and show comparisons of the aerosol radiative property estimates to collocated AERONET retrievals. Use of the MODIS Collection 6 AOD data derived with the dark target and deep blue algorithms has extended the coverage of the MOC retrievals towards higher latitudes. The MOC aerosol retrievals agree better with AERONET in terms of the single scattering albedo (ssa) at 441 nm than ssa calculated from OMI and MODIS data alone, indicating that CALIOP aerosol backscatter data contains information on aerosol absorption. We compare the spatio-temporal distribution of the MOC retrievals and MOC-based calculations of seasonal clear-sky DARE to values derived from four models that participated in the Phase II AeroCom model intercomparison initiative. Overall, the MOC-based calculations of clear-sky DARE at TOA over land are smaller (less negative) than previous model or observational estimates due to the inclusion of more absorbing aerosol retrievals over brighter surfaces, not previously available for observationally-based estimates of DARE. MOC-based DARE estimates at the surface over land and total (land and ocean) DARE estimates at TOA are in between previous model and observational results. Comparisons of seasonal aerosol property to AeroCom Phase II results show generally good agreement best agreement with forcing results at TOA is found with GMI-MerraV3. We discuss sampling issues that affect the comparisons and the major challenges in extending our clear-sky DARE results to all-sky conditions. We present estimates of clear-sky and all-sky DARE and show uncertainties that stem from the assumptions in the spatial extrapolation and accuracy of aerosol and cloud properties, in the diurnal evolution of these properties, and in the radiative transfer calculations.

Martian Dust Devils: 2 Mars Years of MGS MOC Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantor, B. A.; Edgett, K. S.

2002-12-01

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide and narrow angle images have captured more than 1000 active dust devils over 2 Mars years. In the most recent Mars year, we repeatedly imaged (and are continuing to image) several areas to monitor dust devil occurrence. Some Mars dust devils are as small as a few to 10s of meters across, others are 100s of meters across and over 6 km high. Each Martian hemisphere has a "dust devil season" that generally follows the subsolar latitude. An exception is NW Amazonis, which has frequent, large dust devils throughout northern spring and summer (probably every afternoon; observations are acquired 2-3 times a week). The Amazonis and other MOC observations show no evidence that dust devils cause, lead to, or have a systematic relationship with dust storms. However, dust devils sometimes do occur near small, localized storms; and one specific relation occurred during the onset of the global dust events of 2001: slightly elevated levels of atmospheric dust (an optically thin cloud) triggered a very short period of dust devil activity in NW Amazonis in early northern autumn. The redistribution of dust by the 2001 global events may have also affected subsequent spring and summer dust devil activity in Hellas, where considerably fewer dust devils occurred in 2001-2002 than 1999-2000. In SW Syria, frequent, large dust devils occurred after the 2001 global events and persisted through southern summer. While dust devils have no specific relation to dust storms, they might play a role in the seasonal "wave of darkening" at middle and high latitudes by removing or disrupting thin veneers of dust. Dust devils have been observed to create thin, filamentary streaks. Some streaks are darker than their surroundings, while others are lighter. Some dust devils do not create streaks. At mid-latitudes, surfaces darken in spring as 100s of crisscrossing streaks form on widely-varied terrain. Some rare streaks exhibit cycloidal patterns similar to those created on Earth by tornadoes with multiple sub-vortices. The streaks occur at nearly all latitudes and elevations, from north polar dunes to the south polar layered terrain, from the summit of Olympus Mons to the floor of Hellas. During "dust devil season" at a given latitude, tremendous changes in streak patterns occur in periods as short as 1 month. These observations, along with repeated imaging in NW Amazonis and SW Syria, provide some idea of the frequency of dust devils. Uncertain is whether dust devils are responsible for all thin, filamentary streaks: while active vortices have been seen creating the plethora of streaks at southern mid-latitudes, none have been observed on the northern plains, despite observation of similar streak patterns. Perhaps northern plains dust devils occur at a different time of day relative to the MGS 1400 LT orbit, or perhaps dust devils did not form them. We monitored removal of dust from surfaces after the 2001 global dust events in several locations. Of particular interest was western Syrtis Major, which had brightened considerably after the 2001 storms. We observed this area for several months while very little change occurred. Finally, in January 2002, the surface was swept clean of most of its 2001 veneer of dust in a period of about 1 week. Dust devils played no role in this process; instead, regional surface winds were responsible.

Dust Devil Track Occurrence in Argyre Planitia.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whelley, P. L.; Balme, M. R.; Greeley, R.

2002-12-01

Martian dust devil tracks were first observed in Viking Orbiter images [Thomas et al., 1985]. While the interpretation of these features was at first controversial, it is now widely accepted that the tracks are formed by the passage of small convective vortices (dust devils). As the dust devils travel across the surface the atmosphere is loaded with fine particles creating a visible trail inferred to be removal or deposition of material [Greeley et al., 2001]. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) images of dust devil tracks in Argyre Planitia were used to asses dust devil track abundance as a function of Martian season as well as elevation using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. Argyre Planitia is a large impact basin in the southern hemisphere (55° to 33°W and 35° to 58°S), with topographic relief of 7 km with the median at -1km. We have studied the 564 Narrow Angle MOC images (taken as of summer 2002) covering the area. The images were divided into two categories: those with devil tracks and those without. The Ls (solar longitude degrees as a fraction of orbit) and elevation of all of the images with and without devil tracks were noted. The elevation was recorded at the center point of each MOC image using MOLA data. A polar plot of all of the images shows a statistically random distribution throughout the Martian year. A context map of the images shows a representative distribution over the area of the crater itself. A polar plot of dust devil track occurrence within the area observed shows a major concentration of tracks between Ls 200° and 360° (southern spring to late summer). A seasonal breakdown of devil track occurrence as a percentage of total area observed yields: fall 11.25%, winter 2.24%, spring 27.21%, and summer 46.49%. We therefore conclude that dust devils tracks are formed preferentially in summer and are destroyed, fade or are covered, over a period of a few months. The elevation of all 564 images was measured and 1km bins were used to calculate the percent of occurrence. We discovered that, at 3km 0% of the observed area contain dust devil tracks, 2km 7.69%, 1km 12.90%, at Datum 15.95%, -1km 8.97%, -2km 28.92%, -3km% 50.00%, -4km 50.00%. Independent of the season a majority of the devil tracks were observed below -3km. Therefore elevation is a key factor governing the formation of dust devils or their ability to produce tracks. Our interpretation of these results is that dust devils are much more likely to form during the summer and, as suggested by recent experiments [Balme et al., 2002], that they are more efficient at moving materials on the surface in areas where the atmospheric pressure is greatest (in the lowest elevations). The short timescale for disappearance of tracks suggests that the distinct albedo variations of the tracks result from only the removal or deposition of a very thin layer of material. Thomas. P. et al., 1985, Science v. 230 Greeley. R. et al., 2001, LPSC XXXII Balme. M. et al., 2002, LPSC XXXIII

Wide-angle imaging system with fiberoptic components providing angle-dependent virtual material stops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, Arthur H. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A strip imaging wide angle optical system is provided. The optical system is provided with a 'virtual' material stop to avoid aberrational effects inherent in wide angle optical systems. The optical system includes a spherical mirror section for receiving light from a 180 deg strip or arc of a target image. Light received by the spherical mirror section is reflected to a frustoconical mirror section for subsequent rereflection to a row of optical fibers. Each optical fiber transmits a portion of the received light to a detector. The optical system exploits the narrow cone of acceptance associated with optical fibers to substantially eliminate vignetting effects inherent in wide angle systems. Further, the optical system exploits the narrow cone of acceptance of the optical fibers to substantially limit spherical aberration. The optical system is ideally suited for any application wherein a 180 deg strip image need be detected, and is particularly well adapted for use in hostile environments such as in planetary exploration.

Sheath effects on current collection by particle detectors with narrow acceptance angles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, N.; Baugher, C. R.

1981-01-01

Restriction of the aperture acceptance angle of an ion or electron trap on an attracting spacecraft significantly alters the volt-ampere characteristics of the instrument in a low Mach number plasma. It is shown when the angular acceptance of the aperture is restricted the current to the collector tends to be independent of the Debye length. Expressions for the RPA characteristics for both a thin sheath and a thick sheath are derived; and it is shown that as the aperture is narrowed the curves tend toward equivalence.

Performance of Certification and Recertification Examinees on Multiple Choice Test Items: Does Physician Age Have an Impact?

PubMed

Shen, Linjun; Juul, Dorthea; Faulkner, Larry R

2016-01-01

The development of recertification programs (now referred to as Maintenance of Certification or MOC) by the members of the American Board of Medical Specialties provides the opportunity to study knowledge base across the professional lifespan of physicians. Research results to date are mixed with some studies finding negative associations between age and various measures of competency and others finding no or minimal relationships. Four groups of multiple choice test items that were independently developed for certification and MOC examinations in psychiatry and neurology were administered to certification and MOC examinees within each specialty. Percent correct scores were calculated for each examinee. Differences between certification and MOC examinees were compared using unpaired t tests, and logistic regression was used to compare MOC and certification examinee performance on the common test items. Except for the neurology certification test items that addressed basic neurology concepts, the performance of the certification and MOC examinees was similar. The differences in performance on individual test items did not consistently favor one group or the other and could not be attributed to any distinguishable content or format characteristics of those items. The findings of this study are encouraging in that physicians who had recently completed residency training possessed clinical knowledge that was comparable to that of experienced physicians, and the experienced physicians' clinical knowledge was equivalent to that of recent residency graduates. The role testing can play in enhancing expertise is described.

Sensitivity of the ocean overturning circulation to wind and mixing: theoretical scalings and global ocean models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikurashin, Maxim; Gunn, Andrew

2017-04-01

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is a planetary-scale oceanic flow which is of direct importance to the climate system: it transports heat meridionally and regulates the exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere. The MOC is forced by wind and heat and freshwater fluxes at the surface and turbulent mixing in the ocean interior. A number of conceptual theories for the sensitivity of the MOC to changes in forcing have recently been developed and tested with idealized numerical models. However, the skill of the simple conceptual theories to describe the MOC simulated with higher complexity global models remains largely unknown. In this study, we present a systematic comparison of theoretical and modelled sensitivity of the MOC and associated deep ocean stratification to vertical mixing and southern hemisphere westerlies. The results show that theories that simplify the ocean into a single-basin, zonally-symmetric box are generally in a good agreement with a realistic, global ocean circulation model. Some disagreement occurs in the abyssal ocean, where complex bottom topography is not taken into account by simple theories. Distinct regimes, where the MOC has a different sensitivity to wind or mixing, as predicted by simple theories, are also clearly shown by the global ocean model. The sensitivity of the Indo-Pacific, Atlantic, and global basins is analysed separately to validate the conceptual understanding of the upper and lower overturning cells in the theory.

Visual imaging control systems of the Mariner to Jupiter and Saturn spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larks, L.

1979-01-01

Design and fabrication of optical systems for the Mariner Jupiter Saturn (Voyager) mission is described. Because of the long distances of these planets from the sun, the spacecraft was designed without solar panels with the electricity generated on-board by radio-isotope thermal generators (RTG). The presence of RTG's and Jupiter radiation environment required that the optical systems be fabricated out of radiation stabilized materials. A narrow angle and a wide angle camera are located on the spacecraft scan platform, with the narrow angle lens a modification of the Mariner 10 lens. The optical system is described, noting that the lens was modified by moving the aperture correctors forward and placing a spider mounted secondary mirror in the original back surface of the second aperture corrector. The wide angle lens was made out of cerium doped, radiation stabilized optical glass with greatest blue transmittance, which would be resistant to RTG and Jupiter radiation.

Ruthenium nanoparticles decorated curl-like porous carbons for high performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Bih-Show; Veerakumar, Pitchaimani; Chen, Shen-Ming; Veeramani, Vediyappan; Madhu, Rajesh; Liu, Shang-Bin

2016-01-01

The synthesis of highly dispersed and stable ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs; ca. 2-3 nm) on porous activated carbons derived from Moringa Oleifera fruit shells (MOC) is reported and were exploited for supercapacitor applications. The Ru/MOC composites so fabricated using the biowaste carbon source and ruthenium acetylacetonate as the co-feeding metal precursors were activated at elevated temperatures (600-900 oC) in the presence of ZnCl2 as the pore generating and chemical activating agent. The as-prepared MOC carbonized at 900 oC was found to possess a high specific surface area (2522 m2 g-1) and co-existing micro- and mesoporosities. Upon incorporating RuNPs, the Ru/MOC nanocomposites loaded with modest amount of metallic Ru (1.0-1.5 wt%) exhibit remarkable electrochemical and capacitive properties, achiving a maximum capacitance of 291 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 in 1.0 M H2SO4 electrolyte. These highly stable and durable Ru/MOC electrodes, which can be facily fabricated by the eco-friendly and cost-effective route, should have great potentials for practical applications in energy storage, biosensing, and catalysis.

Morphology of AGN Emission Line Regions in SDSS-IV MaNGA Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zhicheng; Sun, Ai-Lei; Zakamska, Nadia L.; Wylezalek, Dominika; Kelly, Michael; Greene, Jenny E.; Rembold, Sandro B.; Riffel, Rogério; Riffel, Rogemar A.

2018-05-01

Extended narrow-line regions (NLRs) around active galactic nuclei (AGN) are shaped by the distribution of gas in the host galaxy and by the geometry of the circumnuclear obscuration, and thus they can be used to test the AGN unification model. In this work, we quantify the morphologies of the narrow-line regions in 308 nearby AGNs (z = 0 - 0.14, Lbol˜1042.4 - 44.1 erg s-1) from the MaNGA survey. Based on the narrow-line region maps, we find that a large fraction (81%) of these AGN have bi-conical NLR morphology. The distribution of their measured opening angles suggests that the intrinsic opening angles of the ionization cones has a mean value of 85-98° with a finite spread of 39-44° (1-σ). Our inferred opening angle distribution implies a number ratio of type I to type II AGN of 1:1.6-2.3, consistent with other measurements of the type I / type II ratio at low AGN luminosities. Combining these measurements with the WISE photometry data, we find that redder mid-IR color (lower effective temperature of dust) corresponds to stronger and narrower photo-ionized bicones. This relation is in agreement with the unification model that suggests that the bi-conical narrow-line regions are shaped by a toroidal dusty structure within a few pc from the AGN. Furthermore, we find a significant alignment between the minor axis of host galaxy disks and AGN ionization cones. Together, these findings suggest that obscuration on both circumnuclear (˜pc) and galactic (˜ kpc) scales are important in shaping and orienting the AGN narrow-line regions.

Polygon Patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-511, 12 October 2003

This August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows polygon patterns, enhanced by frost in the cracks that outline the polygon forms, in the south polar region of Mars. On Earth, patterns such as this usually indicate the presence of ice in the subsurface. The same might be true for Mars. This picture is located near 70.6oS, 309.5oW, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Northeast Hellas Landscape

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-446, 8 August 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of pitted terrain northeast of Hellas Basin shows light-toned outcrops of layered, sedimentary rock, and a valley floor covered by large, dark ripples or small dunes. Similar light-toned sedimentary materials are found throughout the region immediately northeast of Hellas, and in the crater, Terby. The area shown is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and located near 27.5oS, 281.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

South Polar Polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-473, 4 September 2003

Looking somewhat like the roadmap of a city on Earth, this August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows patterned ground--a mosaic of polygonal forms--highlighted by seasonal frost in the south polar region near 86.3oS, 310.2oW. Dark surfaces in this springtime view are areas from which cold, carbon dioxide frost has been subliming away. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Mars South Polar Cap 'Fingerprint' Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This picture is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Some portions of the martian south polar residual cap have long, somewhat curved troughs instead of circular pits. These appear to form in a layer of material that may be different than that in which 'swiss cheese' circles and pits form, and none of these features has any analog in the north polar cap or elsewhere on Mars. This picture shows the 'fingerprint' terrain as a series of long, narrow depressions considered to have formed by collapse and widening by sublimation of ice. Unlike the north polar cap, the south polar region stays cold enough in summer to retain frozen carbon dioxide. Viking Orbiter observations during the late 1970s showed that very little water vapor comes off the south polar cap during summer, indicating that any frozen water that might be there remains solid throughout the year.

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image was obtained in early southern spring on August 4, 1999. It shows an area 3 x 5 kilometers (1.9 x 3.1 miles) at a resolution of about 7.3 meters (24 ft) per pixel. Located near 86.0oS, 53.9oW.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Qualitative Assessment of Ultrasound Biomicroscopic Images Using Standard Photographs: The Liwan Eye Study

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yuzhen; Huang, Wenyong; Huang, Qunxiao; Zhang, Jian; Foster, Paul J.

2010-01-01

Objective. To classify anatomic features related to anterior chamber angles by a qualitative assessment system based on ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) images. Methods. Cases of primary angle-closure suspect (PACS), defined by pigmented trabecular meshwork that is not visible in two or more quadrants on static gonioscopy (cases) and systematically selected subjects (1 of every 10) who did not meet this criterion (controls) were enrolled during a population-based survey in Guangzhou, China. All subjects underwent UBM examination. A set of standard UBM images was used to qualitatively classify anatomic features related to the angle configuration, including iris thickness, iris convexity, iris angulation, ciliary body size, and ciliary process position. All analysis was conducted on right eye images. Results. Based on the qualitative grades, the difference in overall iris thickness between gonioscopically narrow eyes (n = 117) and control eyes (n = 57) was not statistically significant. The peripheral one third of the iris tended to be thicker in all quadrants of the PACS eyes, although the difference was statistically significant only in the superior quadrant (P = 0.008). No significant differences were found in the qualitative classifications of iris insertion, iris angulation, ciliary body size, and ciliary process position. The findings were similar when compared with the control group of eyes with wide angles in all quadrants. Conclusions. Basal iris thickness seems to be more relevant to narrow angle configuration than to overall iris thickness. Otherwise, the anterior rotation and size of the ciliary body, the iris insertion, and the overall iris thickness are comparable in narrow- and wide-angle eyes. PMID:19834039

The distribution of organic carbon fractions in a typical loess-paleosol profile and its paleoenvironmental significance

PubMed Central

Hu, Feinan; Huo, Na; Shang, Yingni; Chang, Wenqian

2018-01-01

Background The loess-paleosol sequence on the Loess Plateau has been considered an important paleoclimatic archive to study global climatic and environmental changes in the Quaternary. So far, little attention has been paid to the characteristics of soil organic carbon fractions in loess-paleosol sequences, which may provide valuable information for exploring the evolution of climate and environment in the Quaternary on the Loess Plateau. Methods In order to explore the significance of mineral-associated organic carbon to total organic carbon (MOC/TOC) ratios in the loess-paleosol sequence for reconstructing paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic evolution in the Quaternary on the Loess Plateau, we selected a typical loess-paleosol profile in Chunhua county, Xianyang city, Shaanxi province, as the research object. The content of total organic carbon (TOC) and MOC/TOC ratio in each loess and paleosol layers of the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile were analyzed, together with the paleoclimatic proxies, such as soil grain size, CaCO3 content and their correlations with organic carbon parameters. Results The main results were as follows: (1) the total content of soil organic carbon and MOC/TOC ratios were generally higher in paleosol layers than in the underlying loess layers of the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile. Compared to total organic carbon content, MOC/TOC ratios changed more obviously in soil layers below a paleosol layer S8; (2) soil clay content and median grain size (Md (ϕ)) were higher in paleosol than in the underlying loess, while CaCO3 content showed an opposite tendency. In the Chunhua profile, the distribution characteristics of the three paleoclimatic proxies showed good indications of paleoclimate changes in the Quaternary; (3) in the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile, MOC/TOC ratios were positively correlated with clay content and median grain size (ϕ), while negatively correlated with CaCO3 content, and the correlations were more significant in soil layers below S8. Discussion Our results indicated that MOC/TOC ratios in the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile correlated with the cold dry-warm wet paleoclimatic cycle in the Quaternary. The high MOC/TOC ratios in the loess-paleosol profile might reflect warm and humid climate, while lower ratios indicated relatively cold and dry climate. That is because when the climate changed from warm-humid to cold-dry, the vegetation coverage and pedogenesis intensity decreased, which increased soil CaCO3 content and decreased soil clay content and Md (ϕ), leading to decreased MOC/TOC ratios. Compared to TOC, MOC/TOC ratios had greater significance in indicating paleoenvironmental evolution in the Quaternary on the Loess Plateau. Therefore, investigating MOC/TOC ratios in loess-paleosol profile can offer new evidence to reconstructing paleoenvironmental changes, and also provide a basis for predicting responses of soil organic carbon pools to vegetation and climate changes in the future. PMID:29666763

The role of Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) on Ancient Climates and Implications for Anthropogenic Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cumming, M.

2017-12-01

Our increasingly robust history of ancient climates indicates that high latitude glaciation is the ultimate product of an episodic cooling trend that began about 100-million years ago rather than a result of a yet-to-be identified modal change. Antarctic geography (continent surrounded by ocean) allowed ice to develop prior to significant glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere (ocean surrounded by land), but global ice volume generally increased as Earth cooled. The question of what caused the Ice Ages should be reframed as to "What caused the Cenozoic Cooling?" Records tell us that changes in temperature and CO2 levels rise and fall together, however it is not clear when CO2 acts as a driver versus when it is primarily an indicator of temperature change. The episodic nature of the cooling trend suggests other more dynamic phenomena are involved. It is proposed that oceanic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) plays a significant role in regulating Earth's surface temperature. Robust MOC has a cooling effect which results from its sequestration of cold waters (together with their increased heat-absorbing potential) below the surface. Unable to better absorb equatorial insolation for great lengths of time, oceanic deep waters are not able to fully compensate for the heat lost by warm-water transport to Polar Regions. A lag-time between cooling and subsequent warming yields lower operating temperatures commensurate with the strength of global MOC. The long-term decline in global temperatures is largely explained by the tectonic reshaping of ocean basins and the connections between them such that MOC has generally, but not uniformly, increased. Geophysically Influenced MOC (GIMOC) has caused a significant proportion of the lowering of global temperatures in the Cenozoic Era. Short-term disruptions in MOC (and subsequent impacts on global temperatures) were likely involved in Late Pleistocene glacial termination events and may already be compounding present anthropogenic CO2 induced warming.

Wide-Field Optic for Autonomous Acquisition of Laser Link

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Page, Norman A.; Charles, Jeffrey R.; Biswas, Abhijit

2011-01-01

An innovation reported in Two-Camera Acquisition and Tracking of a Flying Target, NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 8 (August 2008), p. 20, used a commercial fish-eye lens and an electronic imaging camera for initially locating objects with subsequent handover to an actuated narrow-field camera. But this operated against a dark-sky background. An improved solution involves an optical design based on custom optical components for the wide-field optical system that directly addresses the key limitations in acquiring a laser signal from a moving source such as an aircraft or a spacecraft. The first challenge was to increase the light collection entrance aperture diameter, which was approximately 1 mm in the first prototype. The new design presented here increases this entrance aperture diameter to 4.2 mm, which is equivalent to a more than 16 times larger collection area. One of the trades made in realizing this improvement was to restrict the field-of-view to +80 deg. elevation and 360 azimuth. This trade stems from practical considerations where laser beam propagation over the excessively high air mass, which is in the line of sight (LOS) at low elevation angles, results in vulnerability to severe atmospheric turbulence and attenuation. An additional benefit of the new design is that the large entrance aperture is maintained even at large off-axis angles when the optic is pointed at zenith. The second critical limitation for implementing spectral filtering in the design was tackled by collimating the light prior to focusing it onto the focal plane. This allows the placement of the narrow spectral filter in the collimated portion of the beam. For the narrow band spectral filter to function properly, it is necessary to adequately control the range of incident angles at which received light intercepts the filter. When this angle is restricted via collimation, narrower spectral filtering can be implemented. The collimated beam (and the filter) must be relatively large to reduce the incident angle down to only a few degrees. In the presented embodiment, the filter diameter is more than ten times larger than the entrance aperture. Specifically, the filter has a clear aperture of about 51 mm. The optical design is refractive, and is comprised of nine custom refractive elements and an interference filter. The restricted maximum angle through the narrow-band filter ensures the efficient use of a 2-nm noise equivalent bandwidth spectral width optical filter at low elevation angles (where the range is longest), at the expense of less efficiency for high elevations, which can be tolerated because the range at high elevation angles is shorter. The image circle is 12 mm in diameter, mapped to 80 x 360 of sky, centered on the zenith.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC, installation is under way of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The MOC is one of a suite of six scientific instruments that will gather data about Martian topography, mineral distribution and weather during a two-year period. The Mars Global Surveyor is slated for launch aboard a Delta II expendable launch vehicle on Nov. 6, the beginning of a 20-day launch period.

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-08-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC, installation is under way of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The MOC is one of a suite of six scientific instruments that will gather data about Martian topography, mineral distribution and weather during a two-year period. The Mars Global Surveyor is slated for launch aboard a Delta II expendable launch vehicle on Nov. 6, the beginning of a 20-day launch period.

Observed flow compensation associated with the MOC at 26.5 degrees N in the Atlantic.

PubMed

Kanzow, Torsten; Cunningham, Stuart A; Rayner, Darren; Hirschi, Joël J-M; Johns, William E; Baringer, Molly O; Bryden, Harry L; Beal, Lisa M; Meinen, Christopher S; Marotzke, Jochem

2007-08-17

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), which provides one-quarter of the global meridional heat transport, is composed of a number of separate flow components. How changes in the strength of each of those components may affect that of the others has been unclear because of a lack of adequate data. We continuously observed the MOC at 26.5 degrees N for 1 year using end-point measurements of density, bottom pressure, and ocean currents; cable measurements across the Straits of Florida; and wind stress. The different transport components largely compensate for each other, thus confirming the validity of our monitoring approach. The MOC varied over the period of observation by +/-5.7 x 10(6) cubic meters per second, with density-inferred and wind-driven transports contributing equally to it. We find evidence for depth-independent compensation for the wind-driven surface flow.

Angle dependent defect modes in a photonic crystal filter doped by high and low temperature superconductor defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreejith K., P.; Mathew, Vincent

2018-05-01

We have theoretically investigated the incident angle dependent defect modes in a dual channel photonic crystal filter composed of a high and low temperature superconductor defects. It is observed that the defect mode wavelength can be significantly tuned by incident angle for both polarizations. The angle sensitive defect mode property is of particular application in designing narrow band transmission filter.

Molybdenum cofactor deficiency causes translucent integument, male-biased lethality, and flaccid paralysis in the silkworm Bombyx mori.

PubMed

Fujii, Tsuguru; Yamamoto, Kimiko; Banno, Yutaka

2016-06-01

Uric acid accumulates in the epidermis of Bombyx mori larvae and renders the larval integument opaque and white. Yamamoto translucent (oya) is a novel spontaneous mutant with a translucent larval integument and unique phenotypic characteristics, such as male-biased lethality and flaccid larval paralysis. Xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) that requires a molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) for its activity is a key enzyme for uric acid synthesis. It has been observed that injection of a bovine xanthine oxidase, which corresponds functionally to XDH and contains its own MoCo activity, changes the integuments of oya mutants from translucent to opaque and white. This finding suggests that XDH/MoCo activity might be defective in oya mutants. Our linkage analysis identified an association between the oya locus and chromosome 23. Because XDH is not linked to chromosome 23 in B. mori, MoCo appears to be defective in oya mutants. In eukaryotes, MoCo is synthesized by a conserved biosynthesis pathway governed by four loci (MOCS1, MOCS2, MOCS3, and GEPH). Through a candidate gene approach followed by sequence analysis, a 6-bp deletion was detected in an exon of the B. mori molybdenum cofactor synthesis-step 1 gene (BmMOCS1) in the oya strain. Moreover, recombination was not observed between the oya and BmMOCS1 loci. These results indicate that the BmMOCS1 locus is responsible for the oya locus. Finally, we discuss the potential cause of male-biased lethality and flaccid paralysis observed in the oya mutants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Small Crater Populations on Mars: Studies of MOC Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plaut, J. J.

2000-01-01

Populations of small martian craters can now be studied using MOC images. The smallest craters record aspects of the crater production and resurfacing history that could not be observed previously. Examples from a number of terrains are shown.

Iridotomy to slow progression of angle-closure glaucoma

PubMed Central

Le, Jimmy T; Rouse, Benjamin; Gazzard, Gus

2016-01-01

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: The primary objective is to assess the role of iridotomy-compared with observation-in the prevention of visual field loss for individuals who have primary angle closure or primary angle-closure glaucoma in at least one eye. We will also examine the role of iridotomy in the prevention of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in individuals with narrow angles (primary angle-closure suspect) in at least one eye. PMID:27551238

The gonial angle stripper: an instrument for the treatment of prominent gonial angle.

PubMed

Kyutoku, S; Yanagida, A; Kusumoto, K; Ogawa, Y

1994-12-01

In the Orient, a prominent gonial angle, so-called benign masseteric hypertrophy, is rather common and considered unattractive. Therefore, its surgical correction is one of the most popular forms of facial skeletal contouring. For accurate and safe osteotomy of the mandibular angle region, a gonial angle stripper was specially invented. It has a small projection that will ease identification of the osteotomy line in a narrow operative field. The tool has been clinically used in eight patients to prove its usefulness, especially for a posteriorly developed mandibular angle.

Narrow-angle Astrometry with SUSI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kok, Y.; Ireland, M. J.; Robertson, J. G.; Tuthill, P. G.; Warrington, B. A.; Tango, W. J.

2014-09-01

SUSI (Sydney University Stellar Interferometer) is currently being fitted with a 2nd beam combiner, MUSCA (Micro-arcsecond University of Sydney Companion Astrometry), for the purpose of narrow-angle astrometry. With an aim to achieve ˜10 micro-arcseconds of angular resolution at its best, MUSCA allows SUSI to search for planets around bright binary stars, which are its primary targets. While the first beam combiner, PAVO (Precision Astronomical Visible Observations), is used to track stellar fringes during an observation, MUSCA will be used to measure separations of binary stars. MUSCA is a Michelson interferometer and its setup at SUSI will be described in this poster.

SCDU (Spectral Calibration Development Unit) Testbed Narrow Angle Astrometric Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Xu; Goullioud, Renaud; Nemati, Bijan; Shao, Michael; Wehmeier, Udo J.; Weilert, Mark A.; Werne, Thomas A.; Wu, Janet P.; Zhai, Chengxing

2010-01-01

The most stringent astrometric performance requirements on NASA's SIM(Space Interferometer Mission)-Lite mission will come from the so-called Narrow-Angle (NA) observing scenario, aimed at finding Earth-like exoplanets, where the interferometer chops between the target star and several nearby reference stars multiple times over the course of a single visit. Previously, about 20 pm NA error with various shifts was reported. Since then, investigation has been under way to understand the mechanisms that give rise to these shifts. In this paper we report our findings, the adopted mitigation strategies, and the resulting testbed performance.

Effects of Implantable Collamer Lens V4c Placement on Iridocorneal Angle Measurements by Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography.

PubMed

Fernández-Vigo, José Ignacio; Macarro-Merino, Ana; Fernández-Vigo, Cristina; Fernández-Vigo, José Ángel; Martínez-de-la-Casa, José María; Fernández-Pérez, Cristina; García-Feijóo, Julián

2016-02-01

To assess by Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT) changes produced in iridocorneal angle measurements in patients undergoing Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) V4c (STAAR Surgical AG) placement. Prospective interventional case series. In 50 eyes of 25 myopic subjects consecutively scheduled for ICL implant, FDOCT (RTVue; Optovue Inc) iridocorneal angle measurements were made before and 1 and 3 months after surgery. Trabecular-iris angle (TIA) and angle opening distance 500 μm anterior to the scleral spur (AOD500) were compared among the quadrants nasal, temporal, and inferior, and correlations with ocular variables including lens vault were examined. Preoperative TIA was 48.7 ± 8.7, 48.2 ± 8.7, and 48.7 ± 9.3 degrees for the nasal, temporal, and inferior quadrants, with no differences (P = 1.000). Following ICL implant, corresponding values fell to 31.2 ± 11.5, 30.0 ± 10.7, and 29.7 ± 8.1 degrees at 1 month postsurgery, indicating angle narrowing of 34%-42%, and to 30.6 ± 12.3, 30.1 ± 11.9, and 29.8 ± 12.3 degrees, respectively, at 3 months postsurgery. Angle measurements failed to vary between 1 month and 3 months postsurgery (P = .481). In 8 eyes, iridotrabecular contact attributable to surgery was observed. One month after surgery, vault measurements correlated with TIA (R = -.309; P = .048). Six variables were identified as predictors of TIA at 1 month postsurgery (R(2) = .907). Although considerable angle narrowing was detected 1 month after ICL V4c implant, this narrowing remained stable at 3 months postsurgery. Factors predictive of TIA could serve to identify suitable candidates for ICL placement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ARC-1986-A86-7024

NASA Image and Video Library

1986-01-24

P-29508BW Range: 1.12 million kilometers (690,000 miles) This clear-filter view of the Uranian rings delta, gamma, eta, beta and alpha (from top) was taken with Voyager 2's narrow-angle camera and clearly illustrates the broad outer component and narrow inner component of the eta ring, which orbits Uranus at a radius of some 47,000 km (29,000 mi). The broad component is considerably more transparent than the dense, narrow inner eta component, as well as the other narrow rings shown. Resolution here is about 10 km (6 mi).

Evolution and Erosion of Tyrrhena and Hadriaca Paterae, Mars: New Insights from MOC and MOLA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, T. K. P.; Crown, D. A.; Sakimoto, S. E. H.

2001-01-01

Investigation of Hadriaca and Tyrrhena Paterae, Mars, using MOC and MOLA data reveals new information about caldera formation, channel development, and lava flow-field emplacement. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Ripples and Dunes in the Syrtis Major Region of Mars, as Revealed in MOC Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimbelman, J. R.; Wilson, S.

2002-01-01

Six categories of ripple-like aeolian bedforms have been identified in MOC images, and their physical attributes are compared to large ripples on Earth. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Polar Polygon Patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-338, 22 April 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image was taken during southern spring, as the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was subliming away. Frost remaining in shallow cracks and depressions reveals a fantastic polygonal pattern. Similar polygons occur in the Earth's arctic and antarctic regions-on Earth such polygons are related to the freeze and thaw of ground ice. The picture covers an area about 3 km (about 1.9 mi) wide near 71.9oS, 11.1oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left.

Genome-wide significant risk associations for mucinous ovarian carcinoma

PubMed Central

Kelemen, Linda E.; Lawrenson, Kate; Tyrer, Jonathan; Li, Qiyuan; M. Lee, Janet; Seo, Ji-Heui; Phelan, Catherine M.; Beesley, Jonathan; Chen, Xiaoqin; Spindler, Tassja J.; Aben, Katja K.H.; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Antonenkova, Natalia; Baker, Helen; Bandera, Elisa V.; Bean, Yukie; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Bisogna, Maria; Bjorge, Line; Bogdanova, Natalia; Brinton, Louise A.; Brooks-Wilson, Angela; Bruinsma, Fiona; Butzow, Ralf; Campbell, Ian G.; Carty, Karen; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chen, Y. Ann; Chen, Zhihua; Cook, Linda S.; Cramer, Daniel W.; Cunningham, Julie M.; Cybulski, Cezary; Dansonka-Mieszkowska, Agnieszka; Dennis, Joe; Dicks, Ed; Doherty, Jennifer A.; Dörk, Thilo; du Bois, Andreas; Dürst, Matthias; Eccles, Diana; Easton, Douglas T.; Edwards, Robert P.; Eilber, Ursula; Ekici, Arif B.; Engelholm, Svend Aage; Fasching, Peter A.; Fridley, Brooke L.; Gao, Yu-Tang; Gentry-Maharaj, Aleksandra; Giles, Graham G.; Glasspool, Rosalind; Goode, Ellen L.; Goodman, Marc T.; Grownwald, Jacek; Harrington, Patricia; Harter, Philipp; Hasmad, Hanis Nazihah; Hein, Alexander; Heitz, Florian; Hildebrandt, Michelle A.T.; Hillemanns, Peter; Hogdall, Estrid; Hogdall, Claus; Hosono, Satoyo; Iversen, Edwin S.; Jakubowska, Anna; Jensen, Allan; Ji, Bu-Tian; Karlan, Beth Y; Kellar, Melissa; Kelley, Joseph L.; Kiemeney, Lambertus A.; Krakstad, Camilla; Kjaer, Susanne K.; Kupryjanczyk, Jolanta; Lambrechts, Diether; Lambrechts, Sandrina; Le, Nhu D.; Lee, Alice W.; Lele, Shashi; Leminen, Arto; Lester, Jenny; Levine, Douglas A.; Liang, Dong; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lu, Karen; Lubinski, Jan; Lundvall, Lene; Massuger, Leon F.A.G.; Matsuo, Keitaro; McGuire, Valerie; McLaughlin, John R.; McNeish, Iain; Menon, Usha; Modugno, Francesmary; Moes-Sosnowska, Joanna; Moysich, Kirsten B.; Narod, Steven A.; Nedergaard, Lotte; Ness, Roberta B.; Nevanlinna, Heli; Azmi, Mat Adenan Noor; Odunsi, Kunle; Olson, Sara H.; Orlow, Irene; Orsulic, Sandra; Weber, Rachel Palmieri; Paul, James; Pearce, Celeste Leigh; Pejovic, Tanja; Pelttari, Liisa M.; Permuth-Wey, Jennifer; Pike, Malcolm C.; Poole, Elizabeth M.; Ramus, Susan J.; Risch, Harvey A.; Rosen, Barry; Rossing, Mary Anne; Rothstein, Joseph H.; Rudolph, Anja; Runnebaum, Ingo B.; Rzepecka, Iwona K.; Salvesen, Helga B.; Schildkraut, Joellen M.; Schwaab, Ira; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Shvetsov, Yurii B; Siddiqui, Nadeem; Sieh, Weiva; Song, Honglin; Southey, Melissa C.; Sucheston, Lara; Tangen, Ingvild L.; Teo, Soo-Hwang; Terry, Kathryn L.; Thompson, Pamela J; Tworoger, Shelley S.; van Altena, Anne M.; Van Nieuwenhuysen, Els; Vergote, Ignace; Vierkant, Robert A.; Wang-Gohrke, Shan; Walsh, Christine; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Whittemore, Alice S.; Wicklund, Kristine G.; Wilkens, Lynne R.; Wlodzimierz, Sawicki; Woo, Yin-Ling; Wu, Xifeng; Wu, Anna H.; Yang, Hannah; Zheng, Wei; Ziogas, Argyrios; Sellers, Thomas A.; Freedman, Matthew L.; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Pharoah, Paul D.; Gayther, Simon A.; Berchuck, Andrew

2015-01-01

Genome-wide association studies have identified several risk associations for ovarian carcinomas (OC) but not for mucinous ovarian carcinomas (MOC). Genotypes from OC cases and controls were imputed into the 1000 Genomes Project reference panel. Analysis of 1,644 MOC cases and 21,693 controls identified three novel risk associations: rs752590 at 2q13 (P = 3.3 × 10−8), rs711830 at 2q31.1 (P = 7.5 × 10−12) and rs688187 at 19q13.2 (P = 6.8 × 10−13). Expression Quantitative Trait Locus (eQTL) analysis in ovarian and colorectal tumors (which are histologically similar to MOC) identified significant eQTL associations for HOXD9 at 2q31.1 in ovarian (P = 4.95 × 10−4, FDR = 0.003) and colorectal (P = 0.01, FDR = 0.09) tumors, and for PAX8 at 2q13 in colorectal tumors (P = 0.03, FDR = 0.09). Chromosome conformation capture analysis identified interactions between the HOXD9 promoter and risk SNPs at 2q31.1. Overexpressing HOXD9 in MOC cells augmented the neoplastic phenotype. These findings provide the first evidence for MOC susceptibility variants and insights into the underlying biology of the disease. PMID:26075790

35. VERTICAL AND TORSIONAL MOTION FROM EAST TOWER SHOWING ANGULAR ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

35. VERTICAL AND TORSIONAL MOTION FROM EAST TOWER SHOWING ANGULAR DISTORTION APPROACHING 45 DEGREES WITH LAMP POSTS APPEARING TO BE AT EIGHT ANGLES, 7 NOVEMBER 1940, FROM 16MN FILM SHOT BY PROFESSOR F.B. FARQUHARSON, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON. (LABORATORY STUDIES ON THE TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE, AT UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SEATTLE: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, 1941) - Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Spanning Narrows at State Route 16, Tacoma, Pierce County, WA

Western Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

One of the most striking discoveries of the Mars Global Surveyor mission has been the identification of thousands of meters/feet of layers within the wall rock of the enormous martian canyon system, Valles Marineris.

Valles Marineris was first observed in 1972 by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, from which the troughs get their name: Valles--valleys, Marineris--Mariner.

Some hints of layering in both the canyon walls and within some deposits on the canyon floors were seen in Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images from the 1970s. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board Mars Global Surveyor has been examining these layers at much higher resolution than was available previously.

MOC images led to the realization that there are layers in the walls that go down to great depths. An example of the wall rock layers can be seen in MOC image 8403, shown above (C).

MOC images also reveal amazing layered outcrops on the floors of some of the Valles Marineris canyons. Particularly noteworthy is MOC image 23304 (D, above), which shows extensive, horizontally-bedded layers exposed in buttes and mesas on the floor of western Candor Chasma. These layered rocks might be the same material as is exposed in the chasm walls (as in 8403--C, above), or they might be rocks that formed by deposition (from water, wind, and/or volcanism) long after Candor Chasma opened up.

In addition to layered materials in the walls and on the floors of the Valles Marineris system, MOC images are helping to refine our classification of geologic features that occur within the canyons. For example, MOC image 25205 (E, above), shows the southern tip of a massive, tongue-shaped massif (a mountainous ridge) that was previously identified as a layered deposit. However, this MOC image does not show layering. The material has been sculpted by wind and mass-wasting--downslope movement of debris--but no obvious layers were exposed by these processes.

Valles Marineris a fascinating region on Mars that holds much potential to reveal information about the early history and evolution of the red planet. The MOC Science Team is continuing to examine the wealth of new data and planning for new Valles Marineris targets once the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission commences in March 1999.

This image: Layers in western Candor Chasma northern wall. MOC image 8403 subframe shown at full resolution of 4.6 meters (15 feet) per pixel. The image shows an area approximately 2.4 by 2.5 kilometers (1.5 x 1.6 miles). North is up, illumination is from the left. Image 8403 was obtained during Mars Global Surveyor's 84th orbit at 10:12 p.m. (PST) on January 6, 1998.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Possible Hydrovolcanic Landforms Observed in MOC NA Imagery: A Preliminary Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrand, W. H.; Gaddis, L. R.; Blundell, S.

2001-01-01

In a preliminary survey of MOC NA imagery, a number of features resembling table mountains, tuff rings, and near craters have been identified. Their locations and geologic significance will be discussed. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Counting Craters on MOC Images: Production Functions and Other Complications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plaut, J. J.

2001-01-01

New crater counts on MOC images and associated Viking Orbiter images are used to address the issue of the crater production function at Mars, and to infer aspects of resurfacing processes. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Familial hypercholesterolaemia: a model of care for Australasia.

PubMed

Watts, Gerald F; Sullivan, David R; Poplawski, Nicola; van Bockxmeer, Frank; Hamilton-Craig, Ian; Clifton, Peter M; O'Brien, Richard; Bishop, Warrick; George, Peter; Barter, Phillip J; Bates, Timothy; Burnett, John R; Coakley, John; Davidson, Patricia; Emery, Jon; Martin, Andrew; Farid, Waleed; Freeman, Lucinda; Geelhoed, Elizabeth; Juniper, Amanda; Kidd, Alexa; Kostner, Karam; Krass, Ines; Livingston, Michael; Maxwell, Suzy; O'Leary, Peter; Owaimrin, Amal; Redgrave, Trevor G; Reid, Nicola; Southwell, Lynda; Suthers, Graeme; Tonkin, Andrew; Towler, Simon; Trent, Ronald

2011-10-01

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a dominantly inherited disorder present from birth that causes marked elevation in plasma cholesterol and premature coronary heart disease. There are at least 45,000 people with FH in Australia and New Zealand, but the vast majority remains undetected and those diagnosed with the condition are inadequately treated. To bridge this major gap in coronary prevention the FH Australasia Network (Australian Atherosclerosis Society) has developed a consensus model of care (MoC) for FH. The MoC is based on clinical experience, expert opinion, published evidence and consultations with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, and has been developed for use primarily by specialist centres intending starting a clinical service for FH. This MoC aims to provide a standardised, high-quality and cost-effective system of care that is likely to have the highest impact on patient outcomes. The MoC for FH is presented as a series of recommendations and algorithms focusing on the standards required for the detection, diagnosis, assessment and management of FH in adults and children. The process involved in cascade screening and risk notification, the backbone for detecting new cases of FH, is detailed. Guidance on treatment is based on risk stratifying patients, management of non-cholesterol risk factors, safe and effective use of statins, and a rational approach to follow-up of patients. Clinical and laboratory recommendations are given for genetic testing. An integrative system for providing best clinical care is described. This MoC for FH is not prescriptive and needs to be complemented by good clinical judgment and adjusted for local needs and resources. After initial implementation, the MoC will require critical evaluation, development and appropriate modification. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Royal College experience and plans for the maintenance of certification program.

PubMed

Campbell, Craig M; Parboosingh, John

2013-01-01

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, in 2001, implemented a mandatory maintenance of certification (MOC) program that is required for fellows to maintain membership and fellowship. Participation in the MOC program is one of the recognized pathways approved by provincial medical regulatory authorities in Canada by which specialists can demonstrate their commitment to continued competent performance in practice. This article traces the historical beginnings of the MOC program, highlighting the educational foundation and scientific evidence that influenced its philosophy, goals, and strategic priorities. The MOC program has evolved into a complex system of continuing professional development to facilitate and enable a "cultural shift'' in how we conceptualize and support the continuing professional development (CPD) of specialists. The MOC program is an educational strategy that supports a learning culture where specialists are able to design, implement and document their accomplishments from multiple learning activities to build evidence-informed practices. In the future, the MOC Program must evolve from assisting fellows to use effective educational resources "for credit" to enable fellows, leveraging a competency-based CPD model, to demonstrate their capacity to continuously improve practice. This will require innovative methods to capture learning and practice improvements in real time, integrate learning during the delivery of health care, expand automation of reporting strategies, and facilitate new sociocultural methods of emergent learning and practice change. Collectively, these directions will require a research agenda that will generate evidence for how transformative cultural change in continuing professional education of the profession can be realized. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars:'Weeping' Layer in Gorgonum Chaos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

This image, acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in May 2000 shows numerous examples of martian gullies that all start--or head--in a specific layer roughly a hundred meters beneath the surface of Mars. These features are located on the south-facing wall of a trough in the Gorgonum Chaos region, an area found to have many examples of gullies proposed to have formed by seepage and runoff of liquid water in recent martian times.

The layer from which the gullies emanate has recessed backward to form an overhang beneath a harder layer of rock. The larger gullies have formed an alcove--an area above the overhang from which debris has collapsed to leave a dark-toned scar. Below the layer of seepage is found a dark, narrow channel that runs down the slope to an apron of debris. The small, bright, parallel features at the base of the cliff at the center-right of the picture is a series of large windblown ripples.

Although the dark tone of the alcoves and channels in this image is not likely to be the result of wet ground (the contrast in this image has been enhanced), it does suggest that water has seeped out of the ground and moved down the slope quite recently. Sharp contrasts between dark and light areas are hard to maintain on Mars for very long periods of time because dust tends to coat surfaces and reduce brightness differences. To keep dust from settling on a surface, it has to have undergone some process of erosion (wind, landslides, water runoff) relatively recently. There is no way to know how recent this activity was, but educated guesses center between a few to tens of years, and it is entirely possible that the area shown in this image has water seeping out of the ground today.

Centered near 37.9oS, 170.2oW, sunlight illuminates the MOC image from the upper left, north is toward the upper right. The context view above is from the Viking 1 orbiter and was acquired in 1977. The Viking picture is illuminated from the upper right; north is up. The small white box in the context frame shows the location of the high resolution MOC view.

Why the New Gully Deposits are Not Dry Dust Slope Streaks

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-06

The light-toned deposits that formed in two gully sites on Mars during the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) mission in the 1999 to 2005 period are considered to be the result of sediment transport by a fluid with the physical properties of liquid water. The young, light-toned gully deposits were found in a crater in Terra Sirenum (see PIA09027 or MOC2-1618) and in a crater east of the Hellas basin in the Centauri Montes region (see PIA09028 or MOC2-1619). In their study of how the light-toned gully deposits may have formed, the MOC team considered their resemblance to light- and dark-toned slope streaks found elsewhere on Mars. Slope streaks are most commonly believed to have formed by downslope movement of extremely dry, very fine-grained dust, through processes thought by some to be analogous to terrestrial snow avalanche formation. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09030

Development and implementation of Models of Care for musculoskeletal conditions in middle-income and low-income Asian countries.

PubMed

Lim, Keith K; Chan, Madelynn; Navarra, Sandra; Haq, Syed Atiqul; Lau, Chak Sing

2016-06-01

This chapter discusses the challenges faced in the development and implementation of musculoskeletal (MSK) Models of Care (MoCs) in middle-income and low-income countries in Asia and outlines the components of an effective MoC for MSK conditions. Case studies of four such countries (The Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Myanmar) are presented, and their unique implementation issues are discussed. The success experienced in one high-income country (Singapore) is also described as a comparison. The Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) project and the role of Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR), a professional body supporting MoC initiatives in this region, are also discussed. The experience and lessons learned from these case studies can provide useful information to guide the implementation of future MSK MoC initiatives in other middle-income and low-income countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple topological electronic phases in superconductor MoC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Angus; Smith, Adam D.; Schwinn, Madison; Lu, Qiangsheng; Chang, Tay-Rong; Xie, Weiwei; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Bian, Guang

2018-05-01

The search for a superconductor with non-s -wave pairing is important not only for understanding unconventional mechanisms of superconductivity but also for finding new types of quasiparticles such as Majorana bound states. Materials with both topological band structure and superconductivity are promising candidates as p +i p superconducting states can be generated through pairing the spin-polarized topological surface states. In this work, the electronic and phonon properties of the superconductor molybdenum carbide (MoC) are studied with first-principles methods. Our calculations show that nontrivial band topology and s -wave Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductivity coexist in two structural phases of MoC, namely the cubic α and hexagonal γ phases. The α phase is a strong topological insulator and the γ phase is a topological nodal-line semimetal with drumhead surface states. In addition, hole doping can stabilize the crystal structure of the α phase and elevate the transition temperature in the γ phase. Therefore, MoC in different structural forms can be a practical material platform for studying topological superconductivity.

Evaluating models of healthcare delivery using the Model of Care Evaluation Tool (MCET).

PubMed

Hudspeth, Randall S; Vogt, Marjorie; Wysocki, Ken; Pittman, Oralea; Smith, Susan; Cooke, Cindy; Dello Stritto, Rita; Hoyt, Karen Sue; Merritt, T Jeanne

2016-08-01

Our aim was to provide the outcome of a structured Model of Care (MoC) Evaluation Tool (MCET), developed by an FAANP Best-practices Workgroup, that can be used to guide the evaluation of existing MoCs being considered for use in clinical practice. Multiple MoCs are available, but deciding which model of health care delivery to use can be confusing. This five-component tool provides a structured assessment approach to model selection and has universal application. A literature review using CINAHL, PubMed, Ovid, and EBSCO was conducted. The MCET evaluation process includes five sequential components with a feedback loop from component 5 back to component 3 for reevaluation of any refinements. The components are as follows: (1) Background, (2) Selection of an MoC, (3) Implementation, (4) Evaluation, and (5) Sustainability and Future Refinement. This practical resource considers an evidence-based approach to use in determining the best model to implement based on need, stakeholder considerations, and feasibility. ©2015 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Development and characterization of (Ti, Mo)C carbides reinforced Fe-based surface composite coating produced by laser cladding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xinhong; Zhang, Min; Qu, Shiyao

2010-09-01

In this study, in situ multiple carbides reinforced Fe-based surface composite coatings were fabricated successfully by laser cladding a precursor mixture of graphite, ferrotitanium (Fe-Ti) and ferromolybdenum (Fe-Mo) powders. The results showed that (Ti, Mo)C particles with flower-like and cuboidal shapes were in situ formed during the solidification and most shapes of (Ti, Mo)C particles were diversiform according to different contents of Fe-Mo powder in the Fe-Ti-Mo-C system. The growth morphology of the reinforcing (Ti, Mo)C carbide has typically faceted features, indicating that the lateral growth mechanism is still predominant growth mode under rapid solidification conditions. Increasing the amount of Fe-Mo in the reactants led to a decrease of carbide size and an increase of volume fraction of carbides. The coatings had good cracking resistance when the amounts of Fe-Mo were controlled within a range of 15 wt%.

History of Martian Surface Changes Observed by Mars Global Surveyor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geissler, P. E.; Enga, M.; Mukherjee, P.

2009-12-01

The changing appearance of Mars has fascinated observers for centuries, yet much is still unknown about the winds and sediments that alter the albedo of vast areas of the planet’s surface. A variety of aeolian processes contribute to the deposition and erosion of dust on Mars, with distinct causes and timescales that vary with season and location. Over decadal timescales, these processes act to alter the planetary albedo distribution enough to significantly impact the climate and global circulation of winds on Mars (Geissler, JGR 110, E02001, 2005; Fenton et al., Nature 446, 646, 2007). We are documenting the extent and frequency of Martian surface changes by analyzing the rich record of observations made by the Mars Global Surveyor mission. We are currently completing a time-series of global mosaics produced from wide angle MOC images showing in detail how the planet’s surface changed in appearance between early 1999 and late 2006, a period of 4 Martian years. The MOC mosaics reveal a surprising range of temporal behavior among variable features in different regions of Mars. Episodic dust deposition followed by episodic clearing can be seen in Syrtis Major. Gradual erosion by persistent seasonal winds can be seen in many equatorial areas such as southern Alcyonius. Gradual erosion by dust-devils is prevalent at higher latitudes and notably in Nilosyrtis, where the albedo boundary dividing the high albedo tropics from the dark terrain to the north is slowly advancing southwards onto brighter terrain. Solis Planum, a high plateau south of the Valles Marineris, changes on a nearly continuous basis. Many of the moving albedo boundaries (such as those at Oxia Palus and the Southern tropical dark band) display high albedo margins that may be aprons of dust swept away by the advancing erosion. The data also show clear evidence for dust deposition onto already dust-covered regions, a phenomenon that was suspected but not demonstrated by Geissler (2005). The final MOC images show significant brightening in Vastitas Borealis, continuing a trend that may have begun in the 1980s.

Multitemporal observations of identical active dust devils on Mars with the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, D.; Zanetti, M.; Neukum, G.

2011-09-01

Active dust devils were observed in Syria Planum in Mars Observer Camera - Wide Angle (MOC-WA) and High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) imagery acquired on the same day with a time delay of ˜26 min. The unique operating technique of the HRSC allowed the measurement of the traverse velocities and directions of motion. Large dust devils observed in the HRSC image could be retraced to their counterparts in the earlier acquired MOC-WA image. Minimum lifetimes of three large (avg. ˜700 m in diameter) dust devils are ˜26 min, as inferred from retracing. For one of these large dust devil (˜820 m in diameter) it was possible to calculate a minimum lifetime of ˜74 min based on the measured horizontal speed and the length of its associated dust devil track. The comparison of our minimum lifetimes with previous published results of minimum and average lifetimes of small (˜19 m in diameter, avg. min. lifetime of ˜2.83 min) and medium (˜185 m in diameter, avg. min. lifetime of ˜13 min) dust devils imply that larger dust devils on Mars are active for much longer periods of time than smaller ones, as it is the case for terrestrial dust devils. Knowledge of martian dust devil lifetimes is an important parameter for the calculation of dust lifting rates. Estimates of the contribution of large dust devils (>300-1000 m in diameter) indicate that they may contribute, at least regionally, to ˜50% of dust entrainment by dust devils into the atmosphere compared to the dust devils <300 m in diameter given that the size-frequency distribution follows a power-law. Although large dust devils occur relatively rarely and the sediment fluxes are probably lower compared to smaller dust devils, their contribution to the background dust opacity by dust devils on Mars could be at least regionally large due to their longer lifetimes and ability of dust lifting into high atmospheric layers.

Competing risk analysis of mortality in prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy.

PubMed

Ruiz-Cerdá, J L; Soto-Poveda, A; Luján-Marco, S; Loras-Monfort, A; Trassierra-Villa, M; Rogel-Bertó, R; Boronat-Tormo, F

To determine the risk of cancer-specific mortality (CSM) versus the competing risk of mortality by other causes (MOC) in patients with localised prostate cancer (LPC) treated with radical prostatectomy (RP). An observational cohort study of 982 patients with LPC treated with RP selected from our department's PC registry database. A competing risk analysis was performed, calculating the probability of CSM in the presence of the competing risk of MOC. Cumulative incidence curves were constructed, and point estimates were performed at 5, 10 and 15 years. The analysis was stratified by age (≤65 vs. >65 years) and risk group: low (Gleason score ≤6 and pT2abc); intermediate (Gleason score of 7 and pT2abc) and high (Gleason score of 8-10 or pT3ab). With a median follow-up of 60 months, the overall probability of dying from PC was 3.5%, and the probability of dying from other causes was 9%. A competing effect for MOC was observed. The risk of MOC was almost 3 times greater than that of CSM. This effect remained for all risk groups, although its magnitude decreased progressively according to the risk group level. At 10 years, CSM was only 0%, 1% and 2% for the low, intermediate and high-risk groups, respectively, while the likelihood of MOC was 4%, 4% and 10%, respectively. The mortality risk was shown after 10years of follow-up and was higher for other causes not attributable to PC and for patients older than 65years. The benefit of RP might be overestimated, given that the risk of MOC is greater than that of CSM, regardless of the age group and risk group, especially after 10years of follow-up. The only parameter that varied was the magnitude of the CSM/MOC ratio. This information could help in choosing the active treatment for patients with LPC and short life expectancies. Copyright © 2016 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Interference-induced angle-independent acoustical transparency

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

Qi, Lehua; Yu, Gaokun, E-mail: gkyu@ouc.edu.cn; Wang, Ning

2014-12-21

It is revealed that the Fano-like interference leads to the extraordinary acoustic transmission through a slab metamaterial of thickness much smaller than the wavelength, with each unit cell consisting of a Helmholtz resonator and a narrow subwavelength slit. More importantly, both the theoretical analysis and experimental measurement show that the angle-independent acoustical transparency can be realized by grafting a Helmholtz resonator and a quarter-wave resonator to the wall of a narrow subwavelength slit in each unit cell of a slit array. The observed phenomenon results from the interferences between the waves propagating in the slit, those re-radiated by the Helmholtzmore » resonator, and those re-radiated by the quarter-wave resonator. The proposed design may find its applications in designing angle-independent acoustical filters and controlling the phase of the transmitted waves.« less

Crater in Marte Vallis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-566, 6 December 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a streamlined tail-pointing toward the upper right (northeast)--in the lee of a meteor impact crater in Marte Vallis, a large valley and channel complex southeast and east of the Elysium volcanic region. The fluid that went through Marte Vallis, whether water, mud, lava, or otherwise, created this form as it moved from the lower left (southwest) toward the upper right. The crater is located near 19.0oN, 174.9oW. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated from the left.

Polygons on Crater Floor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-357, 11 May 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a pattern of polygons on the floor of a northern plains impact crater. These landforms are common on crater floors at high latitudes on Mars. Similar polygons occur in the arctic and antarctic regions of Earth, where they indicate the presence and freeze-thaw cycling of ground ice. Whether the polygons on Mars also indicate water ice in the ground is uncertain. The image is located in a crater at 64.8oN, 292.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

South Polar Ice Cap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-337, 21 April 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the 'swiss cheese' pattern of frozen carbon dioxide on the south polar residual cap. Observation of these materials over two Mars years has revealed that the scarps that bound the mesas and small buttes are retreating-the carbon dioxide ice is subliming away-at a rate of about 3 meters (3 yards) per Mars year in some places. The picture covers an area about 900 m (about 900 yards) wide near 87.1oS, 93.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

South Polar Layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-516, 17 October 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroded, stair-stepped layers in the south polar region of Mars. These layers have been considered, for the past three decades, to consist of a mixture of dust and ice. The Mars Polar Lander (MPL) mission was designed to test this hypothesis. However, sadly, MPL was lost during descent in December 1999. This exposure of south polar layered material is located near 86.3oS, 187.7oW. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Omnidirectional narrow optical filters for circularly polarized light in a nanocomposite structurally chiral medium.

PubMed

Avendaño, Carlos G; Palomares, Laura O

2018-04-20

We consider the propagation of electromagnetic waves throughout a nanocomposite structurally chiral medium consisting of metallic nanoballs randomly dispersed in a structurally chiral material whose dielectric properties can be represented by a resonant effective uniaxial tensor. It is found that an omnidirectional narrow pass band and two omnidirectional narrow band gaps are created in the blue optical spectrum for right and left circularly polarized light, as well as narrow reflection bands for right circularly polarized light that can be controlled by varying the light incidence angle and the filling fraction of metallic inclusions.

Objective speech transmission improvements with a binaural cochlear implant sound-coding strategy inspired by the contralateral medial olivocochlear reflex.

PubMed

Lopez-Poveda, Enrique A; Eustaquio-Martín, Almudena

2018-04-01

It has been recently shown that cochlear implant users could enjoy better speech reception in noise and enhanced spatial unmasking with binaural audio processing inspired by the inhibitory effects of the contralateral medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex on compression [Lopez-Poveda, Eustaquio-Martin, Stohl, Wolford, Schatzer, and Wilson (2016). Ear Hear. 37, e138-e148]. The perceptual evidence supporting those benefits, however, is limited to a few target-interferer spatial configurations and to a particular implementation of contralateral MOC inhibition. Here, the short-term objective intelligibility index is used to (1) objectively demonstrate potential benefits over many more spatial configurations, and (2) investigate if the predicted benefits may be enhanced by using more realistic MOC implementations. Results corroborate the advantages and drawbacks of MOC processing indicated by the previously published perceptual tests. The results also suggest that the benefits may be enhanced and the drawbacks overcome by using longer time constants for the activation and deactivation of inhibition and, to a lesser extent, by using a comparatively greater inhibition in the lower than in the higher frequency channels. Compared to using two functionally independent processors, the better MOC processor improved the signal-to-noise ratio in the two ears between 1 and 6 decibels by enhancing head-shadow effects, and was advantageous for all tested target-interferer spatial configurations.

mTOR and MEK1/2 inhibition differentially modulate tumor growth and the immune microenvironment in syngeneic models of oral cavity cancer

PubMed Central

Cash, Harrison; Shah, Sujay; Moore, Ellen; Caruso, Andria; Uppaluri, Ravindra; Van Waes, Carter; Allen, Clint

2015-01-01

We investigated the effects of mTOR and MEK1/2 inhibition on tumor growth and the tumor microenvironment in immunogenic and poorly immunogenic models of murine oral cancer. In vitro, rapamycin and PD901 inhibited signaling through expected downstream targets, but only PD901 reduced viability and altered function of MOC cells. Following transplantation of MOC cells into immune-competent mice, effects on both cancer and infiltrating immune cells were characterized following rapamycin and/or PD901 treatment for 21 days. In vivo, both rapamycin and PD901 inhibition reduced primary growth of established MOC tumors on treatment. Following withdrawal of PD901, rapid rebound of tumor growth limited survival, whereas durable tumor control was observed following rapamycin treatment in immunogenic MOC1 tumors despite more robust inhibition of oncogenic signaling by PD901. Characterization of the immune microenvironment revealed diminished infiltration and activation of antigen-specific CD8+ T-cells and other immune cells following PD901 but not rapamycin in immunogenic tumors. Subsequent in vitro T-cell assays validated robust inhibition of T-cell expansion and activation following MEK inhibition compared to mTOR inhibition. CD8 cell depletion abrogated rapamycin-induced primary tumor growth inhibition in MOC1 mice. These data have critical implications in the design of combination targeted and immune therapies in oral cancer. PMID:26506415

Cancer immunogenomic approach to neoantigen discovery in a checkpoint blockade responsive murine model of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Zolkind, Paul; Przybylski, Dariusz; Marjanovic, Nemanja; Nguyen, Lan; Lin, Tianxiang; Johanns, Tanner; Alexandrov, Anton; Zhou, Liye; Allen, Clint T.; Miceli, Alexander P.; Schreiber, Robert D.; Artyomov, Maxim; Dunn, Gavin P.; Uppaluri, Ravindra

2018-01-01

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are an ideal immunotherapy target due to their high mutation burden and frequent infiltration with lymphocytes. Preclinical models to investigate targeted and combination therapies as well as defining biomarkers to guide treatment represent an important need in the field. Immunogenomics approaches have illuminated the role of mutation-derived tumor neoantigens as potential biomarkers of response to checkpoint blockade as well as representing therapeutic vaccines. Here, we aimed to define a platform for checkpoint and other immunotherapy studies using syngeneic HNSCC cell line models (MOC2 and MOC22), and evaluated the association between mutation burden, predicted neoantigen landscape, infiltrating T cell populations and responsiveness of tumors to anti-PD1 therapy. We defined dramatic hematopoietic cell transcriptomic alterations in the MOC22 anti-PD1 responsive model in both tumor and draining lymph nodes. Using a cancer immunogenomics pipeline and validation with ELISPOT and tetramer analysis, we identified the H-2Kb-restricted ICAM1P315L (mICAM1) as a neoantigen in MOC22. Finally, we demonstrated that mICAM1 vaccination was able to protect against MOC22 tumor development defining mICAM1 as a bona fide neoantigen. Together these data define a pre-clinical HNSCC model system that provides a foundation for future investigations into combination and novel therapeutics. PMID:29423108

Recognized focused practice: Does sub-specialty designation offer value to the neurosurgeon?

PubMed

Babu, Maya A; Liau, Linda M; Meyer, Fredric B

2017-01-01

Vehicles for life-long assessment such as Maintenance of Certification tend to focus on generalist neurosurgical knowledge. However, as neurosurgeons advance in their careers, they tend to narrow their practice and increase volumes in certain specific types of operations. Failing to test the type of procedures most relevant to the practitioner is a lost opportunity to improve the knowledge and practice of the individual neurosurgeon. In this study, we assess the neurosurgical community's appetite for designations of board-recognized Recognized Focused Practice (RFP). We administered a validated, online, confidential survey to 4,899 neurosurgeons (2,435 American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) Diplomates participating in MOC, 1,440 Diplomates certified prior to 1999 (grandfathered), and 1,024 retired Diplomates). We received 1,449 responses overall (30% response rate). A plurality of respondents were in practice 11-15 years (18.5%), in private practice (40%) and participate in MOC (61%). 49% of respondents felt that a RFP designation would not be helpful. For the 30% who felt that RFP would be helpful, 61.3% felt that it would support recognition by their hospital or practice, it would motivate them to stay current on medical knowledge (53.4%), or it would help attract patients (46.4%;). The most popular suggestions for RFP were Spine (56.2%), Cerebrovascular (62.9%), Pediatrics (64.1%), and Functional/Stereotactic (52%). A plurality of neurosurgeons (35.7%) felt that RFP should recognize neurosurgeons with accredited and non-accredited fellowship experience and sub-specialty experience. Ultimately, Recognized Focused Practice may provide value to individual neurosurgeons, but the neurosurgical community shows tepid interest for pursuing this designation.

Recognized focused practice: Does sub-specialty designation offer value to the neurosurgeon?

PubMed Central

Liau, Linda M.; Meyer, Fredric B.

2017-01-01

Vehicles for life-long assessment such as Maintenance of Certification tend to focus on generalist neurosurgical knowledge. However, as neurosurgeons advance in their careers, they tend to narrow their practice and increase volumes in certain specific types of operations. Failing to test the type of procedures most relevant to the practitioner is a lost opportunity to improve the knowledge and practice of the individual neurosurgeon. In this study, we assess the neurosurgical community’s appetite for designations of board-recognized Recognized Focused Practice (RFP). We administered a validated, online, confidential survey to 4,899 neurosurgeons (2,435 American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) Diplomates participating in MOC, 1,440 Diplomates certified prior to 1999 (grandfathered), and 1,024 retired Diplomates). We received 1,449 responses overall (30% response rate). A plurality of respondents were in practice 11–15 years (18.5%), in private practice (40%) and participate in MOC (61%). 49% of respondents felt that a RFP designation would not be helpful. For the 30% who felt that RFP would be helpful, 61.3% felt that it would support recognition by their hospital or practice, it would motivate them to stay current on medical knowledge (53.4%), or it would help attract patients (46.4%;). The most popular suggestions for RFP were Spine (56.2%), Cerebrovascular (62.9%), Pediatrics (64.1%), and Functional/Stereotactic (52%). A plurality of neurosurgeons (35.7%) felt that RFP should recognize neurosurgeons with accredited and non-accredited fellowship experience and sub-specialty experience. Ultimately, Recognized Focused Practice may provide value to individual neurosurgeons, but the neurosurgical community shows tepid interest for pursuing this designation. PMID:29240838

Characterization of MER Landing Sites Using MOC and MOLA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, F. S.; Parker, T. J.

2002-01-01

The MOC images for MER are compared with MOLA data to characterize and locate each image. MOLA profiles show that Hematite remains benign, Melas and Isidis are rougher, and Athabasca and Gusev have regions of significant small scale topography. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Mars Global Surveyor MOC Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Images of several dust devils were captured by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during its global geodesy campaign. The images shown were taken two days apart, May 13, 1999 and May 15, 1999. Dust devils are columnar vortices of wind that move across the landscape and pick up dust. They look like mini tornadoes.

Western Candor Chasma - Layers exposed near the middle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

One of the most striking discoveries of the Mars Global Surveyor mission has been the identification of thousands of meters/feet of layers within the wall rock of the enormous martian canyon system, Valles Marineris.

Valles Marineris was first observed in 1972 by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, from which the troughs get their name: Valles--valleys, Marineris--Mariner.

Some hints of layering in both the canyon walls and within some deposits on the canyon floors were seen in Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images from the 1970s. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board Mars Global Surveyor has been examining these layers at much higher resolution than was available previously.

MOC images led to the realization that there are layers in the walls that go down to great depths. An example of the wall rock layers can be seen in MOC image 8403, shown above (C).

MOC images also reveal amazing layered outcrops on the floors of some of the Valles Marineris canyons. Particularly noteworthy is MOC image 23304 (D, above), which shows extensive, horizontally-bedded layers exposed in buttes and mesas on the floor of western Candor Chasma. These layered rocks might be the same material as is exposed in the chasm walls (as in 8403--C, above), or they might be rocks that formed by deposition (from water, wind, and/or volcanism) long after Candor Chasma opened up.

In addition to layered materials in the walls and on the floors of the Valles Marineris system, MOC images are helping to refine our classification of geologic features that occur within the canyons. For example, MOC image 25205 (E, above), shows the southern tip of a massive, tongue-shaped massif (a mountainous ridge) that was previously identified as a layered deposit. However, this MOC image does not show layering. The material has been sculpted by wind and mass-wasting--downslope movement of debris--but no obvious layers were exposed by these processes.

Valles Marineris a fascinating region on Mars that holds much potential to reveal information about the early history and evolution of the red planet. The MOC Science Team is continuing to examine the wealth of new data and planning for new Valles Marineris targets once the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission commences in March 1999.

Layers exposed near the middle of western Candor Chasma. MOC image 23304 subframe shown at 10.7 meters (35 feet) per pixel. Two layered buttes (upper right and lower right) and a layered or stepped mesa (center right) are shown. The image covers an area approximately 5.5 by 5.5 kilometers (3.4 x 3.4 miles). North is approximately up, illumination is from the lower right. Image 23304 was obtained during Mars Global Surveyor's 233rd orbit at 9:23 a.m. (PDT) on April 11, 1998.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Candor Chasma - Massive (non-layered) material expos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

One of the most striking discoveries of the Mars Global Surveyor mission has been the identification of thousands of meters/feet of layers within the wall rock of the enormous martian canyon system, Valles Marineris.

Valles Marineris was first observed in 1972 by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, from which the troughs get their name: Valles--valleys, Marineris--Mariner.

Some hints of layering in both the canyon walls and within some deposits on the canyon floors were seen in Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images from the 1970s. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board Mars Global Surveyor has been examining these layers at much higher resolution than was available previously.

MOC images led to the realization that there are layers in the walls that go down to great depths. An example of the wall rock layers can be seen in MOC image 8403, shown above (C).

MOC images also reveal amazing layered outcrops on the floors of some of the Valles Marineris canyons. Particularly noteworthy is MOC image 23304 (D, above), which shows extensive, horizontally-bedded layers exposed in buttes and mesas on the floor of western Candor Chasma. These layered rocks might be the same material as is exposed in the chasm walls (as in 8403--C, above), or they might be rocks that formed by deposition (from water, wind, and/or volcanism) long after Candor Chasma opened up.

In addition to layered materials in the walls and on the floors of the Valles Marineris system, MOC images are helping to refine our classification of geologic features that occur within the canyons. For example, MOC image 25205 (E, above), shows the southern tip of a massive, tongue-shaped massif (a mountainous ridge) that was previously identified as a layered deposit. However, this MOC image does not show layering. The material has been sculpted by wind and mass-wasting--downslope movement of debris--but no obvious layers were exposed by these processes.

Valles Marineris a fascinating region on Mars that holds much potential to reveal information about the early history and evolution of the red planet. The MOC Science Team is continuing to examine the wealth of new data and planning for new Valles Marineris targets once the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission commences in March 1999.

This image: Massive (non-layered) material exposed in central Candor Chasma. MOC image 25205 subframe shown at 11.7 meters (38.4 feet) per pixel resolution. Image shows the southern tip of a massive 'interior deposit' that points like a giant tongue from Ophir Chasma (to the north) down into the center of Candor Chasma. The ridged and grooved bright unit is the 'interior deposit'. South of this ridged unit is a low elevation surface mantled by dark dunes and sand. Image covers an area approximately 5.7 by 5.7 kilometers (3.5 x 3.5 miles). North is approximately up, illumination is from the lower right. Image 25205 was obtained during Mars Global Surveyor's 252nd orbit at 2:45 p.m. (PDT) on April 20, 1998.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Tikhonravov's Eyebrows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

1 January 2004 This red wide angle Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows Tikhonravov Crater in central Arabia Terra. The crater is about 386 km (240 mi) in diameter and presents two impact craters at its center that have dark patches of sand in them, giving the impression of pupils in two eyes. North (above) each of these two craters lies a dark-toned patch of surface material, providing the impression of eyebrows. M. K. Tikhonravov was a leading Russian rocket engineer in the 20th Century. The crater named for him, despite its large size, is still partly buried, on its west side, beneath the heavily cratered terrain of Arabia Terra. The center of Tikhonravov is near 13.5oN, 324.2oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Mars Global Digital Dune Database; MC-1

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayward, R.K.; Fenton, L.K.; Tanaka, K.L.; Titus, T.N.; Colaprete, A.; Christensen, P.R.

2010-01-01

The Mars Global Digital Dune Database presents data and describes the methodology used in creating the global database of moderate- to large-size dune fields on Mars. The database is being released in a series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Open-File Reports. The first release (Hayward and others, 2007) included dune fields from 65 degrees N to 65 degrees S (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1158/). The current release encompasses ~ 845,000 km2 of mapped dune fields from 65 degrees N to 90 degrees N latitude. Dune fields between 65 degrees S and 90 degrees S will be released in a future USGS Open-File Report. Although we have attempted to include all dune fields, some have likely been excluded for two reasons: (1) incomplete THEMIS IR (daytime) coverage may have caused us to exclude some moderate- to large-size dune fields or (2) resolution of THEMIS IR coverage (100m/pixel) certainly caused us to exclude smaller dune fields. The smallest dune fields in the database are ~ 1 km2 in area. While the moderate to large dune fields are likely to constitute the largest compilation of sediment on the planet, smaller stores of sediment of dunes are likely to be found elsewhere via higher resolution data. Thus, it should be noted that our database excludes all small dune fields and some moderate to large dune fields as well. Therefore, the absence of mapped dune fields does not mean that such dune fields do not exist and is not intended to imply a lack of saltating sand in other areas. Where availability and quality of THEMIS visible (VIS), Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle (MOC NA), or Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) images allowed, we classified dunes and included some dune slipface measurements, which were derived from gross dune morphology and represent the prevailing wind direction at the last time of significant dune modification. It was beyond the scope of this report to look at the detail needed to discern subtle dune modification. It was also beyond the scope of this report to measure all slipfaces. We attempted to include enough slipface measurements to represent the general circulation (as implied by gross dune morphology) and to give a sense of the complex nature of aeolian activity on Mars. The absence of slipface measurements in a given direction should not be taken as evidence that winds in that direction did not occur. When a dune field was located within a crater, the azimuth from crater centroid to dune field centroid was calculated, as another possible indicator of wind direction. Output from a general circulation model (GCM) is also included. In addition to polygons locating dune fields, the database includes THEMIS visible (VIS) and Mars Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle (MOC NA) images that were used to build the database. The database is presented in a variety of formats. It is presented as an ArcReader project which can be opened using the free ArcReader software. The latest version of ArcReader can be downloaded at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/download.html. The database is also presented in an ArcMap project. The ArcMap project allows fuller use of the data, but requires ESRI ArcMap(Registered) software. A fuller description of the projects can be found in the NP_Dunes_ReadMe file (NP_Dunes_ReadMe folder_ and the NP_Dunes_ReadMe_GIS file (NP_Documentation folder). For users who prefer to create their own projects, the data are available in ESRI shapefile and geodatabase formats, as well as the open Geography Markup Language (GML) format. A printable map of the dunes and craters in the database is available as a Portable Document Format (PDF) document. The map is also included as a JPEG file. (NP_Documentation folder) Documentation files are available in PDF and ASCII (.txt) files. Tables are available in both Excel and ASCII (.txt)

Rocks Exposed on Slope in Aram Chaos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-550, 20 November 2003

This spectacular vista of sedimentary rocks outcropping on a slope in Aram Chaos was acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on 14 November 2003. Dark piles of coarse talus have come down the slopes as these materials continue to erode over time. Note that there are no small meteor impact craters in this image, indicating that erosion of these outcrops has been recent, if not on-going. This area is located near 2.8oS, 20.5oW. The 200 meter scale bar is about 656 feet across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower right.

Cycloidal Dust Devil Track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-382, 5 June 2003

The spiraling feature near the center of this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image is known as a cycloidal marking. Patterns like this can also occur on Earth. On Mars, the cycloidalpattern--and all of the other dark streaks in this picture--are thought to have been formed by passing dust devils. On Earth, cycloidal markings have been observed to result from some tornadoes. The pattern is created when more than one vortex (spinning column of air) is traveling, and spinning, together. This picture is near 62.9oS, 234.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Defrosting Gully Aprons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-398, 21 June 2003

This is a late winter Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture of frost-covered gullies in a crater in the martian southern hemisphere. The dark spots are areas where the frost has begun to change or sublime away. The gullies are formed by a combination of mass movement (landsliding) and possibly fluid flow through the channels--whether the fluid was liquid water or some other material is unknown. Today, the surfaces are dry and subjected to the seasonal coming-and-going of carbon dioxide frost. The image is located near 71.0oS, 95.5oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Streamlined Island

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-514, 15 October 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a streamlined island in Marte Vallis, a large outflow channel system that crosses the 180oW meridian between the Elysium and Amazonis regions of Mars. The flow patterns on the floor of Marte Vallis might be the remains of lava flows or mud flows. Marte is the Spanish word for Mars. Most of the largest valleys on the red planet are named for 'Mars' in various languages. This island is located near 21.8oN, 175.3oW. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.

South Polar 'Poodle'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-422, 15 July 2003

Have you ever stared up at the clouds in the sky and seen the shapes of animals, people, or objects? Sometimes when the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team is looking at newly-returned pictures from Mars, the same thing happens. This is a picture of pits and scarps in the frozen south polar carbon dioxide ice cap. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper right. At the bottom of the picture is a feature that resembles a long, thin poodle; its head faces to the left, the tail to the right. This picture is located near 86.9oS, 55.8oW.

[Reliability of static posturography in elderly persons].

PubMed

Bauer, C M; Gröger, I; Rupprecht, R; Tibesku, C O; Gassmann, K G

2010-08-01

Static posturography is used to quantify body sway. It is used to assess the balance of elderly persons who are prone to falls. There is still no general opinion concerning the reliability of force platform measurements. The aim of this study was to test the reliability of force platform parameters when measuring elderly persons. The reliability of 11 force platform parameters was tested measuring 30 elderly persons. The following parameters were calculated: mean speed of center of pressure displacement in mm/s, length of sway in mm, sway area in mm(2), amplitudes of center of pressure movement, the axis of oscillation in degrees and the person's angles of inclination in degrees. Three measurements were taken on the same day, with a resting period of 2 min. Four different test conditions were used: normal standing and narrow stand with eyes open and eyes closed, respectively. Reliability was determined by using intraclass correlation coefficients. Six parameters had excellent reliability with a correlation coefficient of >0.9: mean speed of center of pressure movement during narrow stand, area of sway during narrow stand, length of sway during normal and narrow stand, and the angle of inclination in the sagittal plane during normal stand and narrow stand. The condition "narrow stand eyes closed" proved to be the most reliable test position. Six parameters proved to have excellent reliability and are recommended to be used in further investigations. Narrow stand with eyes closed should be used as the test position. The tested protocol proved to be reliable. Whether these parameters can be used to predict falls in elderly persons remains to be investigated.

Hydrovolcanic Landforms in Acidalia and Cydonia: Pan-Spectral Analysis with MGS MOC, MOLA, and TES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrand, W. H.; Gaddis, L. R.; Blundell, S.

2002-01-01

Landforms resembling tuyas and moberg hills and ridges in Acidalia and Cydonia are examined using MGS MOC, MOLA, and TES data. Using multiple datasets provides additional constraints on the question of whether these landforms are hydrovolcanic in origin. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Merge of Five Previous Catalogues Into the Ground Truth Catalogue and Registration Based on MOLA Data with THEMIS-DIR, MDIM and MOC Data-Sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salamuniccar, G.; Loncaric, S.

2008-03-01

The Catalogue from our previous work was merged with the date of Barlow, Rodionova, Boyce, and Kuzmin. The resulting ground truth catalogue with 57,633 craters was registered, using MOLA data, with THEMIS-DIR, MDIM, and MOC data-sets.

Genome-wide significant risk associations for mucinous ovarian carcinoma.

PubMed

Kelemen, Linda E; Lawrenson, Kate; Tyrer, Jonathan; Li, Qiyuan; Lee, Janet M; Seo, Ji-Heui; Phelan, Catherine M; Beesley, Jonathan; Chen, Xiaoqing; Spindler, Tassja J; Aben, Katja K H; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Antonenkova, Natalia

2015-08-01

Genome-wide association studies have identified several risk associations for ovarian carcinomas but not for mucinous ovarian carcinomas (MOCs). Our analysis of 1,644 MOC cases and 21,693 controls with imputation identified 3 new risk associations: rs752590 at 2q13 (P = 3.3 × 10(-8)), rs711830 at 2q31.1 (P = 7.5 × 10(-12)) and rs688187 at 19q13.2 (P = 6.8 × 10(-13)). We identified significant expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) associations for HOXD9 at 2q31.1 in ovarian (P = 4.95 × 10(-4), false discovery rate (FDR) = 0.003) and colorectal (P = 0.01, FDR = 0.09) tumors and for PAX8 at 2q13 in colorectal tumors (P = 0.03, FDR = 0.09). Chromosome conformation capture analysis identified interactions between the HOXD9 promoter and risk-associated SNPs at 2q31.1. Overexpressing HOXD9 in MOC cells augmented the neoplastic phenotype. These findings provide the first evidence for MOC susceptibility variants and insights into the underlying biology of the disease.

Use of eHealth technologies to enable the implementation of musculoskeletal Models of Care: Evidence and practice.

PubMed

Slater, Helen; Dear, Blake F; Merolli, Mark A; Li, Linda C; Briggs, Andrew M

2016-06-01

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the second leading cause of morbidity-related burden of disease globally. EHealth is a potentially critical factor that enables the implementation of accessible, sustainable and more integrated MSK models of care (MoCs). MoCs serve as a vehicle to drive evidence into policy and practice through changes at a health system, clinician and patient level. The use of eHealth to implement MoCs is intuitive, given the capacity to scale technologies to deliver system and economic efficiencies, to contribute to sustainability, to adapt to low-resource settings and to mitigate access and care disparities. We follow a practice-oriented approach to describing the 'what' and 'how' to harness eHealth in the implementation of MSK MoCs. We focus on the practical application of eHealth technologies across care settings to those MSK conditions contributing most substantially to the burden of disease, including osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis, skeletal fragility-associated conditions and persistent MSK pain. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Maintenance of Certification: How Performance in Practice Changes Improve Tobacco Cessation in Addiction Psychiatrists’ Practice

PubMed Central

Ford, James H.; Oliver, Karen A.; Giles, Miriam; Cates-Wessel, Kathryn; Krahn, Dean; Levin, Frances R.

2017-01-01

Background and Objectives In 2000, the American Board of Medical Specialties implemented the Maintenance of Certification (MOC), a structured process to help physicians identify and implement a quality improvement project to improve patient care. This study reports on findings from an MOC Performance in Practice (PIP) module designed and evaluated by addiction psychiatrists who are members of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP). Method A 3-phase process was utilized to recruit AAAP members to participate in the study. The current study utilized data from 154 self-selected AAAP members who evaluated the effectiveness of the MOC Tobacco Cessation PIP. Results Of the physicians participating, 76% (n 120) completed the Tobacco PIP. A paired t-test analysis revealed that reported changes in clinical measure documentation were significant across all six measures. Targeted improvement efforts focused on a single clinical measure. Results found that simple change projects designed to improve clinical practice led to substantial changes in self-reported chart documentation for the selected measure. Conclusions The current findings suggest that addiction psychiatrists can leverage the MOC process to improve clinical care. PMID:27973746

Double hump sign in indentation gonioscopy is correlated with presence of plateau iris configuration regardless of patent iridotomy.

PubMed

Kiuchi, Yoshiaki; Kanamoto, Takashi; Nakamura, Takao

2009-02-01

A plateau iris is one of the clinical forms of angle closure glaucoma. In patients with a patent iridotomy, the double hump sign detected during indentation gonioscopy has been reported to indicate the existence of a plateau iris configuration. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the double hump sign is correlated with the presence of the plateau iris syndrome regardless of the patency of the iridotomy. Five women and 3 men without a patent iridotomy presented with narrow angles on gonioscopy and a double hump sign on indentation gonioscopy. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) imaging was performed to determine the etiology of the narrow angle and double hump sign, and to determine the appropriate treatment to prevent the progression of visual field damage. Ten patients with narrow angles and without a double hump sign were also examined by UBM to serve as a control group. All 8 patients who showed double hump sign had a short iris root, which was inserted anterior to the ciliary face, a typical anatomic appearance of a plateau iris. On the other hand, only 1 eye of 10 eyes in control group appeared to have a plateau iris. A double hump sign observed on indentation gonioscopy is strongly correlated with the presence of a plateau iris, and therefore a useful indicator of a plateau iris configuration regardless of the patency of a laser iridotomy. Thus, a plateau iris configuration can be detected without using a UBM in many cases.

Observational Implications of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow Jet Simulations and Numerical Light Curve Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Eerten, Hendrik J.; MacFadyen, Andrew I.

2012-06-01

We discuss jet dynamics for narrow and wide gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow jets and the observational implications of numerical simulations of relativistic jets in two dimensions. We confirm earlier numerical results that sideways expansion of relativistic jets during the bulk of the afterglow emission phase is logarithmic in time and find that this also applies to narrow jets with half opening angle of 0.05 rad. As a result, afterglow jets remain highly nonspherical until after they have become nonrelativistic. Although sideways expansion steepens the afterglow light curve after the jet break, the jet edges becoming visible dominates the jet break, which means that the jet break is sensitive to the observer angle even for narrow jets. Failure to take the observer angle into account can lead to an overestimation of the jet energy by up to a factor of four. This weakens the challenge posed to the magneter energy limit by extreme events such as GRB090926A. Late-time radio calorimetry based on a spherical nonrelativistic outflow model remains relevant when the observer is approximately on-axis and where differences of a few in flux level between the model and the simulation are acceptable. However, this does not imply sphericity of the outflow and therefore does not translate to high observer angles relevant to orphan afterglows. For more accurate calorimetry and in order to model significant late-time features such as the rise of the counterjet, detailed jet simulations remain indispensable.

Mechanisms of Interannual Variations of the Meridional Overturning Circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cabanes, Cecile; Lee, Tong; Fu, Lee-Lueng

2008-01-01

The authors investigate the nature of the interannual variability of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the North Atlantic Ocean using an Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) assimilation product for the period of 1993-2003. The time series of the first empirical orthogonal function of the MOC is found to be correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, while the associated circulation anomalies correspond to cells extending over the full ocean depth. Model sensitivity experiments suggest that the wind is responsible for most of this interannual variability, at least south of 40(deg)N. A dynamical decomposition of the meridional streamfunction allows a further look into the mechanisms. In particular, the contributions associated with 1) the Ekman flow and its depth-independent compensation, 2) the vertical shear flow, and 3) the barotropic gyre flowing over zonally varying topography are examined. Ekman processes are found to dominate the shorter time scales (1.5-3 yr), while for longer time scales (3-10 yr) the MOC variations associated with vertical shear flow are of greater importance. The latter is primarily caused by heaving of the pycnocline in the western subtropics associated with the stronger wind forcing. Finally, how these changes in the MOC affect the meridional heat transport (MHT) is examined. It is found that overall, Ekman processes explain a larger part of interannual variability (3-10 yr) for MHT (57%) than for the MOC (33%).

Maintenance of Certification: Perceptions and Attitudes of Neurosurgeons.

PubMed

Babu, Maya A; Liau, Linda M; Connolly, E Sander; Meyer, Fredric B

2018-02-09

Assuring clinical competence throughout the career of a neurosurgeon is of paramount importance for patient safety. We present the first comprehensive survey of all neurosurgeons board certified through the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) to evaluate perceptions of Maintenance of Certification (MOC). We administered a validated, online, confidential survey to 4899 neurosurgeons (2435 ABNS diplomates participating in MOC, 1440 diplomates certified prior to 1999 [time-unlimited certificates], and 1024 retired diplomates). We received 1449 responses overall (30% response rate). Our study found that most respondents believe that neurosurgeons should be required to participate in continuing professional improvement following initial board certification (75%). Most believe that specialty boards, working in conjunction with specialty societies, should require diplomates to participate in programs meant to promote continuous professional development (73%). The majority of respondents (76%) believed that self-assessment tests constituted a meaningful professional development activity, in addition to periodic case log reviews (33%) or quality improvement projects (32.6%). A plurality of respondents (44%) do not feel that the MOC process as currently structured provides them with value. There were no differences between those who were "grandfathered" and those who actively participate in MOC and no differences between those in private practice versus those in academics. The ABNS is cognizant of diplomate concerns and is actively developing new MOC paradigms to ensure that the process achieves both the goals of meeting the public interest and assuring that the quality of American neurosurgery remains exemplary. Copyright © 2018 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

MOC's Highest Resolution View of Mars Pathfinder Landing Site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] (A) Mars Pathfinder site, left: April 1998; right: January 2000.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] (B) top: April 1998; bottom: January 2000.

Can Mars Global Surveyor's 1.5 meter (5 ft) per pixel camera be used to find any evidence as to the fate of the Mars Polar Lander that was lost on December 3, 1999? One way to find out is to look for one of the other Mars landers and determine what, if anything, can be seen. There have been three successful Mars lander missions: Viking 1 (July 1976), Viking 2 (September 1976), and Mars Pathfinder (July 1997). Of these, the location of Mars Pathfinder is known the best because there are several distinct landmarks visible in the lander's images that help in locating the spacecraft. The MGS MOC Operations Team at Malin Space Science Systems has been tasked since mid-December 1999 with looking for the lost Polar Lander. Part of this effort has been to test the capabilities of MOC by taking a picture of the landing site of Mars Pathfinder.

An attempt to photograph the Pathfinder site was made once before, in April 1998, by turning the entire MGS spacecraft so that the camera could point at the known location of the Mars Pathfinder lander. Turning the MGS spacecraft like this is not a normal operation--it takes considerable planning, and disrupts the on-going, normal acquisition of science data. It took 3 attempts to succeed, but on April 22, 1998, MOC acquired the picture seen on the left side of Figure A, above. The three near-by major landmarks that were visible to the Pathfinder's cameras are labeled here (North Peak, Big Crater, Twin Peaks). It was known at the time that this image was not adequate to see the Pathfinder lander because the camera was not in focus and had a resolution of only 3.3 meters (11 ft) per pixel. In this and all other images shown here, north is up. All views of the 1998 MOC image are illuminated from the lower right, all views of the 2000 MOC image are illuminated from the lower left.

As part of the Polar Lander search effort, the Mars Pathfinder site was targeted again in December 1999 and January 2000. Like the 1998 attempt, the spacecraft had to be pointed off of its normal, nadir (straight-down) view. Like history repeating itself, it once again took 3 tries before the Pathfinder landing site was hit. The picture on the right side of Figure A, above, shows the new image that was acquired on January 16, 2000. The white box indicates the location shown in Figure B (above, right). The 1000 m scale bar equals 0.62 miles.

Figure B (above) shows a subsection of both the 1998 image (top, labeled SPO-1-25603) and the 2000 image (bottom, labeled m11-2414) projected at a scale of 3 meters (10 ft) per pixel. At this scale, the differences in camera focus and sunlight illumination angle are apparent, with the January 2000 image being both in focus and having better lighting conditions. In addition, the MGS spacecraft took the 2000 image from a lower altitude than in 1998, thus the image has better spatial resolution overall. The 500 m scale bar is equal to about 547 yards. The white box shows the location of images in Figure C, below.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] (C) higher-resolution view; left: April 1998; right: January 2000.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] D) Erroneous, preliminary identification of Mars Pathfinder location in January 2000 image. Subsequent analysis (Figures E & F, below) identified the correct spot.

The third figure (C, above) again shows portions of the April 1998 image (C, left) and January 2000 image (C, right), only this time they have been enlarged to a resolution of 0.75 meters (2.5 ft) per pixel. The intrinsic resolution of the January 2000 image is 1.5 meters (5 ft), so this is a 200% expanded view of the actual M11-02414 image. The circular features in this and the previous images are impact craters in various states of erosion. Some boulders (dark dots) can be seen near the crater in the lower left corner. The texture that runs diagonally across the scene from upper left toward lower right consists of ridges created by the giant floods that washed through the Pathfinder site from Ares and/or Tiu Vallis many hundreds of millions of years ago. These ridges and the troughs between them were also seen by the Pathfinder lander; their crests often covered with boulders and cobbles (which cannot be seen at the resolution of the MOC image). The 100 m scale bar is equal to 109 yards (which can be compared with a 100 yard U.S. football field). The Mars Pathfinder landing site is located near the center of this view.

The fourth picture, Figure D (above), shows a feature that was initially thought to be the Mars Pathfinder lander by MOC investigators. This and the following figures point out just how difficult it is to find a lander on the martian surface using the MGS MOC. Figure D was prepared early in the week following receipt of the new MOC image on January 17, 2000, and for several days it was believed that the lander had been found. As the subsequent two figures will show (E, and F, below), this location appears to be in error. How the features were misidentified is discussed below. Both Figure D and Figure F, showing possible locations of the Pathfinder lander in the MOC image, are enlarged by a factor of three over the intrinsic resolution of that image (that is, to a scale of 0.5 meters or about 1 ft, 7 inch per pixel). The right picture in Figure D shows sight-lines to the large horizon features--Big Crater, Twin Peaks, and North Peak--that were derived by the MOC team by looking at the images taken by the lander in 1997. After placing these lines on the overall image, there appeared to be two features close to the intersection of the sight-lines. Based upon the consistency of the size and shape of the lander as illuminated by sunlight in this image, the northern of the two candidate features (the small 'hump' at the center of both left and right pictures) was considered, at the time, to be the most likely. HOWEVER...

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] (E) Photoclinometry, Topography, and Revised Landing Site Location.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] (F) Mars Pathfinder Landing Site; lander not resolved by MOC.

Later in the week following acquisition of the January 16, 2000, image (and over the following weekend), there was time for additional analysis to determine whether the rounded hump identified earlier in the week (Figure D, above) was, in fact, the Mars Pathfinder lander. A computer program that estimates relative topography in a MOC image from knowledge of the illumination (called 'shape-from-shading' or photoclinometry) was run to determine which parts of the landing site image are depressions, which are hills, and which are flat surfaces. The picture at the left in Figure E (above) shows the photoclinometry results for the area around the Pathfinder lander. The picture at the center of Figure E shows the same photoclinometry results overlain by an inset of a topographic map of the Pathfinder landing site derived by the U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Branch (Flagstaff, Arizona) from photogrammetry (parallax measurements) using images from Pathfinder's own stereo camera. By matching the features seen by MOC with those seen by the Pathfinder (the large arrows are examples of the matching), the location of the lander was refined and is now indicated in the picture on the right side of Figure E. The large, rounded hump previously identified as Pathfinder in Figure D (above), is more likely a large boulder that was seen in Pathfinder's images and named 'Couch' by the Pathfinder science team in 1997.

Figure F is summary of the results of this effort to find Mars Pathfinder: it shows that while the landing site of Mars Pathfinder can be identified, the lander itself cannot be seen. It is too small to be resolved in an image where each pixel acquired by the MOC covers a square of 1.5 meters (5 feet) to a side, given the contrast conditions on Mars and the MOC's ability to discriminate contrast. At this scale, Pathfinder is not much larger than two pixels, and the same is true of the lost Polar Lander.

No evidence has been found in the January 2000 MOC image of the aft portion of Mars Pathfinder's aeroshell or its parachute, either. If the aeroshell is laying on its side, as interpreted from Mars Pathfinder's images, then it would be very difficult to see this from orbit. Because Pathfinder did not image the parachute, it is not known how it may be configured on the surface--it could be wrapped around the aeroshell or a boulder, for example.

This effort to photograph the Mars Pathfinder lander demonstrates that it is extremely difficult to find a lander on the surface of Mars using the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard the MGS spacecraft. This analysis suggests that it is not very likely that the December 1999 Polar Lander will be found by MOC.

Low-frequency variability of the Atlantic MOC in the eddying regime : the intrinsic component.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregorio, S.; Penduff, T.; Barnier, B.; Molines, J.-M.; Le Sommer, J.

2012-04-01

A 327-year 1/4° global ocean/sea-ice simulation has been produced by the DRAKKAR ocean modeling consortium. This simulation is forced by a repeated seasonal atmospheric forcing but nevertheless exhibits a substantial low-frequency variability (at interannual and longer timescales), which is therefore of intrinsic origin. This nonlinearly-generated intrinsic variability is almost absent from the coarse-resolution (2°) version of this simulation. Comparing the 1/4° simulation with its fully-forced counterpart, Penduff et al. (2011) have shown that the low-frequency variability of local sea-level is largely generated by the ocean itself in eddying areas, rather than directly forced by the atmosphere. Using the same simulations, the present study quantifies the imprint of the intrinsic low-frequency variability on the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) at interannual-to-decadal timescales in the Atlantic. We first compare the intrinsic and atmospherically-forced interannual variances of the Atlantic MOC calculated in geopotential coordinates. This analysis reveals substantial sources of intrinsic MOC variability in the South Atlantic (driven by the Agulhas mesoscale activity according to Biastoch et al. (2008)), but also in the North Atlantic. We extend our investigation to the MOC calculated in isopycnal coordinates, and identify regions in the basin where the water mass transformation exhibits low-frequency intrinsic variability. In this eddy-permitting regime, intrinsic processes are shown to generate about half the total (geopotential and isopycnal) MOC interannual variance in certain key regions of the Atlantic. This intrinsic variability is absent from 2° simulations. Penduff, T., Juza, M., Barnier, B., Zika, J., Dewar, W.K., Treguier, A.-M., Molines, J.-M., Audiffren, N., 2011: Sea-level expression of intrinsic and forced ocean variabilities at interannual time scales. J. Climate, 24, 5652-5670. doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00077.1. Biastoch, A., Böning, C. W., Lutjeharms, J. R. E., 2008: Agulhas leakage dynamics affects decadal variability in Atlantic overturning circulation. Nature, 456, 489-492, doi: 10.1038/nature07426.

Descending projections from the inferior colliculus to medial olivocochlear efferents: Mice with normal hearing, early onset hearing loss, and congenital deafness.

PubMed

Suthakar, Kirupa; Ryugo, David K

2017-01-01

Auditory efferent neurons reside in the brain and innervate the sensory hair cells of the cochlea to modulate incoming acoustic signals. Two groups of efferents have been described in mouse and this report will focus on the medial olivocochlear (MOC) system. Electrophysiological data suggest the MOC efferents function in selective listening by differentially attenuating auditory nerve fiber activity in quiet and noisy conditions. Because speech understanding in noise is impaired in age-related hearing loss, we asked whether pathologic changes in input to MOC neurons from higher centers could be involved. The present study investigated the anatomical nature of descending projections from the inferior colliculus (IC) to MOCs in 3-month old mice with normal hearing, and in 6-month old mice with normal hearing (CBA/CaH), early onset progressive hearing loss (DBA/2), and congenital deafness (homozygous Shaker-2). Anterograde tracers were injected into the IC and retrograde tracers into the cochlea. Electron microscopic analysis of double-labelled tissue confirmed direct synaptic contact from the IC onto MOCs in all cohorts. These labelled terminals are indicative of excitatory neurotransmission because they contain round synaptic vesicles, exhibit asymmetric membrane specializations, and are co-labelled with antibodies against VGlut2, a glutamate transporter. 3D reconstructions of the terminal fields indicate that in normal hearing mice, descending projections from the IC are arranged tonotopically with low frequencies projecting laterally and progressively higher frequencies projecting more medially. Along the mediolateral axis, the projections of DBA/2 mice with acquired high frequency hearing loss were shifted medially towards expected higher frequency projecting regions. Shaker-2 mice with congenital deafness had a much broader spatial projection, revealing abnormalities in the topography of connections. These data suggest that loss in precision of IC directed MOC activation could contribute to impaired signal detection in noise. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stronger efferent suppression of cochlear neural potentials by contralateral acoustic stimulation in awake than in anesthetized chinchilla.

PubMed

Aedo, Cristian; Tapia, Eduardo; Pavez, Elizabeth; Elgueda, Diego; Delano, Paul H; Robles, Luis

2015-01-01

There are two types of sensory cells in the mammalian cochlea, inner hair cells, which make synaptic contact with auditory-nerve afferent fibers, and outer hair cells that are innervated by crossed and uncrossed medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent fibers. Contralateral acoustic stimulation activates the uncrossed efferent MOC fibers reducing cochlear neural responses, thus modifying the input to the central auditory system. The chinchilla, among all studied mammals, displays the lowest percentage of uncrossed MOC fibers raising questions about the strength and frequency distribution of the contralateral-sound effect in this species. On the other hand, MOC effects on cochlear sensitivity have been mainly studied in anesthetized animals and since the MOC-neuron activity depends on the level of anesthesia, it is important to assess the influence of anesthesia in the strength of efferent effects. Seven adult chinchillas (Chinchilla laniger) were chronically implanted with round-window electrodes in both cochleae. We compared the effect of contralateral sound in awake and anesthetized condition. Compound action potentials (CAP) and cochlear microphonics (CM) were measured in the ipsilateral cochlea in response to tones in absence and presence of contralateral sound. Control measurements performed after middle-ear muscles section in one animal discarded any possible middle-ear reflex activation. Contralateral sound produced CAP amplitude reductions in all chinchillas, with suppression effects greater by about 1-3 dB in awake than in anesthetized animals. In contrast, CM amplitude increases of up to 1.9 dB were found in only three awake chinchillas. In both conditions the strongest efferent effects were produced by contralateral tones at frequencies equal or close to those of ipsilateral tones. Contralateral CAP suppressions for 1-6 kHz ipsilateral tones corresponded to a span of uncrossed MOC fiber innervation reaching at least the central third of the chinchilla cochlea.

MOC Views of Martian Solar Eclipses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

The shadow of the martian moon, Phobos, has been captured in many recent wide angle camera views of the red planet obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC). Designed to monitor changes in weather and surface conditions, the wide angle cameras are also proving to be a good way to spot the frequent solar eclipses caused by the passage of Phobos between Mars and the Sun.

The first figure (above), shows wide angle red (left), blue (middle), and color composite (right) views of the shadow of Phobos (elliptical feature at center of each frame) as it was cast upon western Xanthe Terra on August 26, 1999, at about 2 p.m.local time on Mars. The image covers an area about 250 kilometers (155 miles) across and is illuminated from the left. The meandering Nanedi Valles is visible in the lower right corner of the scene. Note the dark spots on three crater floors--these appear dark in the red camera image (left) but are barely distinguished in the blue image (middle), while the shadow is dark in both images. The spots on the crater floors are probably small fields of dark sand dunes.

The second figure shows three samples of MOC's global image swaths, each in this case with a shadow of Phobos visible (arrow). The first scene (left) was taken on September 1, 1999, and shows the shadow of Phobos cast upon southern Elysium Planitia. The large crater with dark markings on its floor at the lower right corner is Herschel Basin. The second scene shows the shadow of Phobos cast upon northern Lunae Planum on September 8, 1999. Kasei Valles dominates the upper right and the deep chasms of Valles Marineris dominate the lower third of the September 8 image. The picture on the right shows the shadow of Phobos near the giant volcano, Olympus Mons (upper left), on September 25, 1999. Three other major volcanoes are visible from lower-center (Arsia Mons) and right-center (Pavonis Mons) to upper-middle-right (Ascraeus Mons).

Phobos and the smaller, more distant satellite, Deimos, were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall, an astronomer at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Hall had been hunting for martian satellites for some time, and was about to abandon the search when he was encouraged by his wife to continue. In honor of her role, the largest crater on Phobos was named Stickney, her maiden name. Phobos is a tiny, potato-shaped world that is only about 13 km by 11 km by 9 km (8 mi by 7 mi by 6 mi) in size.

In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published a story entitled 'Under the Moons of Mars' (printed in book form in 1917 as A Princess of Mars) in which he referred to the 'hurtling moons of Barsoom' (Barsoom being the 'native' word for Mars in the fictional account). Burroughs was inspired by the fact that Phobos, having an orbital period of slightly less than 8 hours, would appear from Mars to rise in the west and set in the east only five and a half hours later. (Despite Burroughs' phrase, the outer moon, Deimos, can hardly be said to 'hurtle' -- it takes nearly 60 hours to cross the sky from east to west, rising on one day and not setting again for over two more.)

If you could stand on Mars and watch Phobos passing overhead, you would notice that this moon appears to be only about half the size of what Earth's Moon looks like when viewed from the ground. In addition, the Sun would seem to have shrunk to about 2/3 (or nearly 1/2) of its size as seen from Earth. Martian eclipses are therefore dark but not as spectacular as total solar eclipses on Earth can be. In compensation, the martian eclipses are thousands of times more common, occurring a few times a day somewhere on Mars whenever Phobos passes over the planet's sunlit side. Due to the changing geometry of the MGS orbit relative to that of Phobos, the shadow is actually seen in MOC global map images (like in the second figure above) about a dozen times a month.

The shadow of Phobos was seen during the Viking missions in the late 1970s, and in fact one day the shadow was observed to pass right over the Viking 1 lander. The surface of Phobos itself was first imaged by Mariner 9 in 1971, and global coverage was obtained by the Viking orbiters in 1976-80. Phobos was the target of the ill-fated Phobos 1 and Phobos 2 spacecraft, launched by the Soviet Union in 1988. Phobos 2 actually reached Mars in 1989 and obtained a few pictures of the satellite--it also captured the shadow of Phobos cast upon the martian surface using its thermal infrared imager, Termoskan. More recently, the MGS MOC observed the tiny moon four times in August and September 1998.

Models of care for musculoskeletal health: a cross-sectional qualitative study of Australian stakeholders' perspectives on relevance and standardised evaluation.

PubMed

Briggs, Andrew M; Jordan, Joanne E; Speerin, Robyn; Jennings, Matthew; Bragge, Peter; Chua, Jason; Slater, Helen

2015-11-16

The prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal conditions are predicted to rapidly escalate in the coming decades. Effective strategies are required to minimise 'evidence-practice', 'burden-policy' and 'burden-service' gaps and optimise health system responsiveness for sustainable, best-practice healthcare. One mechanism by which evidence can be translated into practice and policy is through Models of Care (MoCs), which provide a blueprint for health services planning and delivery. While evidence supports the effectiveness of musculoskeletal MoCs for improving health outcomes and system efficiencies, no standardised national approach to evaluation in terms of their 'readiness' for implementation and 'success' after implementation, is yet available. Further, the value assigned to MoCs by end users is uncertain. This qualitative study aimed to explore end users' views on the relevance of musculoskeletal MoCs to their work and value of a standardised evaluation approach. A cross-sectional qualitative study was undertaken. Subject matter experts (SMEs) with health, policy and administration and consumer backgrounds were drawn from three Australian states. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed and piloted to explore perceptions about musculoskeletal MoCs including: i) aspects important to their work (or life, for consumers) ii) usefulness of standardised evaluation frameworks to judge 'readiness' and 'success' and iii) challenges associated with standardised evaluation. Verbatim transcripts were analysed by two researchers using a grounded theory approach to derive key themes. Twenty-seven SMEs (n = 19; 70.4 % female) including five (18.5 %) consumers participated in the study. MoCs were perceived as critical for influencing and initiating changes to best-practice healthcare planning and delivery and providing practical guidance on how to implement and evaluate services. A 'readiness' evaluation framework assessing whether critical components across the health system had been considered prior to implementation was strongly supported, while 'success' was perceived as an already familiar evaluation concept. Perceived challenges associated with standardised evaluation included identifying, defining and measuring key 'readiness' and 'success' indicators; impacts of systems and context changes; cost; meaningful stakeholder consultation and developing a widely applicable framework. A standardised evaluation framework that includes a strong focus on 'readiness' is important to ensure successful and sustainable implementation of musculoskeletal MoCs.

Voyager spacecraft images of Jupiter and Saturn

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birnbaum, M. M.

1982-01-01

The Voyager imaging system is described, noting that it is made up of a narrow-angle and a wide-angle TV camera, each in turn consisting of optics, a filter wheel and shutter assembly, a vidicon tube, and an electronics subsystem. The narrow-angle camera has a focal length of 1500 mm; its field of view is 0.42 deg and its focal ratio is f/8.5. For the wide-angle camera, the focal length is 200 mm, the field of view 3.2 deg, and the focal ratio of f/3.5. Images are exposed by each camera through one of eight filters in the filter wheel on the photoconductive surface of a magnetically focused and deflected vidicon having a diameter of 25 mm. The vidicon storage surface (target) is a selenium-sulfur film having an active area of 11.14 x 11.14 mm; it holds a frame consisting of 800 lines with 800 picture elements per line. Pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, and their moons are presented, with short descriptions given of the area being viewed.

South Polar Scarps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-438, 31 July 2003

The terrain of the south polar residual ice cap, made up mostly of frozen carbon dioxide, has come to be known by many as 'swiss cheese terrain,' because many areas of the cap resemble slices of swiss cheese. However, not all of the south polar cap looks like a tasty lunch food. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a series of curving scarps formed by erosion and sublimation of carbon dioxide from the south polar cap. This area is located near 86.3oS, 51.2oW. The image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left; the area is about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) wide.

Intracranial cerebrospinal fluid spaces imaging using a pulse-triggered three-dimensional turbo spin echo MR sequence with variable flip-angle distribution.

PubMed

Hodel, Jérôme; Silvera, Jonathan; Bekaert, Olivier; Rahmouni, Alain; Bastuji-Garin, Sylvie; Vignaud, Alexandre; Petit, Eric; Durning, Bruno; Decq, Philippe

2011-02-01

To assess the three-dimensional turbo spin echo with variable flip-angle distribution magnetic resonance sequence (SPACE: Sampling Perfection with Application optimised Contrast using different flip-angle Evolution) for the imaging of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces. We prospectively investigated 18 healthy volunteers and 25 patients, 20 with communicating hydrocephalus (CH), five with non-communicating hydrocephalus (NCH), using the SPACE sequence at 1.5T. Volume rendering views of both intracranial and ventricular CSF were obtained for all patients and volunteers. The subarachnoid CSF distribution was qualitatively evaluated on volume rendering views using a four-point scale. The CSF volumes within total, ventricular and subarachnoid spaces were calculated as well as the ratio between ventricular and subarachnoid CSF volumes. Three different patterns of subarachnoid CSF distribution were observed. In healthy volunteers we found narrowed CSF spaces within the occipital aera. A diffuse narrowing of the subarachnoid CSF spaces was observed in patients with NCH whereas patients with CH exhibited narrowed CSF spaces within the high midline convexity. The ratios between ventricular and subarachnoid CSF volumes were significantly different among the volunteers, patients with CH and patients with NCH. The assessment of CSF spaces volume and distribution may help to characterise hydrocephalus.

Dependence of astigmatism, far-field pattern, and spectral envelope width on active layer thickness of gain guided lasers with narrow stripe geometry

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

Mamine, T.

1984-06-15

The effects of active layer thickness on the astigmatism, the angle of far-field pattern width parallel to the junction, and the spectral envelope width of a gain guided laser with a narrow stripe geometry have been investigated analytically and experimentally. It is concluded that a large level of astigmatism, a narrow far-field pattern width, and a rapid convergence of the spectral envelope width are inherent to the gain guided lasers with thin active layers.

Evidence for Itinerant Carriers in an Anisotropic Narrow-Gap Semiconductor by Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Ju, Sailong; Bai, Wei; Wu, Liming; Lin, Hua; Xiao, Chong; Cui, Shengtao; Li, Zhou; Kong, Shuai; Liu, Yi; Liu, Dayong; Zhang, Guobin; Sun, Zhe; Xie, Yi

2018-01-01

The ability to accurately determine the electronic structure of solids has become a key prerequisite for modern functional materials. For example, the precise determination of the electronic structure helps to balance the three thermoelectric parameters, which is the biggest challenge to design high-performance thermoelectric materials. Herein, by high-resolution, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), the itinerant carriers in CsBi 4 Te 6 (CBT) are revealed for the first time. CBT is a typical anisotropic, narrow-gap semiconductor used as a practical candidate for low-temperature thermoelectric applications, and p-doped CBT series show superconductivity at relatively low carrier concentrations. The ARPES results show a significantly larger bandwidth near the Fermi surface than calculations, which means the carriers transport anisotropically and itinerantly in CBT. It is reasonable to believe that these newly discovered features of carriers in narrow-gap semiconductors are promising for designing optimal thermoelectric materials and superconductors. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mars at Ls 137o

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

13 November 2006 These images capture what Mars typically looks like in mid-afternoon at L_s 137o. In other words, with the exception of occasional differences in weather and polar frost patterns, this is what the red planet looks like this month (November 2006).

Six views are shown, including the two polar regions. These are composites of 24-26 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global mapping images acquired at red and blue wavelengths. The 'hole' over the south pole is an area where no images were obtained, because this polar region is enveloped in wintertime darkness.

Presently, it is summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360o around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0o, the start of northern spring and southern autumn. Northern summer/southern winter begins at Ls 90o, northern autumn/southern spring start at Ls 180o, and northern winter/southern summer begin at Ls 270o.

L_s 137o occurs in the middle of this month (November 2006). The pictures show how Mars appeared to the MOC wide angle cameras at a previous Ls 137o in March 2001. The six views are centered on the Tharsis region (upper left), Acidalia and Mare Eyrthraeum (upper right), Syrtis Major and Hellas (middle left), Elysium and Mare Cimmeria (middle right), the north pole (lower left), and the south pole (lower right).

Outcomes From Pediatric Gastroenterology Maintenance of Certification Using Web-based Modules.

PubMed

Sheu, Josephine; Chun, Stanford; O'Day, Emily; Cheung, Sara; Cruz, Rusvelda; Lightdale, Jenifer R; Fishman, Douglas S; Bousvaros, Athos; Huang, Jeannie S

2017-05-01

Beginning in 2013, the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) sponsored and developed subspecialty field-specific quality improvement (QI) activities to provide Part 4 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit for ongoing certification of pediatric gastroenterologists by the American Board of Pediatrics. Each activity was a Web-based module that measured clinical practice data repeatedly over at least 3 months as participants implemented rapid cycle change. Here, we examine existing variations in clinical practice among participating pediatric gastroenterologists and determine whether completion of Web-based MOC activities improves patient care processes and outcomes. We performed a cross-sectional and prospective analysis of physician and parent-reported clinical practice data abstracted from Web-based MOC modules on the topics of upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, and informed consent collected from pediatric gastroenterologists from North America from 2013 to 2016. Among 134 participating pediatric gastroenterologists, 56% practitioners practiced at an academic institution and most (94%) were NASPGHAN members. Participating physicians reported data from 6300 procedures. At baseline, notable practice variation across measured activities was demonstrated. Much of the rapid cycle changes implemented by participants involved individual behaviors, rather than system/team-based improvement activities. Participants demonstrated significant improvements on most targeted process and quality care outcomes. Pediatric gastroenterologists and parents reported baseline practice variation, and improvement in care processes and outcomes measured during NASPGHAN-sponsored Web-based MOC QI activities. Subspecialty-oriented Web-based MOC QI activities can reveal targets for reducing unwarranted variation in clinical pediatric practice, and can effectively improve care and patient outcomes.

Simulating contaminant attenuation, double-porosity exchange, and water age in aquifers using MOC3D

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goode, Daniel J.

1999-01-01

MOC3D is a general-purpose computer model developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for simulation of three-dimensional solute transport in ground water (Konikow and others, 1996). The model is an update to the widely used USGS two-dimensional solute-transport model (MOC) and is implemented as an optional “package” for the ground-water flow model MODFLOW (Harbaugh and McDonald, 1996). Directly coupling the time-tested MOC transport algorithms with the widely used MODFLOW program makes MOC3D a powerful tool for simulation of solute transport in ground water in many hydrogeologic settings. The model simulates transport processes that include:Advection - Transport of dissolved solutes at the same rate as the average ground-water flow velocity.Diffusion - Spreading of solute from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, caused by “random” molecular motionDispersion - Diffusion-like spreading of solute that is caused primarily by spatial variability in aquifer properties, which results in spatial variability in transport velocity.Retardation - Reduction in the apparent solute velocity, compared to the ground-water velocity, caused by linear equilibrium sorption on aquifer materials.Decay - Disappearance of solute caused by reactions such as radioactive decay or biodegradation that are proportional to concentration.Growth - Creation (or disappearance) of solute mass caused by reactions that proceed independent of the solute concentration, such as some cases of biodegradationDouble-porosity exchange - rate-limited exchange of solute mass between mobile and immobile zones; for example, between fractures and the rock matrix.

Nd isotopic structure of the Pacific Ocean 70-30 Ma and numerical evidence for vigorous ocean circulation and ocean heat transport in a greenhouse world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Deborah J.; Korty, Robert; Huber, Matthew; Schubert, Jessica A.; Haines, Brian

2014-05-01

The oceanic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is a crucial component of the climate system, impacting heat and nutrient transport, and global carbon cycling. Past greenhouse climate intervals present a paradox because their weak equator-to-pole temperature gradients imply a weaker MOC, yet increased poleward oceanic heat transport appears to be required to maintain these weak gradients. To investigate the mode of MOC that operated during the early Cenozoic, we compare new Nd isotope data with Nd tracer-enabled numerical ocean circulation and coupled climate model simulations. Assimilation of new Nd isotope data from South Pacific Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program Sites 323, 463, 596, 865, and 869 with previously published data confirm the hypothesized MOC characterized by vigorous sinking in the South and North Pacific 70 to 30 Ma. Compilation of all Pacific Nd isotope data indicates vigorous, distinct, and separate overturning circulations in each basin until 40 Ma. Simulations consistently reproduce South Pacific and North Pacific deep convection over a broad range of conditions, but cases using strong deep ocean vertical mixing produced the best data-model match. Strong mixing, potentially resulting from enhanced abyssal tidal dissipation, greater interaction of wind-driven internal wave activity with submarine plateaus, or higher than modern values of the geothermal heat flux enable models to achieve enhanced MOC circulation rates with resulting Nd isotope distributions consistent with the proxy data. The consequent poleward heat transport may resolve the paradox of warmer worlds with reduced temperature gradients.

Clouds Near Mie Crater

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-12-13

Mie Crater, a large basin formed by asteroid or comet impact in Utopia Planitia, lies at the center of this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle image. The crater is approximately 104 km (65 mi) across. To the east and southeast (toward the lower right) of Mie, in this 5 December 2003 view, are clouds of dust and water ice kicked up by local dust storm activity. It is mid-winter in the northern hemisphere of Mars, a time when passing storms are common on the northern plains of the red planet. Sunlight illuminates this image from the lower left; Mie Crater is located at 48.5°N, 220.3°W. Viking 2 landed west/southwest of Mie Crater, off the left edge of this image, in September 1976. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04930

Time-variable surface patterns as an indicator of the surface environments on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toyota, T.; Kawaguchi, K.; Kurita, K.

2008-09-01

Introduction On the planets having atmosphere such as Mars various types of interactions between the atmosphere and the ground surface cause observable change in the surface pattern. Polar caps and aeolian features are typical examples. With the accumulation of satellitebased exploratory data, time-variable surface patterns have been focused and investigated extensively [1,2], because they can be direct indicators of the changing surface environments. Here we report two types of time-variable surface patterns that have been unidentified until now. One is dark halo near the top of high altitude volcanoes in Tharsis region. The other is brightness of the Outer Lobe of Double Layered Ejecta crater at the northern lowlands. Both have almost no associated topography and they are only recognized in visible/IR images as albedo patterns. Dark halo near the top of high altitude volcanoes in the Tharsis region Fig. 1 shows MOC wide-angle image of Pavonis Mons (R1400388NRed). The large caldera can be seen at the top of the volcano. Surrounding the caldera there exists a dark halo. Fig. 1B is MOC wide-angle image which shows detailed structure of the dark halo in the SW part. The dark zone is not uniform and instead it is composed of many slender dark stripes aligned in radial direction from the top (caldera center). Each unit is spindle-shaped with length of 30- 50km and width at the middle part of 5km. Spindles seem to start from higher position because it is always clear and darker. The initiation point is quite narrow region, which can be considered as a point. In many cases, there exist no recognisable obstacles at the initiation point. This is a remarkable difference from the wind streaks, which is caused by erosion/sedimentation of wind by local turbulence behind topographical anomaly. This makes us to consider something is emanating from subsurface, blown off by the mountain winds and deposited in downwind part. Similar pattern is observed in high altitude large volume volcanoes in Tharsis region such as Olympus Mons, Arsia Mons, Ascraeus Mons and Alba Patera EPSC Abstracts, Vol. 3, EPSC2008-A-00513, 2008 European Planetary Science Congress, Author(s) 2008 whereas it is not recognized in Celaunius Tholus, Tharsis Tholus and Elysium Mons. Because of the numbers of available images and stable climate situation, we have intensively investigated the pattern at Pavonis Mons. MOC wide-angle images and THEMIS-VIS images are used to check the temporal variation of the pattern from 1999 to 2007. In Fig. 2 the time-sequential images taking the SW flank show temporal pattern change of the dark halo. The drastic change can be found between 2000 and 2003. The assemblage of dark spindle-shaped pattern at higher positions before 2003 completely disappeared in the 2003 and the front of the halo receded to lower position. In 2001, a huge global dust storm has occurred. The resultant effect on the global climate by this dust storm is decrease in global daytime temperature and increase in global nighttime temperature due to the dust green house effect [2]. Since the dark halo appears to be formed in nighttime (the pattern is consistent with down-slope wind, which would be dominant at nigh time on the surface of high mountain.), the increase of the nighttime temperature should be responsible for erasing the pattern. Not only the position of the front of the dark halo but also the darkness changes with time. DN at the front position is determined by taking the difference from the reference point near the caldera. The maximum contrast around Ls=50 deg. and the minimum contrast around Ls=270 deg. are obtained. This indicates seasonal variation, which strongly suggests meteorological variation such as the atmospheric pressure controls the surface pattern. Fig. 3 shows THEMIS-VIS image, THEMIS-IRNighttime image and THEMIS-IR-Daytime image of the southern flank. THEMIS-VIS image clearly shows the upper boundary of the dark halo; brighter near the summit and darker in the lower position. THEMIS-IRDaytime image shows brighter color in the dark halo, which indicates higher temperature. The boundary completely coincides with that in VIS. THEMIS-IRNighttime image also shows brighter color in the dark halo. This variation in the brightness and hence the surface temperature in IR images is not consistent with general thermal inertia control between daytime and nighttime by the change of grain size. This enigmatic behavior may indicate the surface of dark halo has different thermal response to the irradiation by the sunlight at daytime and radiative cooling at nighttime. This might be possible if the surface is covered by mixture of fine silicate particles supported by continuous phase of ice. References [1] Geissler, P. E., (2005) JGR, 110, E02001. [2] Armstrong, J. C. et al., (2007) GRL, 34, L01202. [3] Smith M. D., (2004) Icarus, 167, 148-165. [4] Neakrase, L. et al., (2005) LPSC XXXZVI, P1898.

Dual-mode switching of a liquid crystal panel for viewing angle control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baek, Jong-In; Kwon, Yong-Hoan; Kim, Jae Chang; Yoon, Tae-Hoon

2007-03-01

The authors propose a method to control the viewing angle of a liquid crystal (LC) panel using dual-mode switching. To realize both wide viewing angle (WVA) characteristics and narrow viewing angle (NVA) characteristics with a single LC panel, the authors use two different dark states. The LC layer can be aligned homogeneously parallel to the transmission axis of the bottom polarizer for WVA dark state operation, while it can be aligned vertically for NVA dark state operation. The authors demonstrated that viewing angle control can be achieved with a single panel without any loss of contrast at the front.

The MOC Reflex during Active Listening to Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garinis, Angela C.; Glattke, Theodore; Cone, Barbara K.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that active listening to speech would increase medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent activity for the right vs. the left ear. Method: Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) were evoked by 60-dB p.e. SPL clicks in 13 normally hearing adults in 4 test conditions for each ear: (a) in…

Answering the Call for Model-Relevant Observations of Aerosols and Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Redemann, J.; Shinozuka, Y.; Kacenelenbogen, M.; Segal-Rozenhaimer, M.; LeBlanc, S.; Vaughan, M.; Stier, P.; Schutgens, N.

2017-01-01

We describe a technique for combining multiple A-Train aerosol data sets, namely MODIS spectral AOD (aerosol optical depth), OMI AAOD (absorption aerosol optical depth) and CALIOP aerosol backscatter retrievals (hereafter referred to as MOC retrievals) to estimate full spectral sets of aerosol radiative properties, and ultimately to calculate the 3-D distribution of direct aerosol radiative effects (DARE). We present MOC results using almost two years of data collected in 2007 and 2008, and show comparisons of the aerosol radiative property estimates to collocated AERONET retrievals. We compare the spatio-temporal distribution of the MOC retrievals and MOC-based calculations of seasonal clear-sky DARE to values derived from four models that participated in the Phase II AeroCom model intercomparison initiative. Comparisons of seasonal aerosol property to AeroCom Phase II results show generally good agreement best agreement with forcing results at TOA is found with GMI-MerraV3.We discuss the challenges in making observations that really address deficiencies in models, with some of the more relevant aspects being representativeness of the observations for climatological states, and whether a given model-measurement difference addresses a sampling or a model error.

MPACT Theory Manual, Version 2.2.0

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

Downar, Thomas; Collins, Benjamin S.; Gehin, Jess C.

2016-06-09

This theory manual describes the three-dimensional (3-D) whole-core, pin-resolved transport calculation methodology employed in the MPACT code. To provide sub-pin level power distributions with sufficient accuracy, MPACT employs the method of characteristics (MOC) solutions in the framework of a 3-D coarse mesh finite difference (CMFD) formulation. MPACT provides a 3D MOC solution, but also a 2D/1D solution in which the 2D planar solution is provided by MOC and the axial coupling is resolved by one-dimensional (1-D) lower order (diffusion or P3) solutions. In Chapter 2 of the manual, the MOC methodology is described for calculating the regional angular and scalarmore » fluxes from the Boltzmann transport equation. In Chapter 3, the 2D/1D methodology is described, together with the description of the CMFD iteration process involving dynamic homogenization and solution of the multigroup CMFD linear system. A description of the MPACT depletion algorithm is given in Chapter 4, followed by a discussion of the subgroup and ESSM resonance processing methods in Chapter 5. The final Chapter 6 describes a simplified thermal hydraulics model in MPACT.« less

Mars Shoreline Tests: Contact between Lycus Sulci and Amazonis Planitia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

This picture is the first MOC high resolution image that showed the contact between the Lycus Sulci uplands and Amazonis Planitia lowlands. In this subframe of MOC image SPO 1-225/03, Amazonis and Lycus Sulci are separated by a subtle rise that runs diagonally across the scene from near the lower left toward the upper right. The Amazonis plains are toward the top of the picture, the Lycus Sulci uplands are toward the bottom. Both surfaces have been cratered by small meteoroid impacts. The Amazonis plains surface has many small, nearly parallel ridges that may have formed by wind erosion. These ridges are not found on the Lycus Sulci surface. None of the features seen in this image look like typical seashore landforms found on Earth--i.e., there are no beaches, windblown coastal dunes, or even the wave-cut cliff that was thought to exist on the basis of previous Viking images. The picture is illuminated from the lower right and was acquired in April 1998. [figure removed for brevity, see original site]

Lycus Sulci is the name of a region of hills and ridges located north and northwest of the famous giant volcano, Olympus Mons (see inset, above). Viking images of the area where the western margin of the Lycus Sulci meets the smooth Amazonis plains (upper left in the figure above) led some researchers to conclude that the two surfaces were in contact along a cliff. The proposed cliff faces toward the smooth plains, and thus it was suggested that this might be the kind of cliff that forms from erosion by waves in a body of water as they break against a coastline. During the first year that Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was orbiting the red planet (1997-1998), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired three high-resolution images along the contact between the Lycus Sulci hills and the Amazonis plains. The location of the portion of each image that is illustrated below is shown in this figure by a small, white box identified by the archival image number (e.g., 'SPO2-428/03' refers to the 3rd image taken on the 428th orbit during the Science Phasing Orbits 2 phase of the MGS mission). The regional context view shown here is a portion of Viking orbiter image 851A29; its center is near 32oN, 114oW and it is illuminated from the right. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] MRPS 95319

Lycus Sulci and Amazonis Planitia are shown here separated by a rise that runs diagonally across the scene from near the lower left toward the upper right. This picture is a subframe of MOC image SPO2-428/03, taken in July 1998. The Lycus Sulci uplands here are more roughly-textured than in the previous image, and the flat Amazonis plains appear to be more smooth and lack the small parallel ridges seen in the earlier view. The lack of the small ridges might be real, or they might be present but cannot be seen because this picture has a lower resolution than the previous one. This image, too, shows that the contact between Amazonis and Lycus Sulci is not a cliff, and once again there are no features that can be unambiguously identified as coastal landforms. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] MRPS 95320

This is the third MOC image obtained during the first year of MGS operations that shows the contact between Lycus Sulci and Amazonis Planitia. This picture, a subframe of SPO2-483/08, was taken in August 1998. The Lycus Sulciup lands at this location dominate the lower half of the picture, while the Amazonis plains cover the upper half. The uplands here exhibit many small buttes (bumps or knobs in lower right of the scene), and the contact zone between the upland and lowland includes a triangular-shaped ridge (center/right). As with the earlier views of the contact between Lycus Sulci and Amazonis, no features of obvious origin by coastal processes (e.g., erosion by waves crashing against ashore) are seen. The scene is illuminated from the right. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site]

The first picture above shows the regional context of a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) high-resolution image that was targeted in August 1998 with the intent to test the hypothesis that the northern plains of Mars were once the site of a vast ocean of liquid water. The second picture shows the resulting MOC image, numbered SPO2-515/05 and located at 40.0oN, 6.0oW in the transition zone between the Cydonia region and Acidalia Planitia, Mars.

The context image (first picture) includes several dark lines, some of which are labeled I and some are labeled G. These dark lines were proposed in previous, peer-reviewed scientific papers to be possible ocean shorelines located along the margins of the martian northern plains. Line I was called the Interior Plains Boundary, and line G was called the Gradational Boundary. The MGS MOC high resolution image was targeted such that it would examine the nature of line I, the Interior Plains Boundary.

The second figure shows the MOC high resolution view. The picture on the left side of the figure (second image) is the full MOC image and the white box indicates the location of the expanded view to the right. In the expanded view (the center of the figure), the location of line I--the proposed shoreline--is shown by a dashed curve. The dashed curve follows a subtle, shallow trough. None of the types of coastal landforms common on Earth--such as a beach, wave-cut cliff or terrace, or coastal dune fields, are seen at this location. If an ocean had once been present, then the water would have covered the top 2/3 of the expanded view--i.e., water would have lapped up against the rounded mounds in the lower 1/3 of this picture. Instead of coastal landforms, the MOC image exhibits a dark surface in its upper 1/3. The dark surface covers older, rounded hills and has a low, lobate escarpment along its southern margin. This escarpment faces south--that is, it faces toward the once-proposed coastline. In other words, the escarpment faces in a direction opposite of what would be expected for a coastal environment.

The context picture uses Viking orbiter image 561a24 as a base. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] MRPS 50586

Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took the above picture (second of the two) of some massifs and mesas in the Cydonia region of Mars in early September 1998. The purpose of this image--number SPO2-532/04--was to test the hypothesis that the martian northern plains were once the site of an ocean or large sea. According to this hypothesis, and according to peer-reviewed and published maps, each one of the mesas and massifs in the two pictures above should have shorelines around their margins. The hypothesis holds that these were once islands and that waves would lap--and sometimes crash--against these landforms, rip off huge chunks of rock, and create steep cliffs and stair-stepped terraces in the rock.

The first picture above shows the regional context of the MOC high resolution view in Cydonia. The context picture, from Viking orbiter image 227S11, is illuminated from the right. The second picture above is a figure that shows the full SPO2-532/04 MOC image and two expanded views of portions of this image. Mesas are flat-topped uplands, and massifs are the more triangular, massive peaks. If an ocean had been present in this region, terraces that indicate erosion or bathtub rings of salt or carbonate deposits left by the retreat of this ocean as it dried up might be found around each mesa and massif. No such features are found, nor is it at all obvious why these mesas and massifs were portrayed in previously published figures as having shorelines around them. The MOC image is illuminated from the left. [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site]

If the northern plains of Mars had ever been the site of a vast ocean, then any highlands that protrude above these plains might be expected to exhibit shorelines. The somewhat curved, flat-topped mesa seen in Viking image 026A72 (first image)is bounded by a dark band. Prior to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission, this mesa was interpreted by some researchers as having been a possible island in an ancient, northern plains ocean. The dark band was interpreted to be a shoreline resulting from the action of waves lapping against the island's coast.

A high resolution image of the banded mesa--located on the Acidalia plains around 45oN, 7oW--was acquired by the MGS Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in August 1998, over twenty years after the Viking image was taken. A subframe of this image--SPO2-515/06--is shown in the second image. In the MOC image, the dark band resolves into a series of narrower bright and dark bands. Each band has a slightly different texture and brightness. Furthermore, what appeared to be a sunlit escarpment bounding the north side of the mesa in the Viking image appears in the MOC image to be only a shallow slope rather than a scarp or cliff. The origin of the different bands is not known, but the most likely explanation that would be consistent with other MOC observations of Mars is that the mesa consists of layered rock, and that each band is an outcropping of a different layer of this rock. The different textures would result from the differing resistance to erosion of each layer. Both images shown here are illuminated from the left.

Saturnian Snowman

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-10-15

NASA's Cassini spacecraft spied this tight trio of craters as it approached Saturn's icy moon Enceladus for a close flyby on Oct. 14, 2015. The craters, located at high northern latitudes, are sliced through by thin fractures -- part of a network of similar cracks that wrap around the snow-white moon. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 14, 2015 at a distance of approximately 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) from Enceladus. Image scale is 197 feet (60 meters) per pixel. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 14, 2015 using a spectral filter which preferentially admits wavelengths of ultraviolet light centered at 338 nanometers. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20011

Narrow Angle Wide Spectral Range Radiometer Design FEANICS/REEFS Radiometer Design Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camperchioli, William

2005-01-01

A critical measurement for the Radiative Enhancement Effects on Flame Spread (REEFS) microgravity combustion experiment is the net radiative flux emitted from the gases and from the solid fuel bed. These quantities are measured using a set of narrow angle, wide spectral range radiometers. The radiometers are required to have an angular field of view of 1.2 degrees and measure over the spectral range of 0.6 to 30 microns, which presents a challenging design effort. This report details the design of this radiometer system including field of view, radiometer response, radiometric calculations, temperature effects, error sources, baffling and amplifiers. This report presents some radiometer specific data but does not present any REEFS experiment data.

Valley Near Nilus Chaos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-504, 5 October 2003

This August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a valley near Nilus Chaos, around 25.2oN, 80.3oW. The scene has a uniform albedo, indicating that all of the landforms are probably mantled by fine, bright dust. Dark streaks on the valley walls indicate places where recent dust avalanches have occurred. The ripple-like dune features on the valley floor were formed by wind, but today they are inactive and covered with dust. A few craters, created by impacting debris, have formed on the dunes, again attesting to their inactivity in the modern martian environment. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; it is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.

Dust Devil Art

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-541, 11 November 2003

In some regions of Mars, dust devils create streaks by disrupting or removing thin coatings of fine, bright dust from the surface. This summertime view of terrain in southern Noachis Terra, acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), provides an example. Streak patterns such as these are commonly created during the spring and summer in the southern hemisphere; in autumn and winter they are often erased--perhaps by deposition of a new coating of dust--and then a completely different pattern is formed the following spring and summer. This image is located near 59.6oS, 328.8oW. The picture is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Summertime Dust Devil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-464, 26 August 2003

Dust devils are spinning, columnar vortices of air that move across a landscape, picking up dust as they go. They are common occurrences during summer on Mars. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired during northern summer, shows a dust devil in the Phlegra region of Mars near 32.0oN, 182.1oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left; the dust devil is casting a columnar shadow toward the upper right. Some dust devils on Mars make streaks as they disrupt the fine coating of dust on the surface--but others do not make streaks. This one did not make a streak. The view shown here is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide.

Observational Tests of the Mars Ocean Hypothesis: Selected MOC and MOLA Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, T. J.; Banerdt, W. B.

1999-01-01

We have begun a detailed analysis of the evidence for and topography of features identified as potential shorelines that have been im-aged by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the Aerobraking Hiatus and Science Phasing Orbit periods of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission. MOC images, comparable in resolution to high-altitude terrestrial aerial photographs, are particularly well suited to address the morphological expressions of these features at scales comparable to known shore morphologies on Earth. Particularly useful are examples of detailed relationships between potential shore features, such as erosional (and depositional) terraces have been cut into "familiar" pre-existing structures and topography in a fashion that points to a shoreline interpretation as the most likely mechanism for their formation. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

South Polar Artwork

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-456, 18 August 2003

Nature has created some interesting artwork on the south polar residual cap of Mars. This July 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example. The patterns in this picture are formed by erosion and sublimation of multiple layers of frozen carbon dioxide. The artwork is ephemeral and changing with each passing summer. By the end of the coming southern summer, the scarps in this area will have retreated an average of 3 meters (3.3 yards); some of the smaller buttes and ridges will have vanished. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 86.6oS, 358.2oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Comparison of Content on the American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification Examination With Conditions Seen in Practice by General Internists.

PubMed

Gray, Bradley; Vandergrift, Jonathan; Lipner, Rebecca S; Green, Marianne M

2017-06-13

Success on the internal medicine (IM) examination is a central requirement of the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM's) Maintenance of Certification program (MOC). Therefore, it is important to understand the degree to which this examination reflects conditions seen in practice, one dimension of content validity, which focuses on the match between content in the discipline and the topics on the examination questions. To assess whether the frequency of questions on IM-MOC examinations were concordant with the frequency of conditions seen in practice. The 2010-2013 IM-MOC examinations were used to calculate the percentage of questions for 186 medical condition categories from the examination blueprint, which balances examination content by considering importance and frequency of conditions seen in practice. Nationally representative estimates of conditions seen in practice by general internists were estimated from the primary diagnosis for 13 832 office visits (2010-2013 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys) and 108 472 hospital stays (2010 National Hospital Discharge Survey). Prevalence of conditions included on the IM-MOC examination questions. The outcome measure was the concordance between the percentages of IM-MOC examination questions and the percentages of conditions seen in practice during either office visits or hospital stays for each of 186 condition categories (eg, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, liver disease). The concordance thresholds were 0.5 SD of the weighted mean percentages of the applicable 186 conditions seen in practice (0.74% for office visits; 0.51% for hospital stays). If the absolute differences between the percentages of examination questions and the percentages of office visit conditions or hospital stay conditions seen were less than the applicable concordance threshold, then the condition category was judged to be concordant. During the 2010-2013 IM-MOC examination periods, 3600 questions (180 questions per examination form) were administered and 3461 questions (96.1%) were mapped into the 186 study conditions (mean, 18.6 questions per condition). Comparison of the percentages of 186 categories of medical conditions seen in 13 832 office visits and 108 472 hospital stays with the percentages of 3461 questions on IM-MOC examinations revealed that 2389 examination questions (69.0%; 95% CI, 67.5%-70.6% involving 158 conditions) were categorized as concordant. For concordance between questions and office visits only, 2010 questions (58.08%; 95% CI, 56.43%-59.72% of all examination questions) involving 145 conditions were categorized as concordant. For concordance between questions and hospital stays only, 1456 questions (42.07%; 95% CI, 40.42%-43.71% of all examination questions) involving 122 conditions were categorized as concordant. Among questions on IM-MOC examinations from 2010-2013, 69% were concordant with conditions seen in general internal medicine practices, although some areas of discordance were identified.

Wide field strip-imaging optical system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, Arthur H. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A strip imaging wide angle optical system is provided. The optical system is provided with a 'virtual' material stop to avoid aberrational effects inherent in wide angle optical systems. The optical system includes a spherical mirror section for receiving light from a 180-degree strip or arc of a target image. Light received by the spherical mirror section is reflected to a frusto-conical mirror section for subsequent rereflection to a row of optical fibers. Each optical fiber transmits a portion of the received light to a detector. The optical system exploits the narrow cone of acceptance associated with optical fibers to substantially eliminate vignetting effects inherent in wide-angle systems. Further, the optical system exploits the narrow cone of acceptance of the optical fibers to substantially limit spherical aberration. The optical system is ideally suited for any application wherein a 180-degree strip image need be detected, and is particularly well adapted for use in hostile environments such as in planetary exploration.

Performance analysis of higher mode spoof surface plasmon polariton for terahertz sensing

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

Yao, Haizi; Tu, Wanli; Zhong, Shuncong, E-mail: zhongshuncong@hotmail.com

2015-04-07

We investigated the spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) on 1D grooved metal surface for terahertz sensing of refractive index of the filling analyte through a prism-coupling attenuated total reflection setup. From the dispersion relation analysis and the finite element method-based simulation, we revealed that the dispersion curve of SSPP got suppressed as the filling refractive index increased, which cause the coupling resonance frequency redshifting in the reflection spectrum. The simulated results for testing various refractive indexes demonstrated that the incident angle of terahertz radiation has a great effect on the performance of sensing. Smaller incident angle will result in amore » higher sensitive sensing with a narrower detection range. In the meanwhile, the higher order mode SSPP-based sensing has a higher sensitivity with a narrower detection range. The maximum sensitivity is 2.57 THz/RIU for the second-order mode sensing at 45° internal incident angle. The proposed SSPP-based method has great potential for high sensitive terahertz sensing.« less

Mars Boulders: On a Hill in Utopia Planitia

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-09-18

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) was designed specifically to provide images of Mars that have a resolution comparable to the aerial photographs commonly used by Earth scientists to study geological processes and map landforms on our home planet. When MGS reaches its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, MOC will be able to obtain pictures with spatial resolutions of 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel--this good enough to easily see objects the size of an automobile. Boulders are one of the keys to determining which processes have eroded, transported, and deposited material on Mars (e.g.,landslides, mud flows, flood debris). During the first year in orbit,MGS MOC obtained pictures with resolutions between 2 and 30 meters (7to 98 feet) per pixel. It was found that boulders are difficult to identify on Mars in images with resolutions worse than about 2-3 meters per pixel. Although not known when the MOC was designed,"thresholds" like this are found on Earth, too. The MOC's 1.5 m/pixel resolution was a compromise between (1) the anticipation of such resolution-dependent sensitivity based on our experience with Earth and (2)the cost in terms of mass if we had built a larger telescope to get a higher resolution. Some rather larger boulders (i.e., larger than about 10 meters--or yards--in size) have already been seen on Mars by the orbiting camera. This is a feat similar to that which can be obtained by "spy" satellites on Earth. The MOC image 53104 subframe shown above features a low, rounded hill in southeastern Utopia Planitia. Each of the small, lumpy features on the top of this hill is a boulder. In this picture, boulders are not seen on the surrounding plain. These boulders are interpreted to be the remnants of a layer of harder rock that once covered the top of the hill, but was subsequently eroded and broken up by weathering and wind processes. MOC image 53104 was taken on September 2, 1998. The subframe shows an area 2.2 km by 3.3 km (1.4 miles by 2.7 miles). The image has a resolution of about 3.25 meters (10.7 feet) per pixel. The subframe is centered at 41.0°N latitude and 207.3°W longitude. North is approximately up, illumination is from the left. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01500

Mapping and localization for extraterrestrial robotic explorations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Fengliang

In the exploration of an extraterrestrial environment such as Mars, orbital data, such as high-resolution imagery Mars Orbital Camera-Narrow Angle (MOC-NA), laser ranging data Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA), and multi-spectral imagery Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), play more and more important roles. However, these remote sensing techniques can never replace the role of landers and rovers, which can provide a close up and inside view. Similarly, orbital mapping can not compete with ground-level close-range mapping in resolution, precision, and speed. This dissertation addresses two tasks related to robotic extraterrestrial exploration: mapping and rover localization. Image registration is also discussed as an important aspect for both of them. Techniques from computer vision and photogrammetry are applied for automation and precision. Image registration is classified into three sub-categories: intra-stereo, inter-stereo, and cross-site, according to the relationship between stereo images. In the intra-stereo registration, which is the most fundamental sub-category, interest point-based registration and verification by parallax continuity in the principal direction are proposed. Two other techniques, inter-scanline search with constrained dynamic programming for far range matching and Markov Random Field (MRF) based registration for big terrain variation, are explored as possible improvements. Creating using rover ground images mainly involves the generation of Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and ortho-rectified map (orthomap). The first task is to derive the spatial distribution statistics from the first panorama and model the DTM with a dual polynomial model. This model is used for interpolation of the DTM, using Kriging in the close range and Triangular Irregular Network (TIN) in the far range. To generate a uniformly illuminated orthomap from the DTM, a least-squares-based automatic intensity balancing method is proposed. Finally a seamless orthomap is constructed by a split-and-merge technique: the mapped area is split or subdivided into small regions of image overlap, and then each small map piece was processed and all of the pieces are merged together to form a seamless map. Rover localization has three stages, all of which use a least-squares adjustment procedure: (1) an initial localization which is accomplished by adjustment over features common to rover images and orbital images, (2) an adjustment of image pointing angles at a single site through inter and intra-stereo tie points, and (3) an adjustment of the rover traverse through manual cross-site tie points. The first stage is based on adjustment of observation angles of features. The second stage and third stage are based on bundle-adjustment. In the third-stage an incremental adjustment method was proposed. Automation in rover localization includes automatic intra/inter-stereo tie point selection, computer-assisted cross-site tie point selection, and automatic verification of accuracy. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Volcanism and Fluvio-Glacial Processes on the Interior Layered Deposits of Valles Marineris, Mars?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, M. G.

2005-12-01

The Interior Layered Deposits (ILDs) in Valles Marineris have been suggested to be possible sub-ice volcanoes. Recent images also show evidence of possible fluvio-glacial processes on the ILDs and hence volcano/ice/water interaction. For example, Mars Express Mission anaglyph from Orbit 334 of central Ophir and Candor Chasmata, THEMIS image V10551002, and MOC images E1700142 and E190020 show 2 ILD mounds in central Candor Chasma that have been sheared off at approximately equal elevations by some material that has been subsequently removed. Level shearing of ILD rock materials and subsequent removal of the abrasive material, suggest ice erosion and glacial processes because glacial ice is mobile enough to grind the rock and can melt away. Another adjacent ILD mound in Central Candor shows an abrupt flank termination and damming of material, rather than flank scour. The dammed material appears to be layers piled up in a ridge at the ILD base. This relation is observed on the HRSC anaglyph and MOC images E0101343 and E201146. Another ILD in Melas Chasma, seen on MOC image M0804981, shows lobes of flank material that terminate along a lineation; possibly suggesting lobe confinement against subsequently removed material. This morphology can also be observed on the flank of the Gangis Chasma ILD in MOC image M0705587. A possible terrestrial volcanic analog for this ILD flank morphology is the Helgafell hyaloclasitic ridge (tindar) in Iceland (Chapman et al., 2004), the eastern flank of which has a linear termination interpreted as largely unmodified and caused by hyalotuff material banked against a former ice wall that has since melted away (Schopka et al., 2003). Glacial shearing of some ILDs and confined banking of other ILDs suggest that these mounds formed at different times, as the sheared ILD likely predated ice and the confined ILD may have formed concurrently with ice. Alternatively, the banking may have been due to lack of shear forces (static ice) and confined post-depositional avalanche deposits. However, exposed in the banked cliff faces are near horizontal bedding planes that can be traced upslope into angled flank layers; a relation that may suggest ice concurrent with volcanic ILD formation (Chapman and Smellie, in press). In addition to glacial processes, many Mars ILDs show fluvial gullies cut into mostly low lying flank deposits. Gullies are eroded into all sides of the ILDs including their north-facing slopes, so solar heating likely did not generate the gullies. Although formal work on the subject is lacking, ongoing terrestrial observation by the author (on an edifice north of Helgafell and in Gjalp eruption films) indicate fluvial erosion of subglacial volcanoes on Earth may be concurrent with their formation, occurring after edifices rise above their surrounding ice-confined meltwater lake. Remnant ice on the top of the edifices can melt to generate streams that erode the growing volcanic flanks.

2D and 3D Method of Characteristic Tools for Complex Nozzle Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, Tharen

2003-01-01

This report details the development of a 2D and 3D Method of Characteristic (MOC) tool for the design of complex nozzle geometries. These tools are GUI driven and can be run on most Windows-based platforms. The report provides a user's manual for these tools as well as explains the mathematical algorithms used in the MOC solutions.

Definition of metabolism-dependent xenobiotic toxicity with co-cultures of human hepatocytes and mouse 3T3 fibroblasts in the novel integrated discrete multiple organ co-culture (IdMOC) experimental system: results with model toxicants aflatoxin B1, cyclophosphamide and tamoxifen.

PubMed

Li, Albert P; Uzgare, Aarti; LaForge, Yumiko S

2012-07-30

The integrated discrete multiple organ co-culture system (IdMOC) allows the co-culturing of multiple cell types as physically separated cells interconnected by a common overlying medium. We report here the application of IdMOC with two cell types: the metabolically competent primary human hepatocytes, and a metabolically incompetent cell line, mouse 3T3 fibroblasts, in the definition of the role of hepatic metabolism on the cytotoxicity of three model toxicants: cyclophosphamide (CPA), aflatoxin B1 (AFB) and tamoxifen (TMX). The presence of hepatic metabolism in IdMOC with human hepatocytes was demonstrated by the metabolism of the P450 isoform 3A4 substrate, luciferin-IPA. The three model toxicants showed three distinct patterns of cytotoxic profile: TMX was cytotoxic to 3T3 cells in the absence of hepatocytes, with slightly lower cytotoxicity towards both 3T3 cells and hepatocytes in the IdMOC. AFB was selective toxic towards the human hepatocytes and relatively noncytotoxic towards 3T3 cells both in the presence and absence of the hepatocytes. CPA cytotoxicity to the 3T3 cells was found to be significantly enhanced by the presence of the hepatocytes, with the cytotoxicity dependent of the number of hepatocytes, and with the cytotoxicity attenuated by the presence of a non-specific P450 inhibitor, 1-aminobenzotriazole. We propose here the following classification of toxicants based on the role of hepatic metabolism as defined by the human hepatocyte-3T3 cell IdMOC assay: type I: direct-acting cytotoxicants represented by TMX as indicated by cytotoxicity in 3T3 cells in the absence of hepatocytes; type II: metabolism-dependent cytotoxicity represented by AFB1 with effects localized within the site of metabolic activation (i. e. hepatocytes); and type III: metabolism-dependent cytotoxicity with metabolites that can diffuse out of the hepatocytes to cause toxicity in cells distal from the site of metabolism, as exemplified by CPA. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feather Vibration as a Stimulus for Sensing Incipient Separation in Falcon Diving Flight

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-07

Thus the bird in streamlined shape has still a good measure to control its attitude to be in the narrow win- dow of safe angle of incidence. This...still a good measure to control its attitude to be around 5deg angle of incidence. Note that this was concluded from wind-tunnel tests, literature and

Effect of Impingement Angle on landfalling Atmospheric River precipitation efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehran, A.; Cao, Q.; Wang, K.; Cannon, F.; Ralph, M.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) along the western coast of North America in wintertime are associated with heavy winter precipitation and most flood events. ARs are narrow, elongated, synoptic jets of water vapor that transport moisture from the eastern Pacific to North Pacific coast of North America. Furthermore, the lowest levels of the atmosphere account for almost 75% of the water vapor transport through these rivers. The combination of high integrated water vapor in AR events and strong upslope winds results in heavy orographic precipitation in regions where the narrow AR jets make landfall. We analyzed 19 years (1997 2015) of landfalling ARs over a transect along the U.S. West Coast consisting of two river basins from coastal Washington and Northern California (Chehalis basin and the Russian River basin) to highlight the impingement angle impact on precipitation rainout efficiency. We have studied water vapor data from Climate Forecast System reanalysis (CFSR) on AR dates to calculate the impingement angle and associated total amount of water vapor. Rainout efficiency is defined and calculated as the ratio of total amount of water vapor that has precipitated over each basin. Our results show that extreme AR events which impingement angle is orthogonal to basin exposure, have greater rainout efficiency.

Kite: Status of the External Metrology Testbed for SIM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dekens, Frank G.; Alvarez-Salazar, Oscar; Azizi, Alireza; Moser, Steven; Nemati, Bijan; Negron, John; Neville, Timothy; Ryan, Daniel

2004-01-01

Kite is a system level testbed for the External Metrology system of the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). The External Metrology System is used to track the fiducial that are located at the centers of the interferometer's siderostats. The relative changes in their positions needs to be tracked to tens of picometers in order to correct for thermal measurements, the Kite testbed was build to test both the metrology gauges and out ability to optically model the system at these levels. The Kite testbed is an over-constraint system where 6 lengths are measured, but only 5 are needed to determine the system. The agreement in the over-constrained length needs to be on the order of 140 pm for the SIM Wide-Angle observing scenario and 8 pm for the Narrow-Angle observing scenario. We demonstrate that we have met the Wide-Angle goal with our current setup. For the Narrow-Angle case, we have only reached the goal for on-axis observations. We describe the testbed improvements that have been made since our initial results, and outline the future Kite changes that will add further effects that SIM faces in order to make the testbed more SIM like.

Omni-Directional Viewing-Angle Switching through Control of the Beam Divergence Angle in a Liquid Crystal Panel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baek, Jong-In; Kim, Ki-Han; Kim, Jae Chang; Yoon, Tae-Hoon

2010-01-01

This paper proposes a method of omni-directional viewing-angle switching by controlling the beam diverging angle (BDA) in a liquid crystal (LC) panel. The LCs aligned randomly by in-cell polymer structures diffuse the collimated backlight for the bright state of the wide viewing-angle mode. We align the LCs homogeneously by applying an in-plane field for the narrow viewing-angle mode. By doing this the scattering is significantly reduced so that the small BDA is maintained as it passes through the LC layer. The dark state can be obtained by aligning the LCs homeotropically with a vertical electric field. We demonstrated experimentally the omni-directional switching of the viewing-angle, without an additional panel or backlighting system.

Fabrication of Ag nanostructures with remarkable narrow plasmonic resonances by glancing angle deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasian, Sara; Moshaii, Ahmad; Vayghan, Nader Sobhkhiz; Nikkhah, Maryam

2018-05-01

Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) is an efficient and inexpensive method to fabricate nanostructures with diverse complexities. However, this method has a limitation in fabrication of plasmonic nanostructures with narrow resonance peaks causing that the GLAD-nanostructures have rarely been used for refractive-index sensing. In this work, we proposed two approaches to overcome this limitation of GLAD and to fabricate Ag nanostructures with narrow plasmonic peaks. In the first approach, we introduce an effective method for seeding modification of the substrate and then growing the Ag nanocolumns on such seeded layer. The optical characterization shows that such pre-seeding of the substrate leads to nearly 40% narrowing of the plasmonic peak. In another approach, the nanostructures are grown by GLAD on a bare substrate and then are annealed at 200-400 °C. Such annealing converts the nanostructures to nanodomes with large inter-particle distances and about 60% reduction of their plasmonic width. Also, the annealing of the nanostructures at 400 °C provides a twofold improvement in figure of merit of sensing of the nanostructures. This improvement makes the GLAD comparative to other expensive alternate methods for fabrication of plasmonic sensors. In addition, the experimental plasmonic peaks are reproduced in a proper numerical simulation for similar nanostructures.

Anterior Segment Morphology in Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma using Ultrasound Biomicroscopy

PubMed Central

Balakrishna, Nagalla

2017-01-01

Aim To evaluate the configuration of the anterior chamber angle quantitatively and study the morphological changes in the eye with ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) in primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) patients after laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI). Materials and methods A total of 185 eyes of 185 PACG patients post-LPI and 126 eyes of 126 normal subjects were included in this prospective study. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmic evaluation, A-scan biometry, and UBM. The anterior segment and angle parameters were measured quantitatively and compared in both groups using Student’s t-test. Results The PACG patients had shorter axial length, shallower central anterior chamber depth anterior chamber depth (ACD), and anteriorly located lens when compared with normal subjects. Trabecular iris angle (TIA) was significantly narrow (5.73 ± 7.76°) in patients with PACG when compared with normal subjects (23.75 ± 9.38°). The angle opening distance at 500 pm from scleral spur (AOD 500), trabecular-ciliary process distance (TCPD), iris-ciliary process distance (ICPD), and iris-zonule distance (IZD) were significantly shorter in patients with PACG than in normal subjects (p < 0.0001). The iris lens angle (ILA), scleral-iris angle (SIA), and scleral-ciliary process angle (SCPA) were significantly narrower in patients with PACG than in normal subjects (p < 0.0001). The iris-lens contact distance (ILCD) was greater in PACG group than in normal (p = 0.001). Plateau iris was seen in 57/185 (30.8%) of the eyes. Anterior positioned ciliary processes were seen in 130/185 eyes (70.3%) of eyes. Conclusion In PACG patients, persistent apposition angle closure is common even after LPI, which could be due to anterior rotation of ciliary body and plateau iris and overcrowding of anterior segment due to shorter axial length and relative anterior lens position. How to cite this article: Mansoori T, Balakrishna N. Anterior Segment Morphology in Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma using Ultrasound Biomicroscopy. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2017;11(3):86-91. PMID:29151682

Engagement of groups in family medicine board maintenance of certification.

PubMed

Fisher, Dena M; Brenner, Christopher J; Cheren, Mark; Stange, Kurt C

2013-01-01

The American Board of Medical Specialties' Performance in Practice ("Part IV") portion of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirement provides an opportunity for practicing physicians to demonstrate quality improvement (QI) competence. However, specialty boards' certification of one physician at a time does not tap into the potential of collective effort. This article shares learning from a project to help family physicians work in groups to meet their Part IV MOC requirement. A year-long implementation and evaluation project was conducted. Initially, 348 members of a regional family physician organization were invited to participate. A second path was established through 3 health care systems and a county-wide learning collaborative. Participants were offered (1) a basic introduction to QI methods, (2) the option of an alternative Part IV MOC module using a patient experience survey to guide QI efforts, (3) practice-level improvement coaching, (4) support for collaboration and co-learning, and (5) provision of QI resources. More physicians participated through group (66) than individual (12) recruitment, for a total of 78 physicians in 20 practices. Participation occurred at 3 levels: individual, intrapractice, and interpractice. Within the 1-year time frame, intrapractice collaboration occurred most frequently. Interpractice and system-level collaboration has begun and continues to evolve. Physicians felt that they benefited from access to a practice coach and group process. Practice-level collaboration, access to a practice coach, flexibility in choosing and focusing improvement projects, tailored support, and involvement with professional affiliations can enhance the Part IV MOC process. Specialty boards are likely to discover productive opportunities from working with practices, professional organizations, and health care systems to support intra- and interpractice collaborative QI work that uses Part IV MOC requirements to motivate practice improvement.

Increased contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions indicates a hyperresponsive medial olivocochlear system in humans with tinnitus and hyperacusis

PubMed Central

Shera, Christopher A.; Melcher, Jennifer R.

2014-01-01

Atypical medial olivocochlear (MOC) feedback from brain stem to cochlea has been proposed to play a role in tinnitus, but even well-constructed tests of this idea have yielded inconsistent results. In the present study, it was hypothesized that low sound tolerance (mild to moderate hyperacusis), which can accompany tinnitus or occur on its own, might contribute to the inconsistency. Sound-level tolerance (SLT) was assessed in subjects (all men) with clinically normal or near-normal thresholds to form threshold-, age-, and sex-matched groups: 1) no tinnitus/high SLT, 2) no tinnitus/low SLT, 3) tinnitus/high SLT, and 4) tinnitus/low SLT. MOC function was measured from the ear canal as the change in magnitude of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) elicited by broadband noise presented to the contralateral ear. The noise reduced DPOAE magnitude in all groups (“contralateral suppression”), but significantly more reduction occurred in groups with tinnitus and/or low SLT, indicating hyperresponsiveness of the MOC system compared with the group with no tinnitus/high SLT. The results suggest hyperresponsiveness of the interneurons of the MOC system residing in the cochlear nucleus and/or MOC neurons themselves. The present data, combined with previous human and animal data, indicate that neural pathways involving every major division of the cochlear nucleus manifest hyperactivity and/or hyperresponsiveness in tinnitus and/or low SLT. The overactivation may develop in each pathway separately. However, a more parsimonious hypothesis is that top-down neuromodulation is the driving force behind ubiquitous overactivation of the auditory brain stem and may correspond to attentional spotlighting on the auditory domain in tinnitus and hyperacusis. PMID:25231612

Landslide!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-486, 17 September 2003

This August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows part of a deposit created by a landslide off the wall of a crater near 12.3oN, 21.3oW. The crater wall is not shown; it is several kilometers to the left of this picture. The debris that slid from the crater wall came from the left/upper left (northwest) and moved toward the lower right (southeast). The crater floor onto which the debris was deposited has more small meteor craters on it than does the landslide material; this indicates that there was a considerable interval between the time when the crater floor formed, and when the landslide occurred. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

A task-based parallelism and vectorized approach to 3D Method of Characteristics (MOC) reactor simulation for high performance computing architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tramm, John R.; Gunow, Geoffrey; He, Tim; Smith, Kord S.; Forget, Benoit; Siegel, Andrew R.

2016-05-01

In this study we present and analyze a formulation of the 3D Method of Characteristics (MOC) technique applied to the simulation of full core nuclear reactors. Key features of the algorithm include a task-based parallelism model that allows independent MOC tracks to be assigned to threads dynamically, ensuring load balancing, and a wide vectorizable inner loop that takes advantage of modern SIMD computer architectures. The algorithm is implemented in a set of highly optimized proxy applications in order to investigate its performance characteristics on CPU, GPU, and Intel Xeon Phi architectures. Speed, power, and hardware cost efficiencies are compared. Additionally, performance bottlenecks are identified for each architecture in order to determine the prospects for continued scalability of the algorithm on next generation HPC architectures.

Intercalibration of MOCNESS and Bongo nets: Assessing relative efficiency for ichthyoplankton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Donna L.; Fogarty, Michael J.

2013-01-01

The evaluation of catchability of egg and larval fish with the 0.61-m Bongo and the 1-m2 Multiple Opening and Closing Net Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS) was conducted as part of a paired station analysis. The two samplers were deployed on 331 stations on Georges Bank during the U.S. GLOBEC program from January through June for years 1996 and 1997. Significant differences were found when combined catches of all eggs and all larvae for each sampler were compared. Overall catches of larvae from the MOCNESS were 3-5 times greater than those from the Bongo. Gear effects were modeled and revealed that the catches in 14 of the 22 dominant taxa were significantly different between sampling gear. The differences between samplers during diel intervals for the taxa were not significantly different.

Tribochemistry of contact interfaces of nanocrystalline molybdenum carbide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, D. Dinesh; Kumar, N.; Panda, Kalpataru; Kamalan Kirubaharan, A. M.; Kuppusami, P.

2018-07-01

Transition metal carbides (TMC) are known for their improved tribological properties and are sensitive to the tribo-atmospheric environment. Nanocrystalline molybdenum carbide (MoC) thin films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering technique using reactive CH4 gas. The friction and wear resistance properties of MoC thin films were significantly improved in humid-atmospheric condition as compared to high-vacuum tribo-condition. A comprehensive chemical analysis of deformed contact interfaces was carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Raman spectroscopy. XPS and Raman spectroscopy showed the formation of stable molybdenum-oxide (MoO), molybdenum carbide (MoC) and amorphous carbon (a-C) tribo-phases. Moreover, during the sliding in humid-atmospheric condition, these phases were extensively deposited on the sliding steel ball counter body which significantly protected against undesirable friction and wear.

Data Distribution System (DDS) and Solar Dynamic Observatory Ground Station (SDOGS) Integration Manager

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pham, Kim; Bialas, Thomas

2012-01-01

The DDS SDOGS Integration Manager (DSIM) provides translation between native control and status formats for systems within DDS and SDOGS, and the ASIST (Advanced Spacecraft Integration and System Test) control environment in the SDO MOC (Solar Dynamics Observatory Mission Operations Center). This system was created in response for a need to centralize remote monitor and control of SDO Ground Station equipments using ASIST control environment in SDO MOC, and to have configurable table definition for equipment. It provides translation of status and monitoring information from the native systems into ASIST-readable format to display on pages in the MOC. The manager is lightweight, user friendly, and efficient. It allows data trending, correlation, and storing. It allows using ASIST as common interface for remote monitor and control of heterogeneous equipments. It also provides failover capability to back up machines.

Maintenance of Certification in dermatology: requirements for diplomates.

PubMed

Stratman, Erik; Kirsner, Robert S; Horn, Thomas D

2013-07-01

Since 2006, after completing a cognitive certifying or recertifying examination, dermatologists are automatically enrolled into Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and can access a personalized electronic table (at www.abderm.org) that presents the requirements over the 10-year cycle. On this web site, diplomates can also pay the annual fee and attest to completion of the various components. Clicking on hyperlinks in the table launches explanations of the requirements. A hyperlink below the table takes the reader to the various resources approved for completion of the MOC requirements. There is a login tab in the upper left corner with a login help feature below. Clicking on the MOC tab will bring up the table. The timeline is specific to the individual. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Solar System Portrait - View of the Sun, Earth and Venus

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-09-13

This color image of the sun, Earth and Venus was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft Feb. 14, 1990, when it was approximately 32 degrees above the plane of the ecliptic and at a slant-range distance of approximately 4 billion miles. It is the first -- and may be the only -- time that we will ever see our solar system from such a vantage point. The image is a portion of a wide-angle image containing the sun and the region of space where the Earth and Venus were at the time with two narrow-angle pictures centered on each planet. The wide-angle was taken with the camera's darkest filter (a methane absorption band), and the shortest possible exposure (5 thousandths of a second) to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large in the sky as seen from Voyager's perspective at the edge of the solar system but is still eight million times brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The image of the sun you see is far larger than the actual dimension of the solar disk. The result of the brightness is a bright burned out image with multiple reflections from the optics in the camera. The "rays" around the sun are a diffraction pattern of the calibration lamp which is mounted in front of the wide angle lens. The two narrow-angle frames containing the images of the Earth and Venus have been digitally mosaiced into the wide-angle image at the appropriate scale. These images were taken through three color filters and recombined to produce a color image. The violet, green and blue filters were used; exposure times were, for the Earth image, 0.72, 0.48 and 0.72 seconds, and for the Venus frame, 0.36, 0.24 and 0.36, respectively. Although the planetary pictures were taken with the narrow-angle camera (1500 mm focal length) and were not pointed directly at the sun, they show the effects of the glare from the nearby sun, in the form of long linear streaks resulting from the scattering of sunlight off parts of the camera and its sun shade. From Voyager's great distance both Earth and Venus are mere points of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun. Detailed analysis also suggests that Voyager detected the moon as well, but it is too faint to be seen without special processing. Venus was only 0.11 pixel in diameter. The faint colored structure in both planetary frames results from sunlight scattered in the optics. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00450

Solar System Portrait - View of the Sun, Earth and Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This color image of the sun, Earth and Venus was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft Feb. 14, 1990, when it was approximately 32 degrees above the plane of the ecliptic and at a slant-range distance of approximately 4 billion miles. It is the first -- and may be the only -- time that we will ever see our solar system from such a vantage point. The image is a portion of a wide-angle image containing the sun and the region of space where the Earth and Venus were at the time with two narrow-angle pictures centered on each planet. The wide-angle was taken with the camera's darkest filter (a methane absorption band), and the shortest possible exposure (5 thousandths of a second) to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large in the sky as seen from Voyager's perspective at the edge of the solar system but is still eight million times brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The image of the sun you see is far larger than the actual dimension of the solar disk. The result of the brightness is a bright burned out image with multiple reflections from the optics in the camera. The 'rays' around the sun are a diffraction pattern of the calibration lamp which is mounted in front of the wide angle lens. The two narrow-angle frames containing the images of the Earth and Venus have been digitally mosaiced into the wide-angle image at the appropriate scale. These images were taken through three color filters and recombined to produce a color image. The violet, green and blue filters were used; exposure times were, for the Earth image, 0.72, 0.48 and 0.72 seconds, and for the Venus frame, 0.36, 0.24 and 0.36, respectively. Although the planetary pictures were taken with the narrow-angle camera (1500 mm focal length) and were not pointed directly at the sun, they show the effects of the glare from the nearby sun, in the form of long linear streaks resulting from the scattering of sunlight off parts of the camera and its sun shade. From Voyager's great distance both Earth and Venus are mere points of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun. Detailed analysis also suggests that Voyager detected the moon as well, but it is too faint to be seen without special processing. Venus was only 0.11 pixel in diameter. The faint colored structure in both planetary frames results from sunlight scattered in the optics.

Detection and isolation of novel rhizopine-catabolizing bacteria from the environment

PubMed

Gardener; de Bruijn FJ

1998-12-01

Microbial rhizopine-catabolizing (Moc) activity was detected in serial dilutions of soil and rhizosphere washes. The activity observed generally ranged between 10(6) and 10(7) catabolic units per g, and the numbers of nonspecific culture-forming units were found to be approximately 10 times higher. A diverse set of 37 isolates was obtained by enrichment on scyllo-inosamine-containing media. However, none of the bacteria that were isolated were found to contain DNA sequences homologous to the known mocA, mocB, and mocC genes of Sinorhizobium meliloti L5-30. Twenty-one of the isolates could utilize an SI preparation as the sole carbon and nitrogen source for growth. Partial sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs) amplified from these strains indicated that five distinct bacterial genera (Arthrobacter, Sinorhizobium, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Alcaligenes) were represented in this set. Only 6 of these 21 isolates could catabolize 3-O-methyl-scyllo-inosamine under standard assay conditions. Two of these, strains D1 and R3, were found to have 16S rDNA sequences very similar to those of Sinorhizobium meliloti. However, these strains are not symbiotically effective on Medicago sativa, and DNA sequences homologous to the nodB and nodC genes were not detected in strains D1 and R3 by Southern hybridization analysis.

Detection and Isolation of Novel Rhizopine-Catabolizing Bacteria from the Environment

PubMed Central

Gardener, Brian B. McSpadden; de Bruijn, Frans J.

1998-01-01

Microbial rhizopine-catabolizing (Moc) activity was detected in serial dilutions of soil and rhizosphere washes. The activity observed generally ranged between 106 and 107 catabolic units per g, and the numbers of nonspecific culture-forming units were found to be approximately 10 times higher. A diverse set of 37 isolates was obtained by enrichment on scyllo-inosamine-containing media. However, none of the bacteria that were isolated were found to contain DNA sequences homologous to the known mocA, mocB, and mocC genes of Sinorhizobium meliloti L5-30. Twenty-one of the isolates could utilize an SI preparation as the sole carbon and nitrogen source for growth. Partial sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs) amplified from these strains indicated that five distinct bacterial genera (Arthrobacter, Sinorhizobium, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Alcaligenes) were represented in this set. Only 6 of these 21 isolates could catabolize 3-O-methyl-scyllo-inosamine under standard assay conditions. Two of these, strains D1 and R3, were found to have 16S rDNA sequences very similar to those of Sinorhizobium meliloti. However, these strains are not symbiotically effective on Medicago sativa, and DNA sequences homologous to the nodB and nodC genes were not detected in strains D1 and R3 by Southern hybridization analysis. PMID:9835587

An osteoarthritis model of care should be a national priority for New Zealand.

PubMed

Baldwin, Jennifer; Briggs, Andrew; Bagg, Warwick; Larmer, Peter

2017-12-15

Osteoarthritis is highly prevalent, disabling and costly to the person and the community. The burden of this chronic condition is predicted to increase dramatically over the coming decades. Healthcare spending on osteoarthritis is unsustainable and action is needed to improve care delivery. At present, there is an over-emphasis on surgical and pharmacological interventions, despite evidence supporting conservative treatments such as exercise, weight loss and education. While clinical guidelines provide recommendations regarding best practice (ie, what to do), they fail to address how to operationalise these recommendations into clinical practice. Models of care (MoCs) can help bridge the evidence-practice gap by outlining evidence-informed interventions as well as how to implement them within a local system. However, New Zealand has no osteoarthritis MoC. The Mobility Action Programme, funded by the Ministry of Health, is delivering evidence-informed, multi-disciplinary care for osteoarthritis through local initiatives. Although the programme remains under evaluation it presents an opportunity to inform development of a national osteoarthritis MoC for New Zealand. A policy framework, such as a MoC, is needed to scale up successful programs and deliver best practice care nationwide. Ultimately, addressing the burden of osteoarthritis will require system-wide approaches involving public policy responses to target primary prevention.

Established T-cell inflamed tumors rejected after adaptive resistance was reversed by combination STING activation and PD-1–pathway blockade

PubMed Central

Moore, Ellen; Clavijo, Paul E.; Davis, Ruth; Cash, Harrison; Van Waes, Carter; Kim, Young; Allen, Clint

2016-01-01

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma harbor T-cell inflamed and non-T-cell inflamed tumors. Despite this, only 20% of patients respond to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. Lack of induction of innate immunity through pattern-recognition receptors such as the stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING) receptor may represent a significant barrier to the development of effective antitumor immunity. Here, we demonstrate robust control of a T-cell inflamed (MOC1), but not non-T-cell inflamed (MOC2), model of head and neck cancer by activation of the STING pathway with the synthetic cyclic dinucleotide RP,RP dithio-c-di-GMP. Rejection or durable tumor control of MOC1 tumors was dependent upon a functional STING receptor and CD8 T lymphocytes. STING activation resulted in increased tumor microenvironment type 1 and type 2 IFN and greater expression of PD-1–pathway components in vivo. Established MOC1 tumors were rejected and distant tumors abscopally controlled, after adaptive immune resistance had been reversed by the addition of PD-L1 mAb. These findings suggest that PD-1-pathway blockade may reverse adaptive immune resistance following cyclic dinucleotide treatment, enhancing both local and systemic antitumor immunity. PMID:27821498

Musicianship enhances ipsilateral and contralateral efferent gain control to the cochlea.

PubMed

Bidelman, Gavin M; Schneider, Amy D; Heitzmann, Victoria R; Bhagat, Shaum P

2017-02-01

Human hearing sensitivity is easily compromised with overexposure to excessively loud sounds, leading to permanent hearing damage. Consequently, finding activities and/or experiential factors that distinguish "tender" from "tough" ears (i.e., acoustic vulnerability) would be important for identifying people at higher risk for hearing damage. To regulate sound transmission and protect the inner ear against acoustic trauma, the auditory system modulates gain control to the cochlea via biological feedback of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferents, a neuronal pathway linking the lower brainstem and cochlear outer hair cells. We hypothesized that a salient form of auditory experience shown to have pervasive neuroplastic benefits, namely musical training, might act to fortify hearing through tonic engagement of these reflexive pathways. By measuring MOC efferent feedback via otoacoustic emissions (cochlear emitted sounds), we show that dynamic ipsilateral and contralateral cochlear gain control is enhanced in musically-trained individuals. Across all participants, MOC strength was correlated with the years of listeners' training suggested that efferent gain control is experience dependent. Our data provide new evidence that intensive listening experience(s) (e.g., musicianship) can strengthen the ipsi/contralateral MOC efferent system and sound regulation to the inner ear. Implications for reducing acoustic vulnerability to damaging sounds are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Palomar Testbed Interferometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colavita, M. M.; Wallace, J. K.; Hines, B. E.; Gursel, Y.; Malbet, F.; Palmer, D. L.; Pan, X. P.; Shao, M.; Yu, J. W.; Boden, A. F.

1999-01-01

The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) is a long-baseline infrared interferometer located at Palomar Observatory, California. It was built as a testbed for interferometric techniques applicable to the Keck Interferometer. First fringes were obtained in 1995 July. PTI implements a dual-star architecture, tracking two stars simultaneously for phase referencing and narrow-angle astrometry. The three fixed 40 cm apertures can be combined pairwise to provide baselines to 110 m. The interferometer actively tracks the white-light fringe using an array detector at 2.2 microns and active delay lines with a range of +/-38 m. Laser metrology of the delay lines allows for servo control, and laser metrology of the complete optical path enables narrow-angle astrometric measurements. The instrument is highly automated, using a multiprocessing computer system for instrument control and sequencing.

Anterior chamber configuration in patients with glaucoma: MR gonioscopy evaluation with half-Fourier single-shot RARE sequence and microscopy coil.

PubMed

Tanitame, Keizo; Sasaki, Ko; Sone, Takashi; Uyama, Shinji; Sumida, Masumi; Ichiki, Toshio; Ito, Katsuhide

2008-10-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the accuracy of half-Fourier single-shot rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement high-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging performed with a microscopy coil in the diagnosis of narrow anterior chamber angle in patients with glaucoma. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy served as the reference standard. The institutional review board approved this study, and written informed consent was obtained from the 20 recruited patients. There was excellent agreement between MR gonioscopy and slit-lamp biomicroscopy in the classification of anterior chamber angles as narrow or open (kappa = 0.89 [95% confidence interval: 0.69, 1.10]). MR gonioscopy has substantial potential as a technique used to evaluate glaucoma. (c) RSNA, 2008.

Wide angle and narrow-band asymmetric absorption in visible and near-infrared regime through lossy Bragg stacks

PubMed Central

Shu, Shiwei; Zhan, Yawen; Lee, Chris; Lu, Jian; Li, Yang Yang

2016-01-01

Absorber is an important component in various optical devices. Here we report a novel type of asymmetric absorber in the visible and near-infrared spectrum which is based on lossy Bragg stacks. The lossy Bragg stacks can achieve near-perfect absorption at one side and high reflection at the other within the narrow bands (several nm) of resonance wavelengths, whereas display almost identical absorption/reflection responses for the rest of the spectrum. Meanwhile, this interesting wavelength-selective asymmetric absorption behavior persists for wide angles, does not depend on polarization, and can be ascribed to the lossy characteristics of the Bragg stacks. Moreover, interesting Fano resonance with easily tailorable peak profiles can be realized using the lossy Bragg stacks. PMID:27251768

[Chamber Angle Assessment in Clinical Practice - A Comparison between Optical Coherence Tomography and Gonioscopy].

PubMed

Mösler, M P; Werner, J U; Lang, G K

2015-07-01

In glaucoma the structures of the anterior chamber are important for classification, therapy, progression and prognosis. In this context anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) gains more relevance. This study compares AS-OCT with gonioscopy in diagnostic performance of chamber angle (CA) assessment. 104 consecutive subjects with glaucoma underwent AS-OCT imaging using the Visante OCT. RESULTS were compared to gonioscopic grading from patient history using the Shaffer system. In addition, anterior chamber depth (ACD) assessment using slitlamp examination was evaluated as a prognostic factor for chamber angle width (CAW) and verified by AS-OCT measurement. Average CAW was 29° (AS-OCT). 17 % of the CAs that were "wide" in gonioscopy (variance 5-55°), showed a "narrow" CA in AS-OCT. 35 % of the CAs that were "narrow" in gonioscopy (variance 0-39°) showed a "wide" CA in AS-OCT. ACD assessment using slitlamp examination is a good predictor for CAW. In this context the technique provides equal informative value as gonioscopy. In cases of "wide" ACDs it is even superior. The critical ACD for an increased risk of angle closure is 2.4 mm. Concerning the critical ACD (< 2.4 mm) the technique gave the possibility to estimate, whether the patients were in the crucial range or not. Average ACD was 2.7 mm (AS-OCT). A strong correlation (correlation coefficient 0.83) between ACD and CAW was observed. Variation of 1 mm in the ACD leads to a change of 18.9° in the CAW. All patients with angle closure glaucoma were below this threshold and 74 % of patients with critical ACD had "narrow" (AS-OCT) CAs. In the case of routine clinical practice with inexperienced residents or circumstances that make gonioscopy difficult or impossible, optical coherence tomography is an effective alternative to the gold standard and is to some extent even superior. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Effect of Implant Diameter and Ridge Dimension on Stress Distribution in Mandibular First Molar Sites-A Photoelastic Study.

PubMed

Termeie, Deborah; Klokkevold, Perry R; Caputo, Angelo A

2015-10-01

The long-term clinical success of a dental implant is dependent upon maintaining sufficient osseointegration to resist forces of occlusion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of implant diameter on stress distribution around screw-type dental implants in mandibular first molar sites using photoelastic models. The design included models with different buccal-lingual dimension. Twelve composite photoelastic models were assembled using 2 different resins to simulate trabecular and cortical bone. Half of the models were fabricated with average dimensions for ridge width and the other half with narrower buccal-lingual dimensions. One internal connection implant (13 mm length) with either a standard (4 mm), wide (5 mm), or narrow (3.3 mm) diameter was embedded in the first molar position of each photoelastic model. Half the implants were tapered and the other half were straight. Full gold crowns in the shape of a mandibular first molar were fabricated and attached to the implants. Vertical and angled loads of 15 and 30 pounds were applied to specific points on the crown. Wide-diameter implants produced the least stress in all ridges while narrow-diameter implants generated the highest stress, especially in narrow ridges. It may be that the volume and quality of bone surrounding implants influences stress distribution with a greater ratio of cortical to trabecular bone, thus providing better support. Models with wide-diameter implants loaded axially had a more symmetrical stress distribution compared to standard and narrow diameter implants. A more asymmetrical stress pattern developed along the entire implant length with angled loads. Implant diameter and ridge width had considerable influence on stress distribution. Narrow-diameter implants produced more stress than wide diameter implants in all conditions tested.

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

Flores, Alejandra Parra; Bravo, Oscar Martinez; Ibargueen, Humberto Salazar

The purpose of this work is to show the results of the analysis of a library of synthetic data corresponding to Very Inclined Showers (i.e. those with a zenith angle between 60 and 80 degrees and energies from 50 EeV to 80 EeV). Simulations were performed using the Aires software and then analyzed to narrow down the arrival angles that allow us an efficient shower reconstruction using the Offline software.

Particle beam injector system and method

DOEpatents

Guethlein, Gary

2013-06-18

Methods and devices enable coupling of a charged particle beam to a radio frequency quadrupole accelerator. Coupling of the charged particle beam is accomplished, at least in-part, by relying on of sensitivity of the input phase space acceptance of the radio frequency quadrupole to the angle of the input charged particle beam. A first electric field across a beam deflector deflects the particle beam at an angle that is beyond the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole. By momentarily reversing or reducing the established electric field, a narrow portion of the charged particle beam is deflected at an angle within the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole. In another configuration, beam is directed at an angle within the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole by the first electric field and is deflected beyond the acceptance angle of the radio frequency quadrupole due to the second electric field.

Mars Global Surveyor observations of Martian fretted terrain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carr, M.H.

2001-01-01

The Martian fretted terrain between latitudes 30?? and 50?? N and between 315?? and 360?? W has been reexamined in light of new Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data from Mars Global Surveyor. Much of the terrain in the 30??-50?? latitude belt in both hemispheres has a characteristic stippled or pitted texture at MOC (1.5 m) scale. The texture appears to result from partial removal of a formerly smooth, thin deposit as a result of sublimation and deflation. A complex history of deposition and exhumation is indicated by remnants of a former, thicker cover of layered deposits. In some hollows and on some slopes, particularly those facing the pole, are smooth textured deposits outlined by an outward facing escarpment. Throughout the study area are numerous escarpments with debris flows at their base. The escarpments typically have slopes in the 20??-30?? range. At the base of the escarpment is commonly a deposit with striae oriented at right angles to the escarpment. Outside this deposit is the main debris apron with a surface that typically slopes 2??-3?? and complex surface textures suggestive of compression, sublimation, and deflation. The presence of undeformed impact craters indicates that the debris flows are no longer forming. Fretted valleys contain lineated fill and are poorly graded. They likely form from fluvial valleys that were initially like those elsewhere on the planet but were subsequently widened and filled by the same mass-wasting processes that formed the debris aprons. Slope reversals indicate that downvalley flow of the lineated fill is minor. The ubiquitous presence of breaks in slope formed by mass wasting and the complex surface textures that result from mass wasting, deflation, and sublimation decreases the recognizability of the shorelines formerly proposed for this area.

Mars at Ls 121o

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

1 October 2006 These images capture what Mars typically looks like in mid-afternoon at L _s 121o. In other words, with the exception of occasional differences in weather and polar frost patterns, this is what the red planet looks like this month (October 2006).

Six views are shown, including the two polar regions. These are composites of 24-26 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global mapping images acquired at red and blue wavelengths. The 'hole' over the south pole is an area where no images were obtained, because this polar region is enveloped in wintertime darkness.

Presently, it is summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere. L_s, solar longitude, a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360o around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at L_s 0o, the start of northern spring and southern autumn. Northern summer/southern winter begins at L_s 90o, northern autumn/southern spring start at L_s 180o, and northern winter/southern summer begin at L_s 270o.

L_s 121o occurs in the middle of this month (October 2006). The pictures show how Mars appeared to the MOC wide angle cameras at a previous L_s 121o in February 2001. The six views are centered on the Tharsis region (upper left), Acidalia and Mare Eyrthraeum (upper right), Syrtis Major and Hellas (middle left), Elysium and Mare Cimmeria (middle right), the north pole (lower left), and the south pole (lower right).

Kinematics of a vertical axis wind turbine with a variable pitch angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakubowski, Mateusz; Starosta, Roman; Fritzkowski, Pawel

2018-01-01

A computational model for the kinematics of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is presented. A H-type rotor turbine with a controlled pitch angle is considered. The aim of this solution is to improve the VAWT productivity. The discussed method is related to a narrow computational branch based on the Blade Element Momentum theory (BEM theory). The paper can be regarded as a theoretical basis and an introduction to further studies with the application of BEM. The obtained torque values show the main advantage of using the variable pitch angle.

Method of Characteristic (MOC) Nozzle Flowfield Solver - User’s Guide and Input Manual Version 2.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-01-01

TECHNICAL REPORT RDMR-SS-17-13 METHOD OF CHARACTERISTIC (MOC) NOZZLE FLOWFIELD SOLVER—USER’S GUIDE AND INPUT MANUAL VERSION 2.0 Kevin D. Kennedy...System Simulation and Development Directorate Aviation and Missile Research , Development, and Engineering Center January 2018 Distribution Statement...DOCUMENTS, DESTROY BY ANY METHOD THAT WILL PREVENT DISCLOSURE OF CONTENTS OR RECONSTRUCTION OF THE DOCUMENT. DISCLAIMER THE FINDINGS IN THIS REPORT

Polygons near Lyot Crater

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-564, 4 December 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows patterned ground, arranged in the form of polygons, on the undulating plains associated with ejecta from the Lyot impact crater on the martian northern plains. This picture was acquired in October 2003 and shows that the polygon margins are ridges with large boulders--shown here as dark dots--on them. On Earth, polygon patterns like this are created in arctic and antarctic regions where there is ice in the ground. The seasonal and longer-term cycles of freezing and thawing of the ice-rich ground cause these features to form over time. Whether the same is true for Mars is unknown. The polygons are located near 54.6oN, 326.6oW. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated from the lower left.

Marte Vallis Platy Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-442, 4 August 2003

The Marte Vallis system, located east of Cerberus and west of Amazonis Planitia, is known for its array of broken, platy flow features. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a close-up view of some of these plates; they appear to be like puzzle pieces that have been broken apart and moved away from each other. The Mars science community has been discussing these features for the past several years--either the flows in Marte Vallis are lava flows, or mud flows. In either case, the material was very fluid and had a thin crust on its surface. As the material continued to flow through the valley system, the crust broke up into smaller plates that were then rafted some distance down the valley. This picture is located near 6.9oN, 182.8oW. It is illuminated by sunlight from the left.

Thermohaline circulation at three key sections in the North Atlantic over 1985-2002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marsh, Robert; de Cuevas, Beverly A.; Coward, Andrew C.; Bryden, Harry L.; Álvarez, Marta

2005-05-01

Efforts are presently underway to monitor the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) in the North Atlantic. A measuring strategy has been designed to monitor both the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in the subtropics and dense outflows at higher latitudes. To provide a historical context for these new observations, we diagnose an eddy-permitting ocean model simulation of the period 1985-2002. We present time series of the THC, MOC and heat transport, at key hydrographic sections in the subtropics, the northeast Atlantic and the Labrador Sea. The simulated THC compares well with observations. We find considerable variability in the THC on each section, most strikingly in the Labrador Sea during the early 1990's, consistent with observed changes. Overturning in the northeast Atlantic declines by ~20% over the 1990's, coincident with an increase in the subtropics. We speculate that MOC weakening may soon be detected in the subtropics, if the decline continues in mid-latitudes.

Dust Mantle Near Pavonis Mons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-356, 10 May 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a thick mantle of dust covering lava flows north of Pavonis Mons so well that the flows are no longer visible. Flows are known to occur here because of the proximity to the volcano, and such flows normally have a very rugged surface. Fine dust, however, has settled out of the atmosphere over time and obscured the flows from view. The cliff at the top of the image faces north (up), the cliff in the middle of the image faces south (down), and the rugged slope at the bottom of the image faces north (up). The dark streak at the center-left was probably caused by an avalanche of dust sometime in the past few decades. The image is located near 4.1oN, 111.3oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the right/lower right.

Argyre Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-363, 17 May 2003

This summertime Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the floor of Argyre Basin shows a plethora of dark streaks thought to have been created by the passage of dust devils. Dust devils are vortices of wind--just as a tornado is a vortex of wind associated with stormy weather on Earth, and the spiraling of water down a bathtub drain is a vortex in a liquid. Dust devils usually form on Mars on relatively calm, quiet, spring and summer afternoons. The passage of a dust devil picks up and disturbs the thin coatings of dust on the martian surface, forming streaks that mark the path that the moving dust devil took. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 48.5oS, 43.0oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Spiders from Mars?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-426, 19 July 2003

No, this is not a picture of a giant, martian spider web. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a plethora of polygonal features on the floor of a northern hemisphere impact crater near 65.6oN, 327.7oW. The picture was acquired during spring, after the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap had largely migrated through the region. At the time the picture was taken, remnants of seasonal frost remained on the crater rim and on the edges of the troughs that bound each of the polygons. Frost often provides a helpful hint as to where polygons and patterned ground occur. The polygons, if they were on Earth, would indicate the presence of freeze-thaw cycles in ground ice. Although uncertain, the same might be true of Mars. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Frosty Wind Streaks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-532, 2 November 2003

As seasonal polar frosts sublime away each spring, winds may re-distribute some of the frost or move sediment exposed from beneath the frost. This action creates ephemeral wind streaks that can be used by scientists seeking to study the local circulation of the martian [missing text] surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a suite of wind streaks created in subliming carbon dioxide frost. These dark streaks appear to conform to the shape of the slopes on which they occur, suggesting that slope winds play a dominant role in creating and orienting these streaks. This picture is located near 73.8oS, 305.7oW. The image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Winds responsible for the streaks generally blew from the bottom/right (south/southeast) toward the top/upper left (north/northwest).

Boulder Track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-408, 1 July 2003

If a boulder rolls down a slope on an uninhabited planet, does it make a sound? While we do not know the sound made by a boulder rolling down a slope in the martian region of Gordii Dorsum, we do know that it made an impression. This full-resolution Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a series of depressions made on a dust-mantled slope as a boulder rolled down it, sometime in the recent past. The boulder track is located just right of center in this picture. The boulder sits at the end of the track. This picture was acquired in May 2003; it is located near 11.2oN, 147.8oW. North is toward the lower left, sunlight illuminates the scene from the right. The picture covers an area only 810 meters (about 886 yards) across.

Volcano Near Pavonis Mons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-549, 19 November 2003

The volcanic plains to the east, southeast, and south of the giant Tharsis volcano, Pavonis Mons, are dotted by dozens of small volcanoes. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example located near 2.1oS, 109.1oW. The elongate depression in the lower left (southwest) quarter of the image is the collapsed vent area for this small, unnamed volcano. A slightly sinuous, leveed channel runs from the depression toward the upper right (north-northeast); this is the trace of a collapsed lava tube. The entire scene has been mantled by dust, such that none of the original volcanic rocks are exposed--except minor occurrences on the steepest slopes in the vent area. The scene is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and illuminated by sunlight from the left/upper left.

[Effect of straw-returning on the storage and distribution of different active fractions of soil organic carbon].

PubMed

Wang, Hul; Wang, Xu-dong; Tian, Xiao-hong

2014-12-01

The impacts of straw mulching and returning on the storage of soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral associated organic carbon (MOC), and their proportions to the total organic carbon (TOC) were studied based on a field experiment. The results showed that compared to the treatment of wheat straw soil-returning (WR), the storage of TOC and MOC decreased by 4.1% and 9.7% respectively in 0-20 cm soil in the treatment with wheat straw mulching (WM), but the storage of DOC and POC increased by 207.7% and 11.9%, and TOC and POC increased significantly in 20-40 cm soil. Compared to the treatment with maize straw soil-returning (MR), the storage of TOC and MOC in the plough pan soil of the treatment with maize straw mulching (MM) increased by 13.6% and 14.6% , respectively. Compared to the WR-MR treatment, the storage of TOC and MOC in top soil (0-20 icm) significantly decreased by 8.5% and 10.3% respectively in WM-MM treatment. The storage of TOC, and POC in top soil was significantly higher in the treatments with maize straw soil-returning or mulching than that with wheat straw. Compared to the treatment without straw (CK), the storage of TOC in top soil increased by 5.2% to 18.0% in the treatments with straw returning or mulching in the six modes (WM, WR, MM, MR, WM-MM,WR-MR) (P<0.05), but the storage of TOC in the plough pan soil decreased by 8.0% to 11.5% (P<0.05) except for the treatments of WM and MM. The storage of DOC and DOC/TOC ratio decreased significantly in top soil in the treatments with straw mulching or returning in six modes. The storage of POC and POC/TOC ratio in WM and WM-MM treatments, MOC and MOC/TOC ratio in WR treatment, increased significantly in top soil. In the other three treatments with straw mulching and returning (MM, MR, WR-MR), the storage of POC and MOC increased significantly in top soil. These results suggested that straw mulching had the potential to accumulate active organic carbon fraction in soil, straw soil-returning had the potential to accumulate stable organic carbon fraction. Considering organic carbon sequestration in cropland in the region of Guanzhong plain, maize straw mulching or soil-returning was better than wheat straw, and wheat straw and maize straw soil-returning (WR-MR) were better than wheat and maize straw mulching (WM-MM).

Complex Burial and Exhumation of South Polar Cap Pitted Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. The two prominent bright stripes at the left/center of the image are covered with bright frost and thus create the illusion that they are sunlit from the lower left.

The large pits, troughs, and 'swiss cheese' of the south polar residual cap appear to have been formed in the upper 4 or 5 layers of the polar material. Each layer is approximately 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick. Some Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images of this terrain show examples in which older pitted and eroded layers have been previously buried and are now being exhumed. The example shown here includes two narrow, diagonal slopes that trend from upper left toward lower right at the left/center portion of the frame. Along the bottoms of these slopes are revealed a layer that underlies them in which there are many more pits and troughs than in the upper layer. It is likely in this case that the lower layer formed its pits and troughs before it was covered by the upper layer. This observation suggests that the troughs, pits, and 'swiss cheese' features of the south polar cap are very old and form over long time scales.

The picture is located near 84.6oS, 45.1oW, and covers an area 3 km by 5 km (1.9 x 3.1 mi) at a resolution of about 3.8 meters (12 ft) per pixel. The image was taken during southern spring on August 29, 1999.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Solar System Portrait - 60 Frame Mosaic

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-09-13

The cameras of Voyager 1 on Feb. 14, 1990, pointed back toward the sun and took a series of pictures of the sun and the planets, making the first ever portrait of our solar system as seen from the outside. In the course of taking this mosaic consisting of a total of 60 frames, Voyager 1 made several images of the inner solar system from a distance of approximately 4 billion miles and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. Thirty-nine wide angle frames link together six of the planets of our solar system in this mosaic. Outermost Neptune is 30 times further from the sun than Earth. Our sun is seen as the bright object in the center of the circle of frames. The wide-angle image of the sun was taken with the camera's darkest filter (a methane absorption band) and the shortest possible exposure (5 thousandths of a second) to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large as seen from Voyager, only about one-fortieth of the diameter as seen from Earth, but is still almost 8 million times brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The result of this great brightness is an image with multiple reflections from the optics in the camera. Wide-angle images surrounding the sun also show many artifacts attributable to scattered light in the optics. These were taken through the clear filter with one second exposures. The insets show the planets magnified many times. Narrow-angle images of Earth, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were acquired as the spacecraft built the wide-angle mosaic. Jupiter is larger than a narrow-angle pixel and is clearly resolved, as is Saturn with its rings. Uranus and Neptune appear larger than they really are because of image smear due to spacecraft motion during the long (15 second) exposures. From Voyager's great distance Earth and Venus are mere points of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00451

Solar System Portrait - 60 Frame Mosaic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The cameras of Voyager 1 on Feb. 14, 1990, pointed back toward the sun and took a series of pictures of the sun and the planets, making the first ever 'portrait' of our solar system as seen from the outside. In the course of taking this mosaic consisting of a total of 60 frames, Voyager 1 made several images of the inner solar system from a distance of approximately 4 billion miles and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. Thirty-nine wide angle frames link together six of the planets of our solar system in this mosaic. Outermost Neptune is 30 times further from the sun than Earth. Our sun is seen as the bright object in the center of the circle of frames. The wide-angle image of the sun was taken with the camera's darkest filter (a methane absorption band) and the shortest possible exposure (5 thousandths of a second) to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large as seen from Voyager, only about one-fortieth of the diameter as seen from Earth, but is still almost 8 million times brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The result of this great brightness is an image with multiple reflections from the optics in the camera. Wide-angle images surrounding the sun also show many artifacts attributable to scattered light in the optics. These were taken through the clear filter with one second exposures. The insets show the planets magnified many times. Narrow-angle images of Earth, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were acquired as the spacecraft built the wide-angle mosaic. Jupiter is larger than a narrow-angle pixel and is clearly resolved, as is Saturn with its rings. Uranus and Neptune appear larger than they really are because of image smear due to spacecraft motion during the long (15 second) exposures. From Voyager's great distance Earth and Venus are mere points of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun.

Method for shaping and aiming narrow beams. [sonar mapping and target identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyser, R. C. (Inventor)

1981-01-01

A sonar method and apparatus is discribed which utilizes a linear frequency chirp in a transmitter/receiver having a correlator to synthesize a narrow beamwidth pattern from otherwise broadbeam transducers when there is relative velocity between the transmitter/receiver and the target. The chirp is so produced in a generator in bandwidth, B, and time, T, as to produce a time bandwidth product, TB, that is increased for a narrower angle. A replica of the chirp produced in a generator is time delayed and Doppler shifted for use as a reference in the receiver for correlation of received chirps from targets. This reference is Doppler shifted to select targets preferentially, thereby to not only synthesize a narrow beam but also aim the beam in azimuth and elevation.

Angle Performance on Optima XE

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

David, Jonathan; Satoh, Shu

2011-01-07

Angle control on high energy implanters is important due to shrinking device dimensions, and sensitivity to channeling at high beam energies. On Optima XE, beam-to-wafer angles are controlled in both the horizontal and vertical directions. In the horizontal direction, the beam angle is measured through a series of narrow slits, and any angle adjustment is made by steering the beam with the corrector magnet. In the vertical direction, the beam angle is measured through a high aspect ratio mask, and any angle adjustment is made by slightly tilting the wafer platen during implant.Using a sensitive channeling condition, we were ablemore » to quantify the angle repeatability of Optima XE. By quantifying the sheet resistance sensitivity to both horizontal and vertical angle variation, the total angle variation was calculated as 0.04 deg. (1{sigma}). Implants were run over a five week period, with all of the wafers selected from a single boule, in order to control for any crystal cut variation.« less

Flight Calibration of the LROC Narrow Angle Camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humm, D. C.; Tschimmel, M.; Brylow, S. M.; Mahanti, P.; Tran, T. N.; Braden, S. E.; Wiseman, S.; Danton, J.; Eliason, E. M.; Robinson, M. S.

2016-04-01

Characterization and calibration are vital for instrument commanding and image interpretation in remote sensing. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle Camera (LROC NAC) takes 500 Mpixel greyscale images of lunar scenes at 0.5 meters/pixel. It uses two nominally identical line scan cameras for a larger crosstrack field of view. Stray light, spatial crosstalk, and nonlinearity were characterized using flight images of the Earth and the lunar limb. These are important for imaging shadowed craters, studying ˜1 meter size objects, and photometry respectively. Background, nonlinearity, and flatfield corrections have been implemented in the calibration pipeline. An eight-column pattern in the background is corrected. The detector is linear for DN = 600--2000 but a signal-dependent additive correction is required and applied for DN<600. A predictive model of detector temperature and dark level was developed to command dark level offset. This avoids images with a cutoff at DN=0 and minimizes quantization error in companding. Absolute radiometric calibration is derived from comparison of NAC images with ground-based images taken with the Robotic Lunar Observatory (ROLO) at much lower spatial resolution but with the same photometric angles.

Optical filters for linearly polarized light using sculptured nematic thin flim of TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muhammad, Zahir; Wali, Faiz; Rehman, Zia ur

2018-05-01

A study of optical filters using sculptured nematic thin films is presented in this article. A central 90◦ twist-defect between two sculptured nematic thin films (SNTFs) sections transmit light of same polarization state and reflect other in the spectral Bragg regime. The SNTFs reflect light of both linearly polarized states in the Bragg regime if the amplitude of modulation of vapor incident angle is increased. A twist-defect in a tilt-modulated sculptured nematic thin films as a result produces bandpass or ultra-narrow bandpass filter depending upon the thickness of the SNTFs. However, both the bandpass or/and ultra-narrow bandpass filters can make polarization-insensitive Bragg mirrors by the appropriate modulation of the tilted 2D nanostructures of a given sculptured nematic thin films. Moreover, it is also observed that the sculptured nematic thin films are very tolerant of the structural defects if the amplitude of modulating vapor incident angle of the structural nano-materials is sufficiently large. Similarly, we observed the affect of incident angles on Bragg filters.

Electrons with E greater than 40 MeV in the earth's radiation belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galper, A. M.; Grachev, V. M.; Dmitrenko, V. V.; Kirillov-Ugriumov, V. G.; Polukhina, N. G.; Ulin, S. E.

1983-10-01

The spatial-angle characteristics of radiation-belt electrons with energies exceeding 40 MeV have been constructed on the basis of data from the Elena-F instrument on the Salyut 6-Soyuz-Progress complex. A sufficiently narrow pitch-angle distribution is found, which indicates that high-energy electrons observed in the region of the Brazilian magnetic anomaly are trapped by the geomagnetic field.

Twisted MoSe 2 bilayers with variable local stacking and interlayer coupling revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Puretzky, Alexander A.; Liang, Liangbo; Li, Xufan; ...

2016-01-14

Unique twisted bilayers of MoSe 2 with multiple stacking orientations and interlayer couplings in the narrow range of twist angles, 60 ± 3°, are revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy and theoretical analysis. The slight deviation from 60 allows the concomitant presence of patches featuring all three high-symmetry stacking configurations (2H or AA', AB', A'B) in one unique bilayer system. In this case, the periodic arrangement of the patches and their size strongly depend on the twist angle. Ab initio modeling predicts significant changes in frequencies and intensities of low-frequency modes versus stacking and twist angle. Experimentally, the variable stacking andmore » coupling across the interface is revealed by the appearance of two breathing modes corresponding to the mixture of the high-symmetry stacking configurations and unaligned regions of monolayers. Only one breathing mode is observed outside the narrow range of twist angles. This indicates a stacking transition to unaligned monolayers with mismatched atom registry without the in-plane restoring force required to generate a shear mode. As a result, the variable interlayer coupling and spacing in transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers revealed in this study may provide a new platform for optoelectronic applications of these materials.« less

Twisted MoSe 2 bilayers with variable local stacking and interlayer coupling revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

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

Puretzky, Alexander A.; Liang, Liangbo; Li, Xufan

Unique twisted bilayers of MoSe 2 with multiple stacking orientations and interlayer couplings in the narrow range of twist angles, 60 ± 3°, are revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy and theoretical analysis. The slight deviation from 60 allows the concomitant presence of patches featuring all three high-symmetry stacking configurations (2H or AA', AB', A'B) in one unique bilayer system. In this case, the periodic arrangement of the patches and their size strongly depend on the twist angle. Ab initio modeling predicts significant changes in frequencies and intensities of low-frequency modes versus stacking and twist angle. Experimentally, the variable stacking andmore » coupling across the interface is revealed by the appearance of two breathing modes corresponding to the mixture of the high-symmetry stacking configurations and unaligned regions of monolayers. Only one breathing mode is observed outside the narrow range of twist angles. This indicates a stacking transition to unaligned monolayers with mismatched atom registry without the in-plane restoring force required to generate a shear mode. As a result, the variable interlayer coupling and spacing in transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers revealed in this study may provide a new platform for optoelectronic applications of these materials.« less

MESSENGER Departs Mercury

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-01-30

After NASA MESSENGER spacecraft completed its successful flyby of Mercury, the Narrow Angle Camera NAC, part of the Mercury Dual Imaging System MDIS, took these images of the receding planet. This is a frame from an animation.

Boiling Visualization and Critical Heat Flux Phenomena In Narrow Rectangular Gap

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

J. J. Kim; Y. H. Kim; S. J. Kim

2004-12-01

An experimental study was performed to investifate the pool boling critical hear flux (CHF) on one-dimensional inclined rectangular channels with narrow gaps by changing the orientation of a copper test heater assembly. In a pool of saturated water at atmospheric pressure, the test parameters include the gap sizes of 1,2,5, and 10 mm, andthe surface orientation angles from the downward facing position (180 degrees) to the vertical position (90 degress) respectively.

Telescope and mirrors development for the monolithic silicon carbide instrument of the osiris narrow angle camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvel, Bertrand; Castel, Didier; Standarovski, Eric; Rousset, Gérard; Bougoin, Michel

2017-11-01

The international Rosetta mission, now planned by ESA to be launched in January 2003, will provide a unique opportunity to directly study the nucleus of comet 46P/Wirtanen and its activity in 2013. We describe here the design, the development and the performances of the telescope of the Narrow Angle Camera of the OSIRIS experiment et its Silicon Carbide telescope which will give high resolution images of the cometary nucleus in the visible spectrum. The development of the mirrors has been specifically detailed. The SiC parts have been manufactured by BOOSTEC, polished by STIGMA OPTIQUE and ion figured by IOM under the prime contractorship of ASTRIUM. ASTRIUM was also in charge of the alignment. The final optical quality of the aligned telescope is 30 nm rms wavefront error.

Neptune Great Dark Spot in High Resolution

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-08-30

This photograph shows the last face on view of the Great Dark Spot that Voyager will make with the narrow angle camera. The image was shuttered 45 hours before closest approach at a distance of 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles). The smallest structures that can be seen are of an order of 50 kilometers (31 miles). The image shows feathery white clouds that overlie the boundary of the dark and light blue regions. The pinwheel (spiral) structure of both the dark boundary and the white cirrus suggest a storm system rotating counterclockwise. Periodic small scale patterns in the white cloud, possibly waves, are short lived and do not persist from one Neptunian rotation to the next. This color composite was made from the clear and green filters of the narrow-angle camera. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00052

Combined ab interno trabeculotomy and lens extraction: a novel management option for combined uveitic and chronic narrow angle raised intraocular pressure.

PubMed

Lin, Siying; Gupta, Bhaskar; Rossiter, Jonathan

2016-02-01

Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery is a developing area that has the potential to replace traditional glaucoma surgery, with its known risk profile, but at present there are no randomised controlled data to validate its use. We report on a case where sequential bilateral combined ab interno trabeculotomy and lens extraction surgery was performed on a 45-year-old woman with combined uveitic and chronic narrow angle raised intraocular pressure. Maximal medical management alone could not control the intraocular pressure. At 12-month follow-up, the patient had achieved stable intraocular pressure in both eyes on a combination of topical ocular antiglaucomatous and steroid therapies. This case demonstrates the effectiveness of trabecular meshwork ablation via ab interno trabeculotomy in a case of complex mixed mechanism glaucoma. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Combined ab interno trabeculotomy and lens extraction: a novel management option for combined uveitic and chronic narrow angle raised intraocular pressure

PubMed Central

Lin, Siying; Gupta, Bhaskar; Rossiter, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery is a developing area that has the potential to replace traditional glaucoma surgery, with its known risk profile, but at present there are no randomised controlled data to validate its use. We report on a case where sequential bilateral combined ab interno trabeculotomy and lens extraction surgery was performed on a 45-year-old woman with combined uveitic and chronic narrow angle raised intraocular pressure. Maximal medical management alone could not control the intraocular pressure. At 12-month follow-up, the patient had achieved stable intraocular pressure in both eyes on a combination of topical ocular antiglaucomatous and steroid therapies. This case demonstrates the effectiveness of trabecular meshwork ablation via ab interno trabeculotomy in a case of complex mixed mechanism glaucoma. PMID:26833953

Insight into ethylene interactions with molybdenum suboxide cluster anions from photoelectron spectra of chemifragments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaugaard, Richard N.; Topolski, Josey E.; Ray, Manisha; Raghavachari, Krishnan; Jarrold, Caroline Chick

2018-02-01

Recent studies on reactions between MoxOy- cluster anions and H2O/C2H4 mixtures revealed a complex web of addition, hydrogen evolution, and chemifragmentation reactions, with chemifragments unambiguously connected to cluster reactions with C2H4. To gain insight into the molecular-scale interactions along the chemifragmentation pathways, the anion photoelectron (PE) spectra of MoC2H2-, MoC4H4-, MoOC2H2-, and MoO2C2H2- formed directly in MoxOy- + C2H4 (x > 1; y ≥ x) reactions, along with supporting CCSD(T) and density functional theory calculations, are presented and analyzed. The complexes have spectra that are all consistent with η2-acetylene complexes, though for all but MoC4H4-, the possibility that vinylidene complexes are also present cannot be definitively ruled out. Structures that are consistent with the PE spectrum of MoC2H2- differ from the lowest energy structure, suggesting that the fragment formation is under kinetic control. The PE spectrum of MoO2C2H2- additionally exhibits evidence that photodissociation to MoO2- + C2H2 may be occurring. The results suggest that oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylene is initiated by Lewis acid/base interactions between the Mo centers in larger clusters and the π orbitals in ethylene.

Stability of the Medial Olivocochlear Reflex as Measured by Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions

PubMed Central

Abdala, Carolina

2015-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the repeatability of a fine-resolution, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE)–based assay of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in normal-hearing adults. Method Data were collected during 36 test sessions from 4 normal-hearing adults to assess short-term stability and 5 normal-hearing adults to assess long-term stability. DPOAE level and phase measurements were recorded with and without contralateral acoustic stimulation. MOC reflex indices were computed by (a) noting contralateral acoustic stimulation-induced changes in DPOAE level (both absolute and normalized) at fine-structure peaks, (b) recording the effect as a vector difference, and (c) separating DPOAE components and considering a component-specific metric. Results Analyses indicated good repeatability of all indices of the MOC reflex in most frequency ranges. Short- and long-term repeatability were generally comparable. Indices normalized to a subject's own baseline fared best, showing strong short- and long-term stability across all frequency intervals. Conclusions These results suggest that fine-resolution DPOAE-based measures of the MOC reflex measured at strategic frequencies are stable, and natural variance from day-to-day or week-to-week durations is small enough to detect between-group differences and possibly to monitor intervention-related success. However, this is an empirical question that must be directly tested to confirm its utility. PMID:25320951

Community size and organization of practice predict family physician recertification success.

PubMed

Schulte, Bradley M; Mannino, David M; Royal, Kenneth D; Brown, Sabrina L; Peterson, Lars E; Puffer, James C

2014-01-01

Health disparities exist between rural and urban areas. Rural physicians may lack sufficient medical knowledge, which may lead to poor quality of care. Therefore, we sought to determine whether medical knowledge differed between family physicians (FPs) practicing in rural areas compared with those practicing in metropolitan areas. We studied 8361 FPs who took the American Board of Family Medicine maintenance of certification (MOC) examination in 2009. Data sources were examination results and data from a demographic survey of practice structure and activities, completed as part of the examination application process. FPs' location of practice was categorized as either rural or metropolitan using a moderate and conservative definition based on reported community size. Univariate statistics assessed differences in FP characteristics between rural and metropolitan areas. Logistic regression analyses determined the adjusted relationship between rural status and the odds of passing the MOC examination. Metropolitan FPs were less likely than their rural counterparts to pass the MOC examination using both the moderate (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.83) and conservative (odds ratio, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.74) definitions. Physicians in solo practice were less likely to pass the examination than physicians in group practice. Rural physicians were more likely to pass the MOC examination, suggesting that rural health disparities do not result from a lack of provider knowledge.

Deglacial Neodymium Isotopic Ratios in the Florida Straits and the Response of Intermediate Waters to Reduced Meridional Overturning Circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcantonio, F.; Schmidt, M. W.; Franklin, A.; Lynch-Stieglitz, J. M.

2009-12-01

Neodymium behaves quasi-conservatively in seawater, and its isotopic signature can be used as a tracer for oceanic water masses. By analyzing Nd in the authigenic ferromanganese oxide component of marine sediments, past changes in water mass movements have been hypothesized. In the Atlantic Ocean, Nd isotope analysis has been used to trace the variable strength of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) during the last deglaciation (e.g., Pahnke et al., 2008). Here, we use Nd isotopes to investigate whether a decrease in the strength of the past MOC manifests itself as a reduction (Came et al., 2008) or an increase (Pahnke et al., 2008) in the northward incursion of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) into the North Atlantic. Sediments from two core sites currently bathed by AAIW within the Florida Straits (546 m and 751 m water depth) are well suited for profiling authigenic Nd isotope ratios. Because the Florida Current represents a major pathway of the Atlantic MOC surface return flow, the Florida Strait sites can shed light on how variations in AAIW are related to changes in Atlantic MOC strength. The sediments range in age from 0 to 25 kyr, and the high sedimentation rates (8 - 200 cm/kyr) ensure that millennial climate events during the deglaciation are captured. The range in ɛNd measured in the shallower core thus far is low (~ 1.5 epsilon units), but significant. There is a trend in the data which suggests more unradiogenic values during the Younger Dryas event when Atlantic MOC slowed down. Such a trend supports the idea based on benthic foraminiferal Cd/Ca data (Came et al., 2008) that, during the Younger Dryas, there was a reduction within the Florida Current of the flow of intermediate, southern-sourced waters. Came et al., 2008, Paleoceanography 23, PA1217. Pahnke et al., 2008, Nature Geoscience 1, 870-874.

Identification of Metabolites in the Normal Ovary and Their Transformation in Primary and Metastatic Ovarian Cancer

PubMed Central

Fong, Miranda Y.; McDunn, Jonathan; Kakar, Sham S.

2011-01-01

In this study, we characterized the metabolome of the human ovary and identified metabolic alternations that coincide with primary epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and metastatic tumors resulting from primary ovarian cancer (MOC) using three analytical platforms: gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) using buffer systems and instrument settings to catalog positive or negative ions. The human ovarian metabolome was found to contain 364 biochemicals and upon transformation of the ovary caused changes in energy utilization, altering metabolites associated with glycolysis and β-oxidation of fatty acids—such as carnitine (1.79 fold in EOC, p<0.001; 1.88 fold in MOC, p<0.001), acetylcarnitine (1.75 fold in EOC, p<0.001; 2.39 fold in MOC, p<0.001), and butyrylcarnitine (3.62 fold, p<0.0094 in EOC; 7.88 fold, p<0.001 in MOC). There were also significant changes in phenylalanine catabolism marked by increases in phenylpyruvate (4.21 fold; p = 0.0098) and phenyllactate (195.45 fold; p<0.0023) in EOC. Ovarian cancer also displayed an enhanced oxidative stress response as indicated by increases in 2-aminobutyrate in EOC (1.46 fold, p = 0.0316) and in MOC (2.25 fold, p<0.001) and several isoforms of tocopherols. We have also identified novel metabolites in the ovary, specifically N-acetylasparate and N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate, whose role in ovarian physiology has yet to be determined. These data enhance our understanding of the diverse biochemistry of the human ovary and demonstrate metabolic alterations upon transformation. Furthermore, metabolites with significant changes between groups provide insight into biochemical consequences of transformation and are candidate biomarkers of ovarian oncogenesis. Validation studies are warranted to determine whether these compounds have clinical utility in the diagnosis or clinical management of ovarian cancer patients. PMID:21625518

Identification of metabolites in the normal ovary and their transformation in primary and metastatic ovarian cancer.

PubMed

Fong, Miranda Y; McDunn, Jonathan; Kakar, Sham S

2011-01-01

In this study, we characterized the metabolome of the human ovary and identified metabolic alternations that coincide with primary epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and metastatic tumors resulting from primary ovarian cancer (MOC) using three analytical platforms: gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) using buffer systems and instrument settings to catalog positive or negative ions. The human ovarian metabolome was found to contain 364 biochemicals and upon transformation of the ovary caused changes in energy utilization, altering metabolites associated with glycolysis and β-oxidation of fatty acids--such as carnitine (1.79 fold in EOC, p<0.001; 1.88 fold in MOC, p<0.001), acetylcarnitine (1.75 fold in EOC, p<0.001; 2.39 fold in MOC, p<0.001), and butyrylcarnitine (3.62 fold, p<0.0094 in EOC; 7.88 fold, p<0.001 in MOC). There were also significant changes in phenylalanine catabolism marked by increases in phenylpyruvate (4.21 fold; p = 0.0098) and phenyllactate (195.45 fold; p<0.0023) in EOC. Ovarian cancer also displayed an enhanced oxidative stress response as indicated by increases in 2-aminobutyrate in EOC (1.46 fold, p = 0.0316) and in MOC (2.25 fold, p<0.001) and several isoforms of tocopherols. We have also identified novel metabolites in the ovary, specifically N-acetylasparate and N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate, whose role in ovarian physiology has yet to be determined. These data enhance our understanding of the diverse biochemistry of the human ovary and demonstrate metabolic alterations upon transformation. Furthermore, metabolites with significant changes between groups provide insight into biochemical consequences of transformation and are candidate biomarkers of ovarian oncogenesis. Validation studies are warranted to determine whether these compounds have clinical utility in the diagnosis or clinical management of ovarian cancer patients.

Beneficial effect of nocturnal oximetric control on the clinical and gasometric situation and the prognosis of patients with home non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

PubMed

Hidalgo Carvajal, Raúl; Sánchez Casado, Marcelino; de Miguel-Díez, Javier; López Gabaldón, Encarnación

2018-02-28

The effectiveness of home non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) is assessed by determining blood gas values in wakefulness, the evolution of their symptoms, and the monitoring of ventilation at night. The aim of our study is to evaluate whether defined values reached with outpatient monitoring by oximetry is related to the clinical, arterial gases and survival of a sample of patients with home NIMV. Retrospective observational cohort study of a series of patients receiving home NIMV treatment for different causes. Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and less than 3 months of follow-up were excluded. The evolution of the patient's symptoms, their baseline arterial blood gases in wakefulness, and home nocturnal oximetry records, are evaluated at each outpatient visit. Good maintained oximetry control (MOC) was defined when mean O2 saturation values were reached and maintained until the last revision. Patient groups were considered, according to whether or not a good MOC was achieved during follow-up. Four hundred patients were evaluated. Three hundred and sixty four (91%) were included in the study; their median age was 68 years, 51% were male. 37.6% had a good MOC during follow-up. Compared to patients with not good MOC, a better long-term mortality was obtained (16.8% vs 28.2%, P=.013), and an improvement in symptoms (33.8% vs 18.6%, P=.002) and a lower proportion of patients with persistently>50mmHg PaCO2 (14.2% vs. 33.9%, P<.001) was observed. In the follow-up of patients with home NIMV in our context, values defined in home nocturnal oximetry (good MOC) are positively associated with clinical, gasometric and longer-term survival. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

A Dust Devil Making a Streak and Climbing a Crater Wall

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-318, 8 August 2002 [figure removed for brevity, see original site] One of the key elements of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Extended Mission is to look for and monitor changes taking place on the planet over the course of a second--and, eventually, a third--martian year. MGS is now well into its second Mars year, which will draw to a close in December 2002. Among the changes the MOC has observed are streaks believed to be caused by the passage of dust devils. Thousands of MOC images show these streaks, dozens show that they change over time, but far fewer images have actually captured a dust devil in the act of creating a streak. At the center right of this image (above left) is a dust devil that, on May 21, 2002, was seen climbing the wall of a crater at 4.1oS, 9.5oW. This crater (above right) is in western Terra Meridiani. The dust devil was moving toward the northeast (upper right), leaving behind a dark trail where a thin coating of surficial dust was removed or disrupted as the dust devil advanced. Dust devils most commonly form after noon on days when the martian air is still (that is, when there isn't even a faint breeze). On such days, the ground is better able to heat up the air immediately above the surface. As the warmed near-surface air begins to rise, it also begins to spin, creating a vortex. The spinning column then moves across the surface and picks up loose dust (if any is present). The dust makes the vortex visible and gives it a tornado-like appearance. The dust devil in this image has a very short, dark shadow cast to the right of the bright column; this shadow is short because the sun was nearly overhead.

Moclobemide as add-on therapy to agomelatine in a patient with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder: a psychopharmacological case.

PubMed

Stuhec, Matej; Oravecz, Robert

2016-04-01

Treatment-resistant depression is a major depressive disorder that does not respond to adequate treatment of at least two antidepressants and is one of the major clinical challenges for clinicians and clinical pharmacists. One treatment option is to switch the patient to a different medication. Another option is to add a medication to the patient's current pharmacotherapy. This article presents an improvement of symptoms induced by a combination of moclobemide (MOC) and agomelatine (AG) treatment in a 48-year-old Caucasian woman with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). The patient had been treated with numerous antidepressants in the last 2 years that had not been effective or had caused serious adverse effects. When MOC 300 mg daily was added to AG 25 mg daily, the patient recovered progressively without any adverse effects. Her functional status also appeared stable. No other drugs known to interact with AG were administered. The MOC dose was subsequently increased to 600 mg daily and was taken with AG 25 mg daily and zolpidem 5 mg daily. The positive effects of AG or MOC on MDD have been widely reported, but there have not been reports of a combined treatment with MOG and AG improving symptoms of treatment-resistant MDD. The exact mechanism of this effect on the central nervous system is unknown. The additive activity could have been caused by a broader spectrum activity of AG and MOC. In this report, we identified a case with positive evidence of this antidepressant combination relieving the symptoms of treatment-resistant MDD, which is otherwise difficult to manage. This case report may serve to help clinicians and clinical pharmacists as a new treatment option for treatment-resistant MDD, although further research is needed to confirm this practice.

Test/score/report: Simulation techniques for automating the test process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hageman, Barbara H.; Sigman, Clayton B.; Koslosky, John T.

1994-01-01

A Test/Score/Report capability is currently being developed for the Transportable Payload Operations Control Center (TPOCC) Advanced Spacecraft Simulator (TASS) system which will automate testing of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) and Mission Operations Center (MOC) software in three areas: telemetry decommutation, spacecraft command processing, and spacecraft memory load and dump processing. Automated computer control of the acceptance test process is one of the primary goals of a test team. With the proper simulation tools and user interface, the task of acceptance testing, regression testing, and repeatability of specific test procedures of a ground data system can be a simpler task. Ideally, the goal for complete automation would be to plug the operational deliverable into the simulator, press the start button, execute the test procedure, accumulate and analyze the data, score the results, and report the results to the test team along with a go/no recommendation to the test team. In practice, this may not be possible because of inadequate test tools, pressures of schedules, limited resources, etc. Most tests are accomplished using a certain degree of automation and test procedures that are labor intensive. This paper discusses some simulation techniques that can improve the automation of the test process. The TASS system tests the POCC/MOC software and provides a score based on the test results. The TASS system displays statistics on the success of the POCC/MOC system processing in each of the three areas as well as event messages pertaining to the Test/Score/Report processing. The TASS system also provides formatted reports documenting each step performed during the tests and the results of each step. A prototype of the Test/Score/Report capability is available and currently being used to test some POCC/MOC software deliveries. When this capability is fully operational it should greatly reduce the time necessary to test a POCC/MOC software delivery, as well as improve the quality of the test process.

Angle imaging: Advances and challenges

PubMed Central

Quek, Desmond T L; Nongpiur, Monisha E; Perera, Shamira A; Aung, Tin

2011-01-01

Primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) is a major form of glaucoma in large populous countries in East and South Asia. The high visual morbidity from PACG is related to the destructive nature of the asymptomatic form of the disease. Early detection of anatomically narrow angles is important and the subsequent prevention of visual loss from PACG depends on an accurate assessment of the anterior chamber angle (ACA). This review paper discusses the advantages and limitations of newer ACA imaging technologies, namely ultrasound biomicroscopy, Scheimpflug photography, anterior segment optical coherence tomography and EyeCam, highlighting the current clinical evidence comparing these devices with each other and with clinical dynamic indentation gonioscopy, the current reference standard. PMID:21150037

Increased horizontal viewing zone angle of a hologram by resolution redistribution of a spatial light modulator.

PubMed

Takaki, Yasuhiro; Hayashi, Yuki

2008-07-01

The narrow viewing zone angle is one of the problems associated with electronic holography. We propose a technique that enables the ratio of horizontal and vertical resolutions of a spatial light modulator (SLM) to be altered. This technique increases the horizontal resolution of a SLM several times, so that the horizontal viewing zone angle is also increased several times. A SLM illuminated by a slanted point light source array is imaged by a 4f imaging system in which a horizontal slit is located on the Fourier plane. We show that the horizontal resolution was increased four times and that the horizontal viewing zone angle was increased approximately four times.

MESSENGER Reveals Mercury in New Detail

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-01-16

As NASA MESSENGER approached Mercury on January 14, 2008, the spacecraft Narrow-Angle Camera on the Mercury Dual Imaging System MDIS instrument captured this view of the planet rugged, cratered landscape illuminated obliquely by the Sun.

Still from Red Spot Movie

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-11-21

This image is one of seven from the narrow-angle camera on NASA Cassini spacecraft assembled as a brief movie of cloud movements on Jupiter. The smallest features visible are about 500 kilometers about 300 miles across.

Locating the source of projectile fluid droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varney, Christopher R.; Gittes, Fred

2011-08-01

The ill-posed projectile problem of finding the source height from spattered droplets of viscous fluid is a longstanding obstacle to accident reconstruction and crime-scene analysis. It is widely known how to infer the impact angle of droplets on a surface from the elongation of their impact profiles. However, the lack of velocity information makes finding the height of the origin from the impact position and angle of individual drops not possible. From aggregate statistics of the spatter and basic equations of projectile motion, we introduce a reciprocal correlation plot that is effective when the polar launch angle is concentrated in a narrow range. The vertical coordinate depends on the orientation of the spattered surface and equals the tangent of the impact angle for a level surface. When the horizontal plot coordinate is twice the reciprocal of the impact distance, we can infer the source height as the slope of the data points in the reciprocal correlation plot. If the distribution of launch angles is not narrow, failure of the method is evident in the lack of linear correlation. We perform a number of experimental trials, as well as numerical calculations and show that the height estimate is relatively insensitive to aerodynamic drag. Besides its possible relevance for crime investigation, reciprocal-plot analysis of spatter may find application to volcanism and other topics and is most immediately applicable for undergraduate science and engineering students in the context of crime-scene analysis.

On Applications of Disruption Tolerant Networking to Optical Networking in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hylton, Alan Guy; Raible, Daniel E.; Juergens, Jeffrey; Iannicca, Dennis

2012-01-01

The integration of optical communication links into space networks via Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) is a largely unexplored area of research. Building on successful foundational work accomplished at JPL, we discuss a multi-hop multi-path network featuring optical links. The experimental test bed is constructed at the NASA Glenn Research Center featuring multiple Ethernet-to-fiber converters coupled with free space optical (FSO) communication channels. The test bed architecture models communication paths from deployed Mars assets to the deep space network (DSN) and finally to the mission operations center (MOC). Reliable versus unreliable communication methods are investigated and discussed; including reliable transport protocols, custody transfer, and fragmentation. Potential commercial applications may include an optical communications infrastructure deployment to support developing nations and remote areas, which are unburdened with supporting an existing heritage means of telecommunications. Narrow laser beam widths and control of polarization states offer inherent physical layer security benefits with optical communications over RF solutions. This paper explores whether or not DTN is appropriate for space-based optical networks, optimal payload sizes, reliability, and a discussion on security.

Effects of Molybdenum Addition on Hydrogen Desorption of TiC Precipitation-Hardened Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Eun Ju; Baek, Seung-Wook; Nahm, Seung Hoon; Suh, Dong-Woo

2018-05-01

The hydrogen-trap states in TiC and MoC that have coherent interfaces with ferrite were investigated using first-principles calculation. The trapping sites of TiC were the interfaces and interstitial sites of ferrite. On the other hand, the trapping sites of MoC were ferrite interstitial sites; the interface had a negative binding energy with H. Thermal desorption analysis confirms that the amounts of diffusible hydrogen were significantly reduced by addition of Mo in Ti-bearing steel.

THE MARS ORBITER CAMERA IS INSTALLED ON THE MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC, installation is under way of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The MOC is one of a suite of six scientific instruments that will gather data during a two-year period about Martian topography, mineral distribution and weather. The Mars Global Surveyor is slated for launch aboard a Delta II expendable launch vehicle on November 6, the beginning of a 20-day launch period.

rTMS of the occipital cortex abolishes Braille reading and repetition priming in blind subjects.

PubMed

Kupers, R; Pappens, M; de Noordhout, A Maertens; Schoenen, J; Ptito, M; Fumal, A

2007-02-27

To study the functional involvement of the visual cortex in Braille reading, we applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over midoccipital (MOC) and primary somatosensory (SI) cortex in blind subjects. After rTMS of MOC, but not SI, subjects made significantly more errors and showed an abolishment of the improvement in reading speed following repetitive presentation of the same word list, suggesting a role of the visual cortex in repetition priming in the blind.

Pavonis Mons Features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

27 February 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows wind streaks and a thick mantling of dust in the summit region of the martian volcano, Pavonis Mons. The surface texture gives the impression that the MOC image is blurry, but several very small, sharp impact craters reveal that the picture is not blurry.

Location near: 1.1oN, 113.2oW Image width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Northern Summer

Bilateral acute angle closure glaucoma after hyperopic LASIK correction

PubMed Central

Osman, Essam A.; Alsaleh, Ahmed A.; Al Turki, Turki; AL Obeidan, Saleh A.

2009-01-01

Acute angle closure glaucoma is unexpected complication following laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). We are reporting a 49-years-old lady that was presented to the emergency department with acute glaucoma in both eyes soon after LASIK correction. Diagnosis was made on detailed clinical history and examination, slit lamp examination, intraocular pressure measurement and gonioscopy. Laser iridotomy in both eyes succeeded in controlling the attack and normalizing the intraocular pressure (IOP) more than 6 months of follow-up. Prophylactic laser iridotomy is essential for narrow angle patients before LASIK surgery if refractive laser surgery is indicated. PMID:23960863

New narrow baryons and dibaryons observed in inelastic pp scattering

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

Tatischeff, B.; Willis, N.; Comets, M. P.

Several narrow exotic baryonic states have been recently observed at 1004, 1044, and possibly at 1094 MeV, from the study of pp{yields}p{pi}{sup +}X reaction at different energies (T{sub p}=1520, 1805 and 2100 MeV) and angles from 0 deg. up to 17 deg. (lab.). The small widths: a few MeV, indicate a possible interpretation within multiquark baryons or baryonic resonances. A phenomonological mass formula for two clusters of quarks, predicts masses, quite close to the experimental ones.

Machining of Silicon-Ribbon-Forming Dies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menna, A. A.

1985-01-01

Carbon extension for dies used in forming silicon ribbon crystals machined precisely with help of special tool. Die extension has edges beveled toward narrow flats at top, with slot precisely oriented and centered between flats and bevels. Cutting tool assembled from standard angle cutter and circular saw or saws. Angle cutters cuts bevels while slot saw cuts slot between them. In alternative version, custom-ground edges or additional circular saws also cut flats simultaneously.

A propagation experiment for modelling high elevation angle land mobile satellite channels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richharia, M.; Evans, B. G.; Butt, G.

1990-01-01

This paper summarizes the results of a feasibility study for conducting high elevation angle propagation experiments in the European region for land mobile satellite communication. The study addresses various aspects of a proposed experiment. These include the selection of a suitable source for transmission, possibility of gathering narrow and wide band propagation data in various frequency bands, types of useful data, data acquisition technique, possible experimental configuration, and other experimental details.

Foot Placement Modification for a Biped Humanoid Robot with Narrow Feet

PubMed Central

Hattori, Kentaro; Otani, Takuya; Lim, Hun-Ok; Takanishi, Atsuo

2014-01-01

This paper describes a walking stabilization control for a biped humanoid robot with narrow feet. Most humanoid robots have larger feet than human beings to maintain their stability during walking. If robot's feet are as narrow as humans, it is difficult to realize a stable walk by using conventional stabilization controls. The proposed control modifies a foot placement according to the robot's attitude angle. If a robot tends to fall down, a foot angle is modified about the roll axis so that a swing foot contacts the ground horizontally. And a foot-landing point is also changed laterally to inhibit the robot from falling to the outside. To reduce a foot-landing impact, a virtual compliance control is applied to the vertical axis and the roll and pitch axes of the foot. Verification of the proposed method is conducted through experiments with a biped humanoid robot WABIAN-2R. WABIAN-2R realized a knee-bended walking with 30 mm breadth feet. Moreover, WABIAN-2R mounted on a human-like foot mechanism mimicking a human's foot arch structure realized a stable walking with the knee-stretched, heel-contact, and toe-off motion. PMID:24592154

Foot placement modification for a biped humanoid robot with narrow feet.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Kenji; Hattori, Kentaro; Otani, Takuya; Lim, Hun-Ok; Takanishi, Atsuo

2014-01-01

This paper describes a walking stabilization control for a biped humanoid robot with narrow feet. Most humanoid robots have larger feet than human beings to maintain their stability during walking. If robot's feet are as narrow as humans, it is difficult to realize a stable walk by using conventional stabilization controls. The proposed control modifies a foot placement according to the robot's attitude angle. If a robot tends to fall down, a foot angle is modified about the roll axis so that a swing foot contacts the ground horizontally. And a foot-landing point is also changed laterally to inhibit the robot from falling to the outside. To reduce a foot-landing impact, a virtual compliance control is applied to the vertical axis and the roll and pitch axes of the foot. Verification of the proposed method is conducted through experiments with a biped humanoid robot WABIAN-2R. WABIAN-2R realized a knee-bended walking with 30 mm breadth feet. Moreover, WABIAN-2R mounted on a human-like foot mechanism mimicking a human's foot arch structure realized a stable walking with the knee-stretched, heel-contact, and toe-off motion.

Optimized fan-shaped chiral metamaterial as an ultrathin narrow-band circular polarizer at visible frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yizhuo; Wang, Xinghai; Ingram, Whitney; Ai, Bin; Zhao, Yiping

2018-04-01

Chiral metamaterials have the great ability to manipulate the circular polarizations of light, which can be utilized to build ultrathin circular polarizers. Here we build a narrow-band circular polarizer at visible frequencies based on plasmonic fan-shaped chiral nanostructures. In order to achieve the best optical performance, we systematically investigate how different fabrication factors affect the chiral optical response of the fan-shaped chiral nanostructures, including incident angle of vapor depositions, nanostructure thickness, and post-deposition annealing. The optimized fan-shaped nanostructures show two narrow bands for different circular polarizations with the maximum extinction ratios 7.5 and 6.9 located at wavelength 687 nm and 774 nm, respectively.

Perfect narrow band absorber for sensing applications.

PubMed

Luo, Shiwen; Zhao, Jun; Zuo, Duluo; Wang, Xinbing

2016-05-02

We design and numerically investigate a perfect narrow band absorber based on a metal-metal-dielectric-metal structure which consists of periodic metallic nanoribbon arrays. The absorber presents an ultra narrow absorption band of 1.11 nm with a nearly perfect absorption of over 99.9% in the infrared region. For oblique incidence, the absorber shows an absorption more than 95% for a wide range of incident angles from 0 to 50°. Structure parameters to the influence of the performance are investigated. The structure shows high sensing performance with a high sensitivity of 1170 nm/RIU and a large figure of merit of 1054. The proposed structure has great potential as a biosensor.

RaptorX-Angle: real-value prediction of protein backbone dihedral angles through a hybrid method of clustering and deep learning.

PubMed

Gao, Yujuan; Wang, Sheng; Deng, Minghua; Xu, Jinbo

2018-05-08

Protein dihedral angles provide a detailed description of protein local conformation. Predicted dihedral angles can be used to narrow down the conformational space of the whole polypeptide chain significantly, thus aiding protein tertiary structure prediction. However, direct angle prediction from sequence alone is challenging. In this article, we present a novel method (named RaptorX-Angle) to predict real-valued angles by combining clustering and deep learning. Tested on a subset of PDB25 and the targets in the latest two Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction (CASP), our method outperforms the existing state-of-art method SPIDER2 in terms of Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). Our result also shows approximately linear relationship between the real prediction errors and our estimated bounds. That is, the real prediction error can be well approximated by our estimated bounds. Our study provides an alternative and more accurate prediction of dihedral angles, which may facilitate protein structure prediction and functional study.

Ridges and Cliffs on Mercury Surface

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-01-20

A complex history of geological evolution is recorded in this frame from the Narrow Angle Camera NAC, part of the Mercury Dual Imaging System MDIS instrument, taken during NASA MESSENGER close flyby of Mercury on January 14, 2008.

Reflecting on Icy Rhea

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-03

Bright sunlight on Rhea shows off the cratered surface of Saturn second largest moon in this image captured by NASA Cassini Orbiter. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 21, 2009.

The medial olivocochlear reflex in children during active listening.

PubMed

Smith, Spencer B; Cone, Barbara

2015-08-01

To determine if active listening modulates the strength of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in children. Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) were recorded from the right ear in quiet and in four test conditions: one with contralateral broadband noise (BBN) only, and three with active listening tasks wherein attention was directed to speech embedded in contralateral BBN. Fifteen typically-developing children (ranging in age from 8 to14 years) with normal hearing. CEOAE levels were reduced in every condition with contralateral acoustic stimulus (CAS) when compared to preceding quiet conditions. There was an additional systematic decrease in CEOAE level with increased listening task difficulty, although this effect was very small. These CEOAE level differences were most apparent in the 8-18 ms region after click onset. Active listening may change the strength of the MOC reflex in children, although the effects reported here are very subtle. Further studies are needed to verify that task difficulty modulates the activity of the MOC reflex in children.

The medial olivocochlear reflex in children during active listening

PubMed Central

Smith, Spencer B.; Cone, Barbara

2015-01-01

Objective To determine if active listening modulates the strength of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in children. Design Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) were recorded from the right ear in quiet and in four test conditions: one with contralateral broadband noise (BBN) only, and three with active listening tasks wherein attention was directed to speech embedded in contralateral BBN. Study sample Fifteen typically-developing children (ranging in age from 8 to 14 years) with normal hearing. Results CEOAE levels were reduced in every condition with contralateral acoustic stimulus (CAS) when compared to preceding quiet conditions. There was an additional systematic decrease in CEOAE level with increased listening task difficulty, although this effect was very small. These CEOAE level differences were most apparent in the 8–18 ms region after click onset. Conclusions Active listening may change the strength of the MOC reflex in children, although the effects reported here are very subtle. Further studies are needed to verify that task difficulty modulates the activity of the MOC reflex in children. PMID:25735203

Meridional Overturning Circulation Transport Variability at 34.5°S During 2009-2017: Baroclinic and Barotropic Flows and the Dueling Influence of the Boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meinen, Christopher S.; Speich, Sabrina; Piola, Alberto R.; Ansorge, Isabelle; Campos, Edmo; Kersalé, Marion; Terre, Thierry; Chidichimo, Maria Paz; Lamont, Tarron; Sato, Olga T.; Perez, Renellys C.; Valla, Daniel; van den Berg, Marcel; Le Hénaff, Matthieu; Dong, Shenfu; Garzoli, Silvia L.

2018-05-01

Six years of simultaneous moored observations near the western and eastern boundaries of the South Atlantic are combined with satellite winds to produce a daily time series of the basin-wide meridional overturning circulation (MOC) volume transport at 34.5°S. The results demonstrate that barotropic and baroclinic signals at both boundaries cause significant transport variations, and as such must be concurrently observed. The data, spanning 20 months during 2009-2010 and 4 years during 2013-2017, reveal a highly energetic MOC record with a temporal standard deviation of 8.3 Sv, and strong variations at time scales ranging from a few days to years (peak-to-peak range = 54.6 Sv). Seasonal transport variations are found to have both semiannual (baroclinic) and annual (Ekman and barotropic) timescales. Interannual MOC variations result from both barotropic and baroclinic changes, with density profile changes at the eastern boundary having the largest impact on the year-to-year variations.

Contribution of Surface Thermal Forcing to Mixing in the Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fei; Huang, Shi-Di; Xia, Ke-Qing

2018-02-01

A critical ingredient of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is vertical mixing, which causes dense waters in the deep sea to rise throughout the stratified interior to the upper ocean. Here, we report a laboratory study aimed at understanding the contributions from surface thermal forcing (STF) to this mixing process. Our study reveals that the ratio of the thermocline thickness to the fluid depth largely determines the mixing rate and the mixing efficiency in an overturning flow driven by STF. By applying this finding to a hypothetical MOC driven purely by STF, we obtain a mixing rate of O(10-6 m2/s) and a corresponding meridional heat flux of O(10-2 petawatt, PW), which are far smaller than the values found for real oceans. These results provide quantitative support for the notion that STF alone is not sufficient to drive the MOC, which essentially acts as a heat conveyor belt powered by other energy sources.

Circles and Streaks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-544, 14 November 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired less than a week ago on 8 November 2003, shows a typical southern middle-to-high latitude scene at this time of year. It is summer in the southern hemisphere, and regions such as Promethei Terra, where this image was acquired, are being streaked by dust devils that remove or disrupt the coating of dust that was deposited over the region in the previous autumn or winter. While no active dust devils were captured in this scene, their tell-tale tracks are scratched all across the image. The circular features are the sites of buried meteor impact craters; their rims form dark rings; the material that fills the craters has become cracked. This picture is located near 68.1oS, 247.9oW. The area shown is approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Pedestal Crater and Yardangs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-444, 6 August 2003

This April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a small meteor impact crater that has been modified by wind erosion. Two things happened after the crater formed. First, the upper few meters of surface material into which the meteor impacted was later eroded away by wind. The crater ejecta formed a protective armor that kept the material under the ejecta from been blown away. This caused the crater and ejecta to appear as if standing upon a raised platform--a feature that Mars geologists call a pedestal crater. Next, the pedestal crater was buried beneath several meters of new sediment, and then this material was eroded away by wind to form the array of sharp ridges that run across the pedestal crater's surface. These small ridges are known as yardangs. This picture is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left; it is located in west Daedalia Planum near 14.6oS, 131.9oW.

Exhuming Crater in Northeast Arabia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-563, 3 December 2003

The upper crust of Mars is layered, and interbedded with these layers are old, filled and buried meteor impact craters. In a few places on Mars, such as Arabia Terra, erosion has re-exposed some of the filled and buried craters. This October 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example. The larger circular feature was once a meteor crater. It was filled with sediment, then buried beneath younger rocks. The smaller circular feature is a younger impact crater that formed in the surface above the rocks that buried the large crater. Later, erosion removed all of the material that covered the larger, buried crater, except in the location of the small crater. This pair of martian landforms is located near 17.6oN, 312.8oW. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated from the lower left.

Spatial reflection patterns of iridescent wings of male pierid butterflies: curved scales reflect at a wider angle than flat scales.

PubMed

Pirih, Primož; Wilts, Bodo D; Stavenga, Doekele G

2011-10-01

The males of many pierid butterflies have iridescent wings, which presumably function in intraspecific communication. The iridescence is due to nanostructured ridges of the cover scales. We have studied the iridescence in the males of a few members of Coliadinae, Gonepteryx aspasia, G. cleopatra, G. rhamni, and Colias croceus, and in two members of the Colotis group, Hebomoia glaucippe and Colotis regina. Imaging scatterometry demonstrated that the pigmentary colouration is diffuse whereas the structural colouration creates a directional, line-shaped far-field radiation pattern. Angle-dependent reflectance measurements demonstrated that the directional iridescence distinctly varies among closely related species. The species-dependent scale curvature determines the spatial properties of the wing iridescence. Narrow beam illumination of flat scales results in a narrow far-field iridescence pattern, but curved scales produce broadened patterns. The restricted spatial visibility of iridescence presumably plays a role in intraspecific signalling.

Lonely Moon

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-17

Pandora is seen here, in isolation beside Saturn's kinked and constantly changing F ring. Pandora (near upper right) is 50 miles (81 kilometers) wide. The moon has an elongated, potato-like shape (see PIA07632). Two faint ringlets are visible within the Encke Gap, near lower left. The gap is about 202 miles (325 kilometers) wide. The much narrower Keeler Gap, which lies outside the Encke Gap, is maintained by the diminutive moon Daphnis (not seen here). This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 23 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 12, 2016. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 907,000 miles (1.46 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 113 degrees. Image scale is 6 miles (9 kilometers) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20504

Controlling the angle range in acoustic low-frequency forbidden transmission in solid-fluid superlattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Sai; Xu, Bai-qiang; Cao, Wenwu

2018-03-01

We have investigated low-frequency forbidden transmission (LFT) of acoustic waves with frequency lower than the first Bragg bandgap in a solid-fluid superlattice (SFSL). LFT is formed when the acoustic planar wave impinges on the interface of a SFSL within a certain angle range. However, for the SFSL comprised of metallic material and water, the angle range of LFT is extremely narrow, which restricts its practical applications. The variation characteristics of the angle range have been comprehensively studied here by the control variable method. The results suggest that the filling ratio, layer number, wave velocity, and mass density of the constituent materials have a significant impact on the angle range. Based on our results, an effective strategy for obtaining LFT with a broad angle range is provided, which will be useful for potential applications of LFT in various devices, such as low frequency filters and subwavelength one-way diodes.

Endoscopic bilateral stent-in-stent placement for malignant hilar obstruction using a large cell type stent.

PubMed

Park, Jin Myung; Lee, Sang Hyub; Chung, Kwang Hyun; Jang, Dong Kee; Ryu, Ji Kon; Kim, Yong-Tae; Lee, Jae Min; Paik, Woo Hyun

2016-12-01

Bilateral stent-in-stent (SIS) self-expandable metal stent placement is technically challenging for palliation of unresectable malignant hilar obstruction. In the SIS technique, the uniform large cell type biliary stent facilitates contralateral stent deployment through the mesh of the first metallic stent. This study aimed to assess the technical success and clinical effectiveness of this technique with a uniform large cell type biliary stent. Thirty-one patients who underwent bilateral SIS placement using a large cell type stent were reviewed retrospectively. All patients showed malignant hilar obstruction (Bismuth types II, III, IV) with different etiologies. Sixteen (51.6%) patients were male. The mean age of the patients was 67.0+/-14.0 years. Most patients were diagnosed as having hilar cholangiocarcinoma (58.1%) and gallbladder cancer (29.0%). Technical success rate was 83.9%. Success was achieved more frequently in patients without masses obstructing the biliary confluence (MOC) than those with MOC (95.2% vs 60.0%, P=0.03). Functional success rate was 77.4%. Complications occurred in 29.0% of the patients. These tended to occur more frequently in patients with MOC (50.0% vs 19.0%, P=0.11). Median time to recurrent biliary obstruction was 188 days and median survival was 175 days. The large cell type stent can be used efficiently for bilateral SIS placement in malignant hilar obstruction. However, the risk of technical failure increases in patients with MOC, and caution is needed to prevent complications for these patients.

Photoelectron imaging spectroscopy of MoC{sup −} and NbN{sup −} diatomic anions: A comparative study

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

Liu, Qing-Yu; Li, Zi-Yu; He, Sheng-Gui, E-mail: shengguihe@iccas.ac.cn, E-mail: chenh@iccas.ac.cn

2015-04-28

The isoeletronic diatomic MoC{sup −} and NbN{sup −} anions have been prepared by laser ablation and studied by photoelectron imaging spectroscopy combined with quantum chemistry calculations. The photoelectron spectra of NbN{sup −} can be very well assigned on the basis of literature reported optical spectroscopy of NbN. In contrast, the photoelectron spectra of MoC{sup −} are rather complex and the assignments suffered from the presence of many electronically hot bands and limited information from the reported optical spectroscopy of MoC. The electron affinities of NbN and MoC have been determined to be 1.450 ± 0.003 eV and 1.360  ±  0.003more » eV, respectively. The good resolution of the imaging spectroscopy provided a chance to resolve the Ω splittings of the X{sup 3}Σ{sup −} (Ω = 0 and 1) state of MoC and the X{sup 4}Σ{sup −} (Ω = 1/2 and 3/2) state of MoC{sup −} for the first time. The spin-orbit splittings of the X{sup 2}Δ state of NbN{sup −} and the a{sup 2}Δ state of MoC{sup −} were also determined. The similarities and differences between the electronic structures of the NbN and MoC systems were discussed.« less

System, Subsystem, Hive: Boundary Problems in Computational Theories of Consciousness

PubMed Central

Fekete, Tomer; van Leeuwen, Cees; Edelman, Shimon

2016-01-01

A computational theory of consciousness should include a quantitative measure of consciousness, or MoC, that (i) would reveal to what extent a given system is conscious, (ii) would make it possible to compare not only different systems, but also the same system at different times, and (iii) would be graded, because so is consciousness. However, unless its design is properly constrained, such an MoC gives rise to what we call the boundary problem: an MoC that labels a system as conscious will do so for some—perhaps most—of its subsystems, as well as for irrelevantly extended systems (e.g., the original system augmented with physical appendages that contribute nothing to the properties supposedly supporting consciousness), and for aggregates of individually conscious systems (e.g., groups of people). This problem suggests that the properties that are being measured are epiphenomenal to consciousness, or else it implies a bizarre proliferation of minds. We propose that a solution to the boundary problem can be found by identifying properties that are intrinsic or systemic: properties that clearly differentiate between systems whose existence is a matter of fact, as opposed to those whose existence is a matter of interpretation (in the eye of the beholder). We argue that if a putative MoC can be shown to be systemic, this ipso facto resolves any associated boundary issues. As test cases, we analyze two recent theories of consciousness in light of our definitions: the Integrated Information Theory and the Geometric Theory of consciousness. PMID:27512377

ARC-1990-AC79-7127

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-02-14

Range : 4 billion miles from Earth, at 32 degrees to the ecliptic. P-36057C This color image of the Sun, Earth, and Venus is one of the first, and maybe, only images that show are solar system from such a vantage point. The image is a portion of a wide angle image containing the sun and the region of space where the Earth and Venus were at the time, with narrow angle cameras centered on each planet. The wide angle was taken with the cameras darkest filter, a methane absorption band, and the shortest possible exposure, one two-hundredth of a second, to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large in the sky, as seen from Voyager's perpective at the edge of the solar system. Yet, it is still 8xs brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The image of the sun you see is far larger than the actual dimension of the solar disk. The result of the brightness is a bright burned out image with multiple reflections from the optics of the camera. The rays around th sun are a diffraction pattern of the calibration lamp which is mounted in front of the wide angle lens. the 2 narrow angle frames containing the images of the Earth and Venus have been digitally mosaicked into the wide angle image at the appropriate scale. These images were taken through three color filters and recombined to produce the color image. The violet, green, and blue filters used , as well as exposure times of .72,.48, and .72 for Earth, and .36, .24, and .36 for Venus.The images also show long linear streaks resulting from scatering of sulight off parts of the camera and its shade.

Earth and Moon as viewed from Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-368, 22 May 2003

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Globe diagram illustrates the Earth's orientation as viewed from Mars (North and South America were in view).

Earth/Moon: This is the first image of Earth ever taken from another planet that actually shows our home as a planetary disk. Because Earth and the Moon are closer to the Sun than Mars, they exhibit phases, just as the Moon, Venus, and Mercury do when viewed from Earth. As seen from Mars by MGS on 8 May 2003 at 13:00 GMT (6:00 AM PDT), Earth and the Moon appeared in the evening sky. The MOC Earth/Moon image has been specially processed to allow both Earth (with an apparent magnitude of -2.5) and the much darker Moon (with an apparent magnitude of +0.9) to be visible together. The bright area at the top of the image of Earth is cloud cover over central and eastern North America. Below that, a darker area includes Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. The bright feature near the center-right of the crescent Earth consists of clouds over northern South America. The image also shows the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon, since the Moon was on the far side of Earth as viewed from Mars. The slightly lighter tone of the lower portion of the image of the Moon results from the large and conspicuous ray system associated with the crater Tycho.

A note about the coloring process: The MGS MOC high resolution camera only takes grayscale (black-and-white) images. To 'colorize' the image, a Mariner 10 Earth/Moon image taken in 1973 was used to color the MOC Earth and Moon picture. The procedure used was as follows: the Mariner 10 image was converted from 24-bit color to 8-bit color using a JPEG to GIF conversion program. The 8-bit color image was converted to 8-bit grayscale and an associated lookup table mapping each gray value of the image to a red-green-blue color triplet (RGB). Each color triplet was root-sum-squared (RSS), and sorted in increasing RSS value. These sorted lists were brightness-to-color maps for the images. Each brightness-to-color map was then used to convert the 8-bit grayscale MOC image to an 8-bit color image. This 8-bit color image was then converted to a 24-bit color image. The color image was edited to return the background to black.

Kite: status of the external metrology testbed for SIM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekens, Frank G.; Alvarez-Salazar, Oscar S.; Azizi, Alireza; Moser, Steven J.; Nemati, Bijan; Negron, John; Neville, Timothy; Ryan, Daniel

2004-10-01

Kite is a system level testbed for the External Metrology System of the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). The External Metrology System is used to track the fiducials that are located at the centers of the interferometer's siderostats. The relative changes in their positions needs to be tracked to an accuracy of tens of picometers in order to correct for thermal deformations and attitude changes of the spacecraft. Because of the need for such high precision measurements, the Kite testbed was build to test both the metrology gauges and our ability to optically model the system at these levels. The Kite testbed is a redundant metrology truss, in which 6 lengths are measured, but only 5 are needed to define the system. The RMS error between the redundant measurements needs to be less than 140pm for the SIM Wide-Angle observing scenario and less than 8 pm for the Narrow-Angle observing scenario. With our current testbed layout, we have achieved an RMS of 85 pm in the Wide-Angle case, meeting the goal. For the Narrow-Angle case, we have reached 5.8 pm, but only for on-axis observations. We describe the testbed improvements that have been made since our initial results, and outline the future Kite changes that will add further effects that SIM faces in order to make the testbed more representative of SIM.

Wide-angle Spectrally Selective Perfect Absorber by Utilizing Dispersionless Tamm Plasmon Polaritons

PubMed Central

Xue, Chun-hua; Wu, Feng; Jiang, Hai-tao; Li, Yunhui; Zhang, Ye-wen; Chen, Hong

2016-01-01

We theoretically investigate wide-angle spectrally selective absorber by utilizing dispersionless Tamm plasmon polaritons (TPPs) under TM polarization. TPPs are resonant tunneling effects occurring on the interface between one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPCs) and metal slab, and their dispersion properties are essentially determined by that of 1DPCs. Our investigations show that dispersionless TPPs can be excited in 1DPCs containing hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) on metal substrate. Based on dispersionless TPPs, electromagnetic waves penetrate into metal substrate and are absorbed entirely by lossy metal, exhibiting a narrow-band and wide-angle perfect absorption for TM polarization. Our results exhibit nearly perfect absorption with a value over 98% in the angle of incidence region of 0–80 degree. PMID:27991565

Neptune

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-07-25

This image of Neptune was taken through the clear filter of the narrow-angle camera on July 16, 1989 by NASA Voyager 2 spacecraft. The image was processed by computer to show the newly resolved dark oval feature embedded in the middle of the dusky south

Faint Object Camera imaging and spectroscopy of NGC 4151

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boksenberg, A.; Catchpole, R. M.; Macchetto, F.; Albrecht, R.; Barbieri, C.; Blades, J. C.; Crane, P.; Deharveng, J. M.; Disney, M. J.; Jakobsen, P.

1995-01-01

We describe ultraviolet and optical imaging and spectroscopy within the central few arcseconds of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151, obtained with the Faint Object Camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. A narrowband image including (O III) lambda(5007) shows a bright nucleus centered on a complex biconical structure having apparent opening angle approximately 65 deg and axis at a position angle along 65 deg-245 deg; images in bands including Lyman-alpha and C IV lambda(1550) and in the optical continuum near 5500 A, show only the bright nucleus. In an off-nuclear optical long-slit spectrum we find a high and a low radial velocity component within the narrow emission lines. We identify the low-velocity component with the bright, extended, knotty structure within the cones, and the high-velocity component with more confined diffuse emission. Also present are strong continuum emission and broad Balmer emission line components, which we attribute to the extended point spread function arising from the intense nuclear emission. Adopting the geometry pointed out by Pedlar et al. (1993) to explain the observed misalignment of the radio jets and the main optical structure we model an ionizing radiation bicone, originating within a galactic disk, with apex at the active nucleus and axis centered on the extended radio jets. We confirm that through density bounding the gross spatial structure of the emission line region can be reproduced with a wide opening angle that includes the line of sight, consistent with the presence of a simple opaque torus allowing direct view of the nucleus. In particular, our modelling reproduces the observed decrease in position angle with distance from the nucleus, progressing initially from the direction of the extended radio jet, through our optical structure, and on to the extended narrow-line region. We explore the kinematics of the narrow-line low- and high-velocity components on the basis of our spectroscopy and adopted model structure.

Linear Mathematical Model for Seam Tracking with an Arc Sensor in P-GMAW Processes

PubMed Central

Liu, Wenji; Li, Liangyu; Hong, Ying; Yue, Jianfeng

2017-01-01

Arc sensors have been used in seam tracking and widely studied since the 80s and commercial arc sensing products for T and V shaped grooves have been developed. However, it is difficult to use these arc sensors in narrow gap welding because the arc stability and sensing accuracy are not satisfactory. Pulse gas melting arc welding (P-GMAW) has been successfully applied in narrow gap welding and all position welding processes, so it is worthwhile to research P-GMAW arc sensing technology. In this paper, we derived a linear mathematical P-GMAW model for arc sensing, and the assumptions for the model are verified through experiments and finite element methods. Finally, the linear characteristics of the mathematical model were investigated. In torch height changing experiments, uphill experiments, and groove angle changing experiments the P-GMAW arc signals all satisfied the linear rules. In addition, the faster the welding speed, the higher the arc signal sensitivities; the smaller the groove angle, the greater the arc sensitivities. The arc signal variation rate needs to be modified according to the welding power, groove angles, and weaving or rotate speed. PMID:28335425

A New Model for the Heliosphere’s “IBEX Ribbon”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giacalone, J.; Jokipii, J. R.

2015-10-01

We present a model for the narrow, ribbon-like enhancement in the emission of ∼keV energetic neutral atoms (ENA) coming from the outer heliosphere, coinciding roughly with the plane of the very local interstellar magnetic field (LISMF). We show that the pre-existing turbulent LISMF has sufficient amplitude in magnitude fluctuations to efficiently trap ions with initial pitch-angles near 90°, primarily by magnetic mirroring, leading to a narrow region of enhanced pickup-proton intensity. The pickup protons interact with cold interstellar hydrogen to produce ENAs seen at 1 AU. The computed width of the resulting ribbon of emission is consistent with observations. We also present results from a numerical model that are also generally consistent with the observations. Our interpretation relies only on the pre-existing turbulent interstellar magnetic field to trap the pickup protons. This leads to a broader local pitch-angle distribution compared to that of a ring. Our numerical model also predicts that the ribbon is double-peaked with a central depression. This is a further consequence of the (primarily) magnetic mirroring of pickup ions with pitch-angles close to 90° in the pre-existing, turbulent interstellar magnetic field.

Linear Mathematical Model for Seam Tracking with an Arc Sensor in P-GMAW Processes.

PubMed

Liu, Wenji; Li, Liangyu; Hong, Ying; Yue, Jianfeng

2017-03-14

Arc sensors have been used in seam tracking and widely studied since the 80s and commercial arc sensing products for T and V shaped grooves have been developed. However, it is difficult to use these arc sensors in narrow gap welding because the arc stability and sensing accuracy are not satisfactory. Pulse gas melting arc welding (P-GMAW) has been successfully applied in narrow gap welding and all position welding processes, so it is worthwhile to research P-GMAW arc sensing technology. In this paper, we derived a linear mathematical P-GMAW model for arc sensing, and the assumptions for the model are verified through experiments and finite element methods. Finally, the linear characteristics of the mathematical model were investigated. In torch height changing experiments, uphill experiments, and groove angle changing experiments the P-GMAW arc signals all satisfied the linear rules. In addition, the faster the welding speed, the higher the arc signal sensitivities; the smaller the groove angle, the greater the arc sensitivities. The arc signal variation rate needs to be modified according to the welding power, groove angles, and weaving or rotate speed.

Iridoschisis: high frequency ultrasound imaging. Evidence for a genetic defect?

PubMed Central

Danias, J; Aslanides, I M; Eichenbaum, J W; Silverman, R H; Reinstein, D Z; Coleman, D J

1996-01-01

AIMS: To elucidate changes in the anatomy of the anterior chamber associated with iridoschisis, a rare form of iris atrophy, and their potential contribution to angle closure glaucoma. METHODS: Both eyes of a 71-year-old woman with bilateral iridoschisis and fibrous dysplasia and her asymptomatic 50-year-old daughter were scanned with a very high frequency (50 MHz) ultrasound system. RESULTS: The symptomatic patient exhibited diffuse changes in the iris stoma with an intact posterior iris pigmented layer in both eyes. These changes were clinically compatible with the lack of iris transillumination defects. Additionally, iris bowing with a resultant narrowing of the angle occurred. The asymptomatic daughter showed discrete, but less severe iris stromal changes. CONCLUSION: This is the first detailed study of high frequency ultrasonic imaging of the iris in iridoschisis. The observed structural changes suggest angle narrowing by forward bowing of the anterior iris stroma may be a mechanism of IOP elevation in this condition. The ultrasonic detection of iris changes in the asymptomatic daughter of the symptomatic patient and the association of iridoschisis with fibrous dysplasia suggest a possible genetic component in the pathogenesis of this condition. Images PMID:9059271

A NEW MODEL FOR THE HELIOSPHERE’S “IBEX RIBBON”

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

Giacalone, J.; Jokipii, J. R.

We present a model for the narrow, ribbon-like enhancement in the emission of ∼keV energetic neutral atoms (ENA) coming from the outer heliosphere, coinciding roughly with the plane of the very local interstellar magnetic field (LISMF). We show that the pre-existing turbulent LISMF has sufficient amplitude in magnitude fluctuations to efficiently trap ions with initial pitch-angles near 90°, primarily by magnetic mirroring, leading to a narrow region of enhanced pickup-proton intensity. The pickup protons interact with cold interstellar hydrogen to produce ENAs seen at 1 AU. The computed width of the resulting ribbon of emission is consistent with observations. Wemore » also present results from a numerical model that are also generally consistent with the observations. Our interpretation relies only on the pre-existing turbulent interstellar magnetic field to trap the pickup protons. This leads to a broader local pitch-angle distribution compared to that of a ring. Our numerical model also predicts that the ribbon is double-peaked with a central depression. This is a further consequence of the (primarily) magnetic mirroring of pickup ions with pitch-angles close to 90° in the pre-existing, turbulent interstellar magnetic field.« less

An annotated checklist of the chrysidid wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) from China

PubMed Central

Rosa, Paolo; Wei, Na-sen; Xu, Zai-fu

2014-01-01

Abstract An annotated checklist of the Chinese Chrysididae is provided. The list includes 188 species and subspecies in twenty three genera of five subfamilies. Four species are proposed as new combinations: Hedychridium cupreum asianum (Linsenmaier, 1997), Philoctetes deauratus (Mocsáry, 1914), Philoctetes mordvilkoi (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1932), and Pseudomalus hypocritus (du Buysson, 1893). Two species are revalidated: Chrysis consobrina Mocsáry, 1889, and Philoctetes mongolicus (du Buysson, 1901). Historical data with comments on the current taxonomic position, and the pictures of sixty five types are also given. PMID:25493069

JPRS Report, East Europe.

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-30

go- CO I a I i iI I U 0 . _i I 5 ll ra’ j. • , i I -I-. a ’ ~ 4; I it,, dc E4 3f:.L - - - -l - Key:’" 1 . Higher units, units, institutions 9. Air...18 Apr 90 pp 1 , 3 puppet, as is well known. [Statement issued by the National Provisional Executive The statement that "Romania finds itself in a ...the author demanded a Moc [Romanian from Transyl- also reflects terrible malice. The Bolyai University was vania] school for the Moc people where the

"What Controls the Structure and Stability of the Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation: Implications for Abrupt Climate Change?"

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

Fedorov, Alexey

2013-11-23

The central goal of this research project is to understand the properties of the ocean meridional overturning circulation (MOC) – a topic critical for understanding climate variability and stability on a variety of timescales (from decadal to centennial and longer). Specifically, we have explored various factors that control the MOC stability and decadal variability in the Atlantic and the ocean thermal structure in general, including the possibility abrupt climate change. We have also continued efforts on improving the performance of coupled ocean-atmosphere GCMs.

Coprates Chasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of a 10 km by 12 km area of Coprates Chasma (14.7 degrees S, 55.8 degrees W), a ridge with a flat upper surface in the center of Coprates Chasma, which is part of the 6000-km-long Valles Marineris. Rock layers are visible just below the ridge. The gray scale (4.8 m/pixel) MOC image was combined with a Viking Orbiter color view of the same area. The faults of a graben offset beds on the slope to the left.

Figure caption from Science Magazine

Effect of EMIC Wave Normal Angle Distribution on Relativistic Electron Scattering in Outer RB

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Gamayunov, K. V.

2007-01-01

We present the equatorial and bounce average pitch angle diffusion coefficients for scattering of relativistic electrons by the H+ mode of EMIC waves. Both the model (prescribed) and self consistent distributions over the wave normal angle are considered. The main results of our calculation can be summarized as follows: First, in comparison with field aligned waves, the intermediate and highly oblique waves reduce the pitch angle range subject to diffusion, and strongly suppress the scattering rate for low energy electrons (E less than 2 MeV). Second, for electron energies greater than 5 MeV, the |n| = 1 resonances operate only in a narrow region at large pitch-angles, and despite their greatest contribution in case of field aligned waves, cannot cause electron diffusion into the loss cone. For those energies, oblique waves at |n| greater than 1 resonances are more effective, extending the range of pitch angle diffusion down to the loss cone boundary, and increasing diffusion at small pitch angles by orders of magnitude.

The Wide Angle Camera of the ROSETTA Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbieri, C.; Fornasier, S.; Verani, S.; Bertini, I.; Lazzarin, M.; Rampazzi, F.; Cremonese, G.; Ragazzoni, R.; Marzari, F.; Angrilli, F.; Bianchini, G. A.; Debei, S.; Dececco, M.; Guizzo, G.; Parzianello, G.; Ramous, P.; Saggin, B.; Zaccariotto, M.; Da Deppo, V.; Naletto, G.; Nicolosi, G.; Pelizzo, M. G.; Tondello, G.; Brunello, P.; Peron, F.

This paper aims to give a brief description of the Wide Angle Camera (WAC), built by the Centro Servizi e AttivitàSpaziali (CISAS) of the University of Padova for the ESA ROSETTA Mission to comet 46P/Wirtanen and asteroids 4979 Otawara and 140 Siwa. The WAC is part of the OSIRIS imaging system, which comprises also a Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) built by the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique Spatiale (LAS) of Marseille. CISAS had also the responsibility to build the shutter and the front cover mechanism for the NAC. The flight model of the WAC was delivered in December 2001, and has been already integrated on ROSETTA.

The Tactile Vision Substitution System: Applications in Education and Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scadden, Lawrence A.

1974-01-01

The Tactile Vision Substitution System converts the visual image from a narrow-angle television camera to a tactual image on a 5-inch square, 100-point display of vibrators placed against the abdomen of the blind person. (Author)

A wavelength scannable XeCl oscillator-ring amplifier laser system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pacala, T. J.; Mcdermid, I. S.; Laudenslager, J. B.

1982-01-01

A holographic grating at grazing angle of incidence was used to achieve tunable, narrow bandwidth (0.005 nm) operation of a XeCl oscillator for injection locking of a ring amplifier. The amplifier's narrow bandwidth output energy was constant and equal to the untuned, broadband output (approximately 15 mJ) in regions where injection locking was achieved. Scanning was provided by use of a stepping motor-driven differential micrometer on the tuning mirror. This system was used to produce a laser excitation spectrum of hydroxyl radicals (OH) in a flame.

A Binaural Cochlear Implant Sound Coding Strategy Inspired by the Contralateral Medial Olivocochlear Reflex

PubMed Central

Eustaquio-Martín, Almudena; Stohl, Joshua S.; Wolford, Robert D.; Schatzer, Reinhold; Wilson, Blake S.

2016-01-01

Objectives: In natural hearing, cochlear mechanical compression is dynamically adjusted via the efferent medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR). These adjustments probably help understanding speech in noisy environments and are not available to the users of current cochlear implants (CIs). The aims of the present study are to: (1) present a binaural CI sound processing strategy inspired by the control of cochlear compression provided by the contralateral MOCR in natural hearing; and (2) assess the benefits of the new strategy for understanding speech presented in competition with steady noise with a speech-like spectrum in various spatial configurations of the speech and noise sources. Design: Pairs of CI sound processors (one per ear) were constructed to mimic or not mimic the effects of the contralateral MOCR on compression. For the nonmimicking condition (standard strategy or STD), the two processors in a pair functioned similarly to standard clinical processors (i.e., with fixed back-end compression and independently of each other). When configured to mimic the effects of the MOCR (MOC strategy), the two processors communicated with each other and the amount of back-end compression in a given frequency channel of each processor in the pair decreased/increased dynamically (so that output levels dropped/increased) with increases/decreases in the output energy from the corresponding frequency channel in the contralateral processor. Speech reception thresholds in speech-shaped noise were measured for 3 bilateral CI users and 2 single-sided deaf unilateral CI users. Thresholds were compared for the STD and MOC strategies in unilateral and bilateral listening conditions and for three spatial configurations of the speech and noise sources in simulated free-field conditions: speech and noise sources colocated in front of the listener, speech on the left ear with noise in front of the listener, and speech on the left ear with noise on the right ear. In both bilateral and unilateral listening, the electrical stimulus delivered to the test ear(s) was always calculated as if the listeners were wearing bilateral processors. Results: In both unilateral and bilateral listening conditions, mean speech reception thresholds were comparable with the two strategies for colocated speech and noise sources, but were at least 2 dB lower (better) with the MOC than with the STD strategy for spatially separated speech and noise sources. In unilateral listening conditions, mean thresholds improved with increasing the spatial separation between the speech and noise sources regardless of the strategy but the improvement was significantly greater with the MOC strategy. In bilateral listening conditions, thresholds improved significantly with increasing the speech-noise spatial separation only with the MOC strategy. Conclusions: The MOC strategy (1) significantly improved the intelligibility of speech presented in competition with a spatially separated noise source, both in unilateral and bilateral listening conditions; (2) produced significant spatial release from masking in bilateral listening conditions, something that did not occur with fixed compression; and (3) enhanced spatial release from masking in unilateral listening conditions. The MOC strategy as implemented here, or a modified version of it, may be usefully applied in CIs and in hearing aids. PMID:26862711

A Binaural Cochlear Implant Sound Coding Strategy Inspired by the Contralateral Medial Olivocochlear Reflex.

PubMed

Lopez-Poveda, Enrique A; Eustaquio-Martín, Almudena; Stohl, Joshua S; Wolford, Robert D; Schatzer, Reinhold; Wilson, Blake S

2016-01-01

In natural hearing, cochlear mechanical compression is dynamically adjusted via the efferent medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR). These adjustments probably help understanding speech in noisy environments and are not available to the users of current cochlear implants (CIs). The aims of the present study are to: (1) present a binaural CI sound processing strategy inspired by the control of cochlear compression provided by the contralateral MOCR in natural hearing; and (2) assess the benefits of the new strategy for understanding speech presented in competition with steady noise with a speech-like spectrum in various spatial configurations of the speech and noise sources. Pairs of CI sound processors (one per ear) were constructed to mimic or not mimic the effects of the contralateral MOCR on compression. For the nonmimicking condition (standard strategy or STD), the two processors in a pair functioned similarly to standard clinical processors (i.e., with fixed back-end compression and independently of each other). When configured to mimic the effects of the MOCR (MOC strategy), the two processors communicated with each other and the amount of back-end compression in a given frequency channel of each processor in the pair decreased/increased dynamically (so that output levels dropped/increased) with increases/decreases in the output energy from the corresponding frequency channel in the contralateral processor. Speech reception thresholds in speech-shaped noise were measured for 3 bilateral CI users and 2 single-sided deaf unilateral CI users. Thresholds were compared for the STD and MOC strategies in unilateral and bilateral listening conditions and for three spatial configurations of the speech and noise sources in simulated free-field conditions: speech and noise sources colocated in front of the listener, speech on the left ear with noise in front of the listener, and speech on the left ear with noise on the right ear. In both bilateral and unilateral listening, the electrical stimulus delivered to the test ear(s) was always calculated as if the listeners were wearing bilateral processors. In both unilateral and bilateral listening conditions, mean speech reception thresholds were comparable with the two strategies for colocated speech and noise sources, but were at least 2 dB lower (better) with the MOC than with the STD strategy for spatially separated speech and noise sources. In unilateral listening conditions, mean thresholds improved with increasing the spatial separation between the speech and noise sources regardless of the strategy but the improvement was significantly greater with the MOC strategy. In bilateral listening conditions, thresholds improved significantly with increasing the speech-noise spatial separation only with the MOC strategy. The MOC strategy (1) significantly improved the intelligibility of speech presented in competition with a spatially separated noise source, both in unilateral and bilateral listening conditions; (2) produced significant spatial release from masking in bilateral listening conditions, something that did not occur with fixed compression; and (3) enhanced spatial release from masking in unilateral listening conditions. The MOC strategy as implemented here, or a modified version of it, may be usefully applied in CIs and in hearing aids.

Fluidized Crater Ejecta Deposit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft continued to obtain high resolution images of the red planet into August 1998. At this time, each ground track (the portion of Mars available for MOC imaging on a given orbit) covers areas from about 40oN on the late afternoon side of the planet, up over the sunlit north polar cap, and down the early morning side of Mars to about 20oN latitude. Early morning and late afternoon views provide good shadowing to reveal subtle details on the martian surface. Views of Mars with such excellent lighting conditions will not be seen by MOC once MGS's Science Phasing Orbits end in mid-September 1998.

The image shown here, MOC image 47903, was targeted on Friday afternoon (PDT), August 7, 1998. This picture of ejecta from a nameless 9.1 kilometer (5.7 mile)-diameter crater was designed to take full advantage of the present lighting conditions. When the image was taken (around 5:38 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, August 8, 1998), the Sun had just risen and was only about 6o above the eastern horizon. With the Sun so low in the local sky, the contrast between sunlit and shadowed surfaces allowed new, subtle details to be revealed on the surface of the crater ejecta deposit.

The crater shown here has ejecta of a type that was first identified in Mariner 9 and Viking Orbiter images as 'fluidized' ejecta. Ejecta is the material that is thrown out from the crater during the explosion that results when a meteor--piece of a comet or asteroid--collides with the planet. Fluidized ejecta is characterized by its lobate appearance, and sometimes by the presence of a ridge along the margin of the ejecta deposit. In the case of the crater shown here, there are two ridges that encircle the crater ejecta--this type of ejecta deposit is sometimes called a double-lobe rampart deposit. The MOC image shows that this particular crater also has 'normal' ejecta that occurs out on the plains, beyond the outermost ridge of the main, fluidized ejecta deposit.

Fluidized or 'rampart' ejecta deposits have long been thought by many Mars scientists to result from an impact into a surface that contains water. The water would have been underground, and could have been frozen or liquid. According to the prevailing model, when the meteor hit, this water was released--along with tons of rock and debris--and the ejecta flowed like mud. Images with resolutions higher than those presently attainable from the 11.6 hr elliptical orbit are needed to see the specific features (such as large boulders 'rafted' by the dense mud) that would confirm or refute this model. Such images may be acquired once MGS is in its mapping orbit.

MOC image 47903 was received and processed by the MOC team at Malin Space Science Systems on Monday afternoon (PDT), August 10, 1998. The image center is located at 27.92oN latitude and 184.66oW longitude, in the northern Tartarus Montes region.

Emission Patterns of Solar Type III Radio Bursts: Stereoscopic Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thejappa, G.; MacDowall, R.; Bergamo, M.

2012-01-01

Simultaneous observations of solar type III radio bursts obtained by the STEREO A, B, and WIND spacecraft at low frequencies from different vantage points in the ecliptic plane are used to determine their directivity. The heliolongitudes of the sources of these bursts, estimated at different frequencies by assuming that they are located on the Parker spiral magnetic field lines emerging from the associated active regions into the spherically symmetric solar atmosphere, and the heliolongitudes of the spacecraft are used to estimate the viewing angle, which is the angle between the direction of the magnetic field at the source and the line connecting the source to the spacecraft. The normalized peak intensities at each spacecraft Rj = Ij /[Sigma]Ij (the subscript j corresponds to the spacecraft STEREO A, B, and WIND), which are defined as the directivity factors are determined using the time profiles of the type III bursts. It is shown that the distribution of the viewing angles divides the type III bursts into: (1) bursts emitting into a very narrow cone centered around the tangent to the magnetic field with angular width of approximately 2 deg and (2) bursts emitting into a wider cone with angular width spanning from [approx] -100 deg to approximately 100 deg. The plots of the directivity factors versus the viewing angles of the sources from all three spacecraft indicate that the type III emissions are very intense along the tangent to the spiral magnetic field lines at the source, and steadily fall as the viewing angles increase to higher values. The comparison of these emission patterns with the computed distributions of the ray trajectories indicate that the intense bursts visible in a narrow range of angles around the magnetic field directions probably are emitted in the fundamental mode, whereas the relatively weaker bursts visible to a wide range of angles are probably emitted in the harmonic mode.

Exciting surface plasmon polaritons in the Kretschmann configuration by a light beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinogradov, A. P.; Dorofeenko, A. V.; Pukhov, A. A.; Lisyansky, A. A.

2018-06-01

We consider exciting surface plasmon polaritons in the Kretschmann configuration. Contrary to common belief, we show that a plane-wave incident at an angle greater than the angle of total internal reflection does not excite surface plasmon polaritons. These excitations do arise, however, if the incident light forms a narrow beam composed of an infinite number of plane waves. The surface plasmon polariton is formed at the geometrical edge of the beam as a result of interference of reflected plane waves.

Effectiveness of implementing a best practice primary healthcare model for low back pain (BetterBack) compared with current routine care in the Swedish context: an internal pilot study informed protocol for an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type 2 trial

PubMed Central

Abbott, Allan; Schröder, Karin; Enthoven, Paul; Nilsen, Per; Öberg, Birgitta

2018-01-01

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is a major health problem commonly requiring healthcare. In Sweden, there is a call from healthcare practitioners (HCPs) for the development, implementation and evaluation of a best practice primary healthcare model for LBP. Aims (1) To improve and understand the mechanisms underlying changes in HCP confidence, attitudes and beliefs for providing best practice coherent primary healthcare for patients with LBP; (2) to improve and understand the mechanisms underlying illness beliefs, self-care enablement, pain, disability and quality of life in patients with LBP; and (3) to evaluate a multifaceted and sustained implementation strategy and the cost-effectiveness of the BetterBack☺ model of care (MOC) for LBP from the perspective of the Swedish primary healthcare context. Methods This study is an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type 2 trial testing the hypothesised superiority of the BetterBack☺ MOC compared with current routine care. The trial involves simultaneous testing of MOC effects at the HCP, patient and implementation process levels. This involves a prospective cohort study investigating implementation at the HCP level and a patient-blinded, pragmatic, cluster, randomised controlled trial with longitudinal follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months post baseline for effectiveness at the patient level. A parallel process and economic analysis from a healthcare sector perspective will also be performed. Patients will be allocated to routine care (control group) or the BetterBack☺ MOC (intervention group) according to a stepped cluster dogleg structure with two assessments in routine care. Experimental conditions will be compared and causal mediation analysis investigated. Qualitative HCP and patient experiences of the BetterBack☺ MOC will also be investigated. Dissemination The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. Further national dissemination and implementation in Sweden and associated national quality register data collection are potential future developments of the project. Date and version identifier 13 December 2017, protocol version 3. Trial registration number NCT03147300; Pre-results. PMID:29691246

Improvement of transport-corrected scattering stability and performance using a Jacobi inscatter algorithm for 2D-MOC

DOE PAGES

Stimpson, Shane; Collins, Benjamin; Kochunas, Brendan

2017-03-10

The MPACT code, being developed collaboratively by the University of Michigan and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is the primary deterministic neutron transport solver being deployed within the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) as part of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). In many applications of the MPACT code, transport-corrected scattering has proven to be an obstacle in terms of stability, and considerable effort has been made to try to resolve the convergence issues that arise from it. Most of the convergence problems seem related to the transport-corrected cross sections, particularly when used in the 2Dmore » method of characteristics (MOC) solver, which is the focus of this work. Here in this paper, the stability and performance of the 2-D MOC solver in MPACT is evaluated for two iteration schemes: Gauss-Seidel and Jacobi. With the Gauss-Seidel approach, as the MOC solver loops over groups, it uses the flux solution from the previous group to construct the inscatter source for the next group. Alternatively, the Jacobi approach uses only the fluxes from the previous outer iteration to determine the inscatter source for each group. Consequently for the Jacobi iteration, the loop over groups can be moved from the outermost loop$-$as is the case with the Gauss-Seidel sweeper$-$to the innermost loop, allowing for a substantial increase in efficiency by minimizing the overhead of retrieving segment, region, and surface index information from the ray tracing data. Several test problems are assessed: (1) Babcock & Wilcox 1810 Core I, (2) Dimple S01A-Sq, (3) VERA Progression Problem 5a, and (4) VERA Problem 2a. The Jacobi iteration exhibits better stability than Gauss-Seidel, allowing for converged solutions to be obtained over a much wider range of iteration control parameters. Additionally, the MOC solve time with the Jacobi approach is roughly 2.0-2.5× faster per sweep. While the performance and stability of the Jacobi iteration are substantially improved compared to the Gauss-Seidel iteration, it does yield a roughly 8$-$10% increase in the overall memory requirement.« less

A single activity with a practice quality improvement project for faculty and a quality improvement project for residents.

PubMed

Kim, Hyun; Malatesta, Theresa M; Simone, Nicole L; Den, Robert B; McAna, John; Dicker, Adam P; Bar Ad, Voichita

2016-01-01

The Next Accreditation System (NAS) requires radiation oncology residents to do a formal quality improvement project during their residency. The American Board of Radiology (ABR) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program requires certified physicians to complete a Practice Quality Improvement (PQI) project approximately every 3 years. The purpose of our project was to develop a clinical transition of care policy via a process that resulted in quality improvement project credit for residents and PQI credit for participating faculty. Approval for project implementation was obtained from the ABR MOC committee. The PQI project consisted of an initial survey to assess resident perception on resident transition of care in our department, formal sign-out training, and 2 postintervention surveys after 1 and 11 months. The primary endpoint was the percentage of questions with ≤1 unfavorable responses. Sign-test was used to determine response difference from neutral. One hundred percent of surveyed residents completed the preintervention (n = 6), postintervention 1 (n = 7), and postintervention 2 (n = 8) surveys. In the preintervention, postintervention 1, and postintervention 2 surveys, 71.4%, 57.1%, and 57.1% of questions were answered with ≤1 unfavorable response, respectively. The number of questions with ≥75% favorable response was 7 (50%), 7 (50%), and 11 (78.5%) in the preintervention, postintervention 1, and postintervention 2 surveys, respectively (P = .13). A written sign-out template and monthly protected sign-out meetings were instituted. One resident and 3 attending physicians received credit for Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education NAS quality improvement and ABR MOC PQI projects, respectively. This project shows the feasibility of a combined attending and resident physician effort to improve patient care and fulfill his or her respective ABR MOC PQI and Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education NAS requirements. Attending and resident physicians can tailor collaborative projects to fulfill MOC and NAS requirements unique to their subspecialty. Written sign-out templates and protected sign-out time may improve transition of care. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sirenum Fossae Trough

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) orbits the red planet twelve times each day. The number of pictures that MOC can take varies from orbit to orbit, depending upon whether the data are being stored in MGS's onboard tape recorder for playback at a later time, or whether the data are being sent directly back to Earth via a real-time radio link. More data can be acquired during orbits with real-time downlink.

During real-time orbits, the MOC team often will take a few random or semi-random pictures in between the carefully-selected, hand-targeted images. On rare occasions, one of these random pictures will surprise the MOC team. The picture shown here is an excellent example, because the high resolution view (top) is centered so nicely on a trough and an adjacent, shallow crater that it is as if someone very carefully selected the target for MOC. The high-resolution view covers an area only 1.1 km (0.7 mi) wide by 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long. Hitting a target such as this with such a small image is very difficult to do, on purpose, because there are small uncertainties in the predicted orbit, the maps used to select targets, and the minor adjustments of spacecraft pointing at any given moment. Nevertheless, a very impressive image was received.

The high resolution view crosses one of the troughs of the Sirenum Fossae near 31.2oS, 152.3oW. The context image (above) was acquired at the same time as the high resolution view on July 23, 2000. The small white box shows the location of the high resolution picture. The lines running diagonally across the context image from upper right toward lower left are the Sirenum Fossae troughs, formed by faults that are radial to the volcanic region of Tharsis. Both pictures are illuminated from the upper left. The scene shows part of the martian southern hemisphere nearly autumn.

MER Field Geologic Traverse in Gusev Crater, Mars: Initial Results From the Perspective of Spirit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crumpler, L.; Cabrol, N.; desMarais, D.; Farmer, J.; Golmbek, M.; Grant, J.; Greely, R.; Grotzinger, J.; Haskin, L.; Arvidson, R.

2004-01-01

This report casts the initial results of the traverse and science investigations by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit at Gusev crater [1] in terms of data sets commonly used in field geologic investigations: Local mapping of geologic features, analyses of selected samples, and their location within the local map, and the regional context of the field traverse in terms of the larger geologic and physiographic region. These elements of the field method are represented in the MER characterization of the Gusev traverse by perspective-based geologic/morphologic maps, the placement of the results from Mossbauer, APXS, Microscopic Imager, Mini-TES and Pancam multispectral studies in context within this geologic/ morphologic map, and the placement of the overall traverse in the context of narrow-angle MOC (Mars Orbiter Camera) and descent images. A major campaign over a significance fraction of the mission will be the first robotic traverse of the ejecta from a Martian impact crater along an approximate radial from the crater center. The Mars Exploration Rovers have been conceptually described as 'robotic field geologists', that is, a suite of instruments with mobility that enables far-field traverses to multiple sites located within a regional map/image base at which in situ analyses may be done. Initial results from MER, where the field geologic method has been used throughout the initial course of the investigation, confirm that this field geologic model is applicable for remote planetary surface exploration. The field geologic method makes use of near-field geologic characteristics ('outcrops') to develop an understanding of the larger geologic context through continuous loop of rational steps focused on real-time hypothesis identification and testing. This poster equates 'outcrops' with the locations of in situ investigations and 'regional context' with the geology over distance of several kilometers. Using this fundamental field geologic method, we have identified the basic local geologic materials on the floor of Gusev at this site, their compositions and likely lithologies, origins, processes that have modified these materials, and their potential significance in the interpretation of the regional geology both spatially and temporally.

Physical Diversity of Phyllosilicate Deposits at the MSL Candidate Landing Sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fergason, R. L.

2008-12-01

The identification of phyllosilicates on Mars implies aqueous activity at the time of their formation and is important for understanding the history of Martian water and the past habitability of Mars. In addition, a significant fraction of the global water budget of Mars may be locked into clay mineral deposits within the Martian crust. As a result, six out of seven final landing sites being considered for the Mars Science Laboratory are sites where phyllosilicates have been identified in CRISM and OMEGA data. The physical characteristics of these materials, as identified using thermal inertia data, are an important component for understanding the geologic history of these deposits. Thermal inertia values provide information regarding effective particle size and help to constrain the possible presence of duricrust, rocks, and exposed bedrock at these locations. These identified physical characteristics suggest the degree of resistivity to erosion, which has implications for the post-emplacement modification of these deposits. At the aforementioned six locations (Nili Fossae Trough, Holden Crater, Mawrth Vallis, Miyamoto crater, southern Meridiani Planum, and Gale crater) the physical properties were quantified using THEMIS-derived thermal inertia data to characterize the physical properties at each site and identify the presence or absence of physical diversity among these materials. I identified a wide range of surface properties at these locations ranging from indurated surfaces intermixed with unconsolidated aeolian material (thermal inertia of 150-460 J m-2 K-1 s- 1/2) at Mawrth Vallis, to exposures of in-place bedrock and the presence of rocky material (thermal inertia exceeding 800 J m-2 K-1 s-1/2) in Gale crater. In addition, the surface texture and morphologic features observed in high-resolution visible images (such as narrow-angle MOC, HiRISE, and CTX) are dissimilar across these phyllosilicate exposures, and confirm the interpretation of thermal inertia values. The diversity of the physical nature of these materials implies that the environment that deposited phyllosilicates on Mars and their post-emplacement modification is not consistent across all deposits. This result has important implications for the interpretation of their emplacement and subsequent history, and the potential role of water in these regions.

Characterization of upgraded fast pyrolysis oak oil distillate fractions from sulfided and non-sulfided catalytic hydrotreating

DOE PAGES

Olarte, Mariefel V.; Padmaperuma, Asanga B.; Ferrell, III, Jack R.; ...

2017-04-06

We consider catalytic hydroprocessing of pyrolysis oils from biomass which produces hydrocarbons for liquid fuel production. This process requires removal of oxygen and cracking of the heavier molecular weight bio-oil constituents into smaller fragments at high temperatures and pressures under hydrogen. Here, we present in this paper the characterization of a group of five distillate fractions from each of two types of hydroprocessed oils from oak pyrolysis oil: a low oxygen content (LOC, 1.8% O, wet basis) oil and a medium oxygen content (MOC, 6.4% O, wet basis) oil. The LOC oil was generated using a sulfided hydrotreating system consistingmore » of RuS/C and xMoS/Al 2O 3 while the MOC was produced using non-sulfided catalysts, Ru/C and Pd/C. Elemental analysis and 13C NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) results suggest that the distillate fractions from both oils become more aromatic/unsaturated as they become heavier. Carbonyl and carboxylic groups were found in the MOC light fractions, while phenols were present in the heavier fractions for both MOC and LOC. Paraffin, iso-paraffin, olefin, naphthene, aromatic (PIONA) analysis of the light LOC fraction shows a predominance of paraffins with a minor amount of olefins. Sulfur analysis showed the comparative concentration of sulfur in the different fractions as well as the surprising similarity in content in some sulfided and non-sulfided fractions. Our results can be used to direct future research on refinery integration and production of value-added product from specific upgraded oil streams.« less

Contralateral-noise effects on cochlear responses in anesthetized mice are dominated by feedback from an unknown pathway

PubMed Central

Usubuchi, Hajime; Vetter, Douglas E.; Elgoyhen, A. Bélen; Thomas, Steven A.; Liberman, M. Charles

2012-01-01

Suppression of ipsilateral distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) by contralateral noise is used in humans and animals to assay the strength of sound-evoked negative feedback from the medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent pathway. However, depending on species and anesthesia, contributions of other feedback systems to the middle or inner ear can cloud the interpretation. Here, contributions of MOC and middle-ear muscle reflexes, as well as autonomic feedback, to contra-noise suppression in anesthetized mice are dissected by selectively eliminating each pathway by surgical transection, pharmacological blockade, or targeted gene deletion. When ipsilateral DPOAEs were evoked by low-level primaries, contra-noise suppression was typically ∼1 dB with contra-noise levels around 95 dB SPL, and it always disappeared upon contralateral cochlear destruction. Lack of middle-ear muscle contribution was suggested by persistence of contra-noise suppression after paralysis with curare, tensor tympani cauterization, or section of the facial nerve. Contribution of cochlear sympathetics was ruled out by studying mutant mice lacking adrenergic signaling (dopamine β-hydroxylase knockouts). Surprisingly, contra-noise effects on low-level DPOAEs were also not diminished by eliminating the MOC system pharmacologically (strychnine), surgically, or by deletion of relevant cholinergic receptors (α9/α10). In contrast, when ipsilateral DPOAEs were evoked by high-level primaries, the contra-noise suppression, although comparable in magnitude, was largely eliminated by MOC blockade or section. Possible alternate pathways are discussed for the source of contra-noise-evoked effects at low ipsilateral levels. PMID:22514298

Women in India with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Strategy (WINGS): Methodology and development of model of care for gestational diabetes mellitus (WINGS 4)

PubMed Central

Kayal, Arivudainambi; Mohan, Viswanathan; Malanda, Belma; Anjana, Ranjit Mohan; Bhavadharini, Balaji; Mahalakshmi, Manni Mohanraj; Maheswari, Kumar; Uma, Ram; Unnikrishnan, Ranjit; Kalaiyarasi, Gunasekaran; Ninov, Lyudmil; Belton, Anne

2016-01-01

Aim: The Women In India with GDM Strategy (WINGS) project was conducted with the aim of developing a model of care (MOC) suitable for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in low- and middle-income countries. Methodology: The WINGS project was carried out in Chennai, Southern India, in two phases. In Phase I, a situational analysis was conducted to understand the practice patterns of health-care professionals and to determine the best screening criteria through a pilot screening study. Results: Phase II involved developing a MOC-based on findings from the situational analysis and evaluating its effectiveness. The model focused on diagnosis, management, and follow-up of women with GDM who were followed prospectively throughout their pregnancy. An educational booklet was provided to all women with GDM, offering guidance on self-management of GDM including sample meal plans and physical activity tips. A pedometer was provided to all women to monitor step count. Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) was the first line of treatment given to women with GDM. Women were advised to undergo fasting blood glucose and postprandial blood glucose testing every fortnight. Insulin was indicated when the target blood glucose levels were not achieved with MNT. Women were evaluated for pregnancy outcomes and postpartum glucose tolerance status. Conclusions: The WINGS MOC offers a comprehensive package at every level of care for women with GDM. If successful, this MOC will be scaled up to other resource-constrained settings with the hope of improving lives of women with GDM. PMID:27730085

Ocean circulation drifts in multi-millennial climate simulations: the role of salinity corrections and climate feedbacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dentith, Jennifer E.; Ivanovic, Ruza F.; Gregoire, Lauren J.; Tindall, Julia C.; Smith, Robin S.

2018-05-01

Low-resolution, complex general circulation models (GCMs) are valuable tools for studying the Earth system on multi-millennial timescales. However, slowly evolving salinity drifts can cause large shifts in climatic and oceanic regimes over thousands of years. We test two different schemes for neutralising unforced salinity drifts in the FAMOUS GCM: surface flux correction and volumetric flux correction. Although both methods successfully maintain a steady global mean salinity, local drifts and subsequent feedbacks promote cooling (≈ 4 °C over 6000 years) and freshening (≈ 2 psu over 6000 years) in the North Atlantic Ocean, and gradual warming (≈ 0.2 °C per millennium) and salinification (≈ 0.15 psu per millennium) in the North Pacific Ocean. Changes in the surface density in these regions affect the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), such that, after several millennia, the Atlantic MOC (AMOC) is in a collapsed state, and there is a strong, deep Pacific MOC (PMOC). Furthermore, the AMOC exhibits a period of metastability, which is only identifiable with run lengths in excess of 1500 years. We also compare simulations with two different land surface schemes, demonstrating that small biases in the surface climate may cause regional salinity drifts and significant shifts in the MOC (weakening of the AMOC and the initiation then invigoration of PMOC), even when the global hydrological cycle has been forcibly closed. Although there is no specific precursor to the simulated AMOC collapse, the northwest North Pacific and northeast North Atlantic are important areas that should be closely monitored for trends arising from such biases.

Soil Organic Carbon and Its interaction with Minerals in Two Hillslopes with Different Climates and Erosion Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X.; Yoo, K.; Wackett, A. A.; Gutknecht, J.; Amundson, R.; Heimsath, A. M.

2017-12-01

Climate and topography have been widely recognized as important factors regulating soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics but their interactive effects on SOC storage and its pools remain poorly constrained. Here we aimed to evaluate SOC storages and carbon-mineral interactions along two hillslope transects with moderately different climates (MAP: 549 mm vs. 816 mm) in Southeastern Australia. We sampled soil along the convex (eroding)-to-convergent (depositional) continuum at each hillslope transect and conducted size and density fractionation of these samples. In responses to the difference in climate factor, SOC inventories of eroding soils were twice as large at the wetter site compared with the drier site but showed little difference between two sites in depositional soils. These trends in SOC inventories were primarily controlled by SOC concentrations and secondarily by soil thicknesses. Similar patterns were observed for mineral associated organic carbon (MOC), and the abundances of MOC were controlled by the two independently operating processes affecting MOC concentration and fine-heavy fraction minerals. The contents and species of secondary clay and iron oxide minerals, abundances of particulate organic carbon, and bioturbation affected MOC concentrations. In contrast, the abundances of fine-heavy fraction minerals were impacted by erosion mechanisms that uniquely responded to regional- and micro- climate conditions. Consequently, topographic influences on SOC inventories and carbon-mineral interactions were more strongly pronounced in the drier climate where vegetation and erosion mechanisms were sensitive to microclimate. Our results highlight the significance of understanding topography and erosional processes in capturing climatic effects on soil carbon dynamics.

Characterization of upgraded fast pyrolysis oak oil distillate fractions from sulfided and non-sulfided catalytic hydrotreating

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

Olarte, Mariefel V.; Padmaperuma, Asanga B.; Ferrell, III, Jack R.

We consider catalytic hydroprocessing of pyrolysis oils from biomass which produces hydrocarbons for liquid fuel production. This process requires removal of oxygen and cracking of the heavier molecular weight bio-oil constituents into smaller fragments at high temperatures and pressures under hydrogen. Here, we present in this paper the characterization of a group of five distillate fractions from each of two types of hydroprocessed oils from oak pyrolysis oil: a low oxygen content (LOC, 1.8% O, wet basis) oil and a medium oxygen content (MOC, 6.4% O, wet basis) oil. The LOC oil was generated using a sulfided hydrotreating system consistingmore » of RuS/C and xMoS/Al 2O 3 while the MOC was produced using non-sulfided catalysts, Ru/C and Pd/C. Elemental analysis and 13C NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) results suggest that the distillate fractions from both oils become more aromatic/unsaturated as they become heavier. Carbonyl and carboxylic groups were found in the MOC light fractions, while phenols were present in the heavier fractions for both MOC and LOC. Paraffin, iso-paraffin, olefin, naphthene, aromatic (PIONA) analysis of the light LOC fraction shows a predominance of paraffins with a minor amount of olefins. Sulfur analysis showed the comparative concentration of sulfur in the different fractions as well as the surprising similarity in content in some sulfided and non-sulfided fractions. Our results can be used to direct future research on refinery integration and production of value-added product from specific upgraded oil streams.« less

Color removal from distillery spent wash through coagulation using Moringa oleifera seeds: use of optimum response surface methodology.

PubMed

Prasad, R Krishna

2009-06-15

The effects of dosage, pH and concentration of salts were investigated for an optimized condition of color removal from the distillery spent wash. The optimization process was analyzed using custom response surface methodology (RSM). The design was employed to derive a statistical model for the effect of parameters studied on removal of color using Moringa oleifera coagulant (MOC). The dosage (20 and 60 ml), pH (7 and 8.5) and concentration of 0.25 M had been found to be the optimum conditions for maximum 56% and 67% color removal using sodium chloride (NaCl) and potassium chloride (KCl) salts respectively. The actual color removal at optimal conditions was found to be 53% and 64% respectively for NaCl and KCl salts which confirms close to RSM results. The effects of storage duration and temperature on MOC studied reveal that coagulation efficiency of MOC kept at room temperature was effective for 3 days and at 4 degrees C it performed coagulation up to 5 days.

Moclobemide up-regulates proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells in chronically stressed mice.

PubMed

Li, Yun-feng; Zhang, You-zhi; Liu, Yan-qin; Wang, Heng-lin; Yuan, Li; Luo, Zhi-pu

2004-11-01

To explore the action mechanism of antidepressants. The PC12 cell proliferation was detected by flow cytometry. The proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells and level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were measured by immunohistochemistry. Treatment with N-methylaspartate (NMDA) 600 micromol/L for 3 d significantly decreased the percentage of S-phase in PC12 cells, while in the presence of classical antidepressant, moclobemide (MOC) 2 and 10 micromol/L, the percentage in S-phase increased. Furthermore, the proliferation of progenitor cells in hippocampal dentate gyrus (subgranular zone), as well as the level of BDNF in hippocampus significantly decreased in chronically stressed mice, while chronic administration with MOC 40 mg/kg (ip) up-regulated the progenitor cell proliferation and BDNF level in the same time course. Up-regulation of the proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells is one of the action mechanisms for MOC, which may be closely related to the elevation of BDNF level at the same time. These results also extend evidence for our hypothesis that up-regulation of the hippocampal neurogenesis is one of the common mechanisms for antidepressants.

Limitations of the method of characteristics when applied to axisymmetric hypersonic nozzle design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Anne C.; Perkins, John N.; Benton, James R.

1990-01-01

A design study of axisymmetric hypersonic wind tunnel nozzles was initiated by NASA Langley Research Center with the objective of improving the flow quality of their ground test facilities. Nozzles for Mach 6 air, Mach 13.5 nitrogen, and Mach 17 nitrogen were designed using the Method of Characteristics/Boundary Layer (MOC/BL) approach and were analyzed with a Navier-Stokes solver. Results of the analysis agreed well with design for the Mach 6 case, but revealed oblique shock waves of increasing strength originating from near the inflection point of the Mach 13.5 and Mach 17 nozzles. The findings indicate that the MOC/BL design method has a fundamental limitation that occurs at some Mach number between 6 an 13.5. In order to define the limitation more exactly and attempt to discover the cause, a parametric study of hypersonic ideal air nozzles designed with the current MOC/BL method was done. Results of this study indicate that, while stagnations conditions have a moderate affect on the upper limit of the method, the method fails at Mach numbers above 8.0.

New insights into the enhanced performance of high solid anaerobic digestion with dewatered sludge by thermal hydrolysis: Organic matter degradation and methanogenic pathways.

PubMed

Chen, Sisi; Li, Ning; Dong, Bin; Zhao, Wentao; Dai, Lingling; Dai, Xiaohu

2018-01-15

Two lab-scale high solid anaerobic digesters fed with untreated sludge (R1) and thermally hydrolyzed sludge (R2) were operated to investigate the influence of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) on the degradation of individual macromolecular organic components (MOCs), as well as the functional and metabolic responses of microbes during anaerobic digestion (AD). The degradation of MOCs was improved by THP at different rates, in which improved degradation of proteins (by 49.0%) and hemicelluloses (by 25.0%) were the main factors contributing to the increase in volatile solids (VS) reduction. However, no enhancement of final degradation extent of MOCs was observed. With a more densified microbial population, R2 was also enriched in genes involved in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism, reflected in the enhanced degradation of proteins and carbohydrates. After THP, the methanogenic pathway shifted from strict acetoclastic methanogenesis to acetoclastic/hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, consistent with the enhanced methane production and the increase of methane content. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

100 New Impact Crater Sites Found on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kennedy, M. R.; Malin, M. C.

2009-12-01

Recent observations constrain the formation of 100 new impact sites on Mars over the past decade; 19 of these were found using the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), and the other 81 have been identified since 2006 using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX). Every 6 meter/pixel CTX image is examined upon receipt and, where they overlap images of 0.3-240 m/pixel scale acquired by the same or other Mars-orbiting spacecraft, we look for features that may have changed. New impact sites are initially identified by the presence of a new dark spot or cluster of dark spots in a CTX image. Such spots may be new impact craters, or result from the effect of impact blasts on the dusty surface. In some (generally rare) cases, the crater is sufficiently large to be resolved in the CTX image. In most cases, however, the crater(s) cannot be seen. These are tentatively designated as “candidate” new impact sites, and the CTX team then creates an opportunity for the MRO spacecraft to point its cameras off-nadir and requests that the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) team obtain an image of ~0.3 m/pixel to confirm whether a crater or crater cluster is present. It is clear even from cursory examination that the CTX observations are areographically biased to dusty, higher albedo areas on Mars. All but 3 of the 100 new impact sites occur on surfaces with Lambert albedo values in excess of 23.5%. Our initial study of MOC images greatly benefited from the initial global observations made in one month in 1999, creating a baseline date from which we could start counting new craters. The global coverage by MRO Mars Color Imager is more than a factor of 4 poorer in resolution than the MOC Wide Angle camera and does not offer the opportunity for global analysis. Instead, we must rely on partial global coverage and global coverage that has taken years to accumulate; thus we can only treat impact rates statistically. We subdivide the total data set of 100 sites into 3 sets of observations: the original 19 MOC observations found in a survey of 15% of the planet, craters found only in CTX repeat coverage of 7% of Mars, and the remaining 69 craters found in a data set covering 40% of the planet. Using the mean interval between the latest observation preceding the impact and the first observation showing the impact for these groups of craters, we determine that the cratering rate is roughly 8 ± 6 x 10-7 craters/km2/yr for craters greater than ~1 m diameter. The cratering rate on Mars is sufficiently high to warrant consideration both for scientific studies and as a hazard to future exploration. Impacts are sufficiently frequent to act as seismic sources for studies of shallow crustal structure, if a seismic network is sufficiently dispersed and long-lived. Impacts large enough to provide information about deep interior structure are rare but probably occur on a decadal timescale. As recently noted in Science, new craters can be used to probe the distribution of subsurface ice and to provide samples from shallow depths that otherwise require meter-scale drilling systems. There is a finite probability that visitors to Mars for more than a month or two will hear or feel the effects of a nearby impact.

Neptune Through a Clear Filter

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-07-25

On July 23, 1989, NASA Voyager 2 spacecraft took this picture of Neptune through a clear filter on its narrow-angle camera. The image on the right has a latitude and longitude grid added for reference. Neptune Great Dark Spot is visible on the left.

Narrow Angle movie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

This brief three-frame movie of the Moon was made from three Cassini narrow-angle images as the spacecraft passed by the Moon on the way to its closest approach with Earth on August 17, 1999. The purpose of this particular set of images was to calibrate the spectral response of the narrow-angle camera and to test its 'on-chip summing mode' data compression technique in flight. From left to right, they show the Moon in the green, blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum in 40, 60 and 80 millisecond exposures, respectively. All three images have been scaled so that the brightness of Crisium basin, the dark circular region in the upper right, is the same in each image. The spatial scale in the blue and ultraviolet images is 1.4 miles per pixel (2.3 kilometers). The original scale in the green image (which was captured in the usual manner and then reduced in size by 2x2 pixel summing within the camera system) was 2.8 miles per pixel (4.6 kilometers). It has been enlarged for display to the same scale as the other two. The imaging data were processed and released by the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ.

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Cassini Imaging Team/University of Arizona

Cassini, launched in 1997, is a joint mission of NASA, the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Real-time test of MOCS algorithm during Superflux 1980. [ocean color algorithm for remotely detecting suspended solids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grew, G. W.

1981-01-01

A remote sensing experiment was conducted in which success depended upon the real-time use of an algorithm, generated from MOCS (multichannel ocean color sensor) data onboard the NASA P-3 aircraft, to direct the NOAA ship Kelez to oceanic stations where vitally needed sea truth could be collected. Remote data sets collected on two consecutive days of the mission were consistent with the sea truth for low concentrations of chlorophyll a. Two oceanic regions of special interest were located. The algorithm and the collected data are described.

Models of care choices in today's nursing workplace: where does team nursing sit?

PubMed

Fairbrother, Greg; Chiarella, Mary; Braithwaite, Jeffrey

2015-11-01

This paper provides an overview of the developmental history of models of care (MOC) in nursing since Florence Nightingale introduced nurse training programs in a drive to make nursing a discipline-based career option. The four principal choices of models of nursing care delivery (primary nursing, individual patient allocation, team nursing and functional nursing) are outlined and discussed, and recent MOC literature reviewed. The paper suggests that, given the ways work is being rapidly reconfigured in healthcare services and the pressures on the nursing workforce projected into the future, team nursing seems to offer the best solutions.

The American Board of Radiology Perspective on Maintenance of Certification: Part IV: Practice quality improvement in radiologic physics.

PubMed

Frey, G Donald; Ibbott, Geoffrey S; Morin, Richard L; Paliwal, Bhudatt R; Thomas, Stephen R; Bosma, Jennifer

2007-11-01

Recent initiatives of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) in the area of maintenance of certification (MOC) have been reflective of the response of the medical community to address public concerns regarding quality of care, medical error reduction, and patient safety. In March 2000, the 24 member boards of the ABMS representing all medical subspecialties in the USA agreed to initiate specialty-specific maintenance of certification (MOC) programs. The American Board of Radiology (ABR) MOC program for diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology, and radiologic physics has been developed, approved by the ABMS, and initiated with full implementation for all three disciplines beginning in 2007. The overriding objective of MOC is to improve the quality of health care through diplomate-initiated learning and quality improvement. The four component parts to the MOC process are: Part I: Professional standing, Part II: Evidence of life long learning and periodic self-assessment, Part III: Cognitive expertise, and Part IV: Evaluation of performance in practice (with the latter being the focus of this paper). The key components of Part IV require a physicist-based response to demonstrate commitment to practice quality improvement (PQI) and progress in continuing individual competence in practice. Diplomates of radiologic physics must select a project to be completed over the ten-year cycle that potentially can improve the quality of the diplomate's individual or systems practice and enhance the quality of care. Five categories have been created from which an individual radiologic physics diplomate can select one required PQI project: (1) Safety for patients, employees, and the public, (2) accuracy of analyses and calculations, (3) report turnaround time and communication issues, (4) practice guidelines and technical standards, and (5) surveys (including peer review of self-assessment reports). Each diplomate may select a project appropriate for an individual, participate in a project within a clinical department, participate in a peer review of a self-assessment report, or choose a qualified national project sponsored by a society. Once a project has been selected, the steps are: (1) Collect baseline data relevant to the chosen project, (2) review and analyze the data, (3) create and implement an improvement plan, (4) remeasure and track, and (5) report participation to the ABR, using the template provided by the ABR. These steps begin in Year 2, following training in Year 1. Specific examples of individual PQI projects for each of the three disciplines of radiologic physics are provided. Now, through the MOC programs, the relationship between the radiologic physicist and the ABR will be continuous through the diplomate's professional career. The ABR is committed to providing an effective infrastructure that will promote and assist the process of continuing professional development including the enhancement of practice quality improvement for radiologic physicists.

Highly Collimated Jets and Wide-angle Outflows in HH 46/47: New Evidence from Spitzer Infrared Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velusamy, T.; Langer, William D.; Marsh, Kenneth. A.

2007-01-01

We present new details of the structure and morphology of the jets and outflows in HH 46/47 as seen in Spitzer infrared images from IRAC and MIPS, reprocessed using the 'HiRes' deconvolution technique. HiRes improves the visualization of spatial morphology by enhancing resolution (to subarcsecond levels in IRAC bands) and removing the contaminating side lobes from bright sources. In addition to sharper views of previously reported bow shocks, we have detected (1) the sharply delineated cavity walls of the wide-angle biconical outflow, seen in scattered light on both sides of the protostar, (2) several very narrow jet features at distances approximately 400 AU to approximately 0.1 pc from the star, and (3) compact emissions at MIPS 24 m with the jet heads, tracing the hottest atomic/ionic gas in the bow shocks. Together the IRAC and MIPS images provide a more complete picture of the bow shocks, tracing both the molecular and atomic/ionic gases, respectively. The narrow width and alignment of all jet-related features indicate a high degree of jet collimation and low divergence (width of approximately 400 AU increasing by only a factor of 2.3 over 0.2 pc). The morphology of this jet, bow shocks, wide-angle outflows, and the fact that the jet is nonprecessing and episodic, constrain the mechanisms for producing the jet's entrained molecular gas, and origins of the fast jet, and slower wide-angle outflow.

Still from Processed Movie of Zonal Jets

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-11-21

This image is one frame from a movie clip of cloud motions on Jupiter, from the side of the planet opposite to the Great Red Spot. It was taken in the first week of October 2000 by the narrow-angle camera on NASA Cassini spacecraft,

Solar System Portrait - Earth as Pale Blue Dot

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-09-12

This narrow-angle color image of the Earth, dubbed Pale Blue Dot, is a part of the first ever 'portrait' of the solar system taken by NASA’s Voyager 1. The spacecraft acquired a total of 60 frames for a mosaic of the solar system from a distance of more than 4 billion miles from Earth and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic. From Voyager's great distance Earth is a mere point of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun. This blown-up image of the Earth was taken through three color filters -- violet, blue and green -- and recombined to produce the color image. The background features in the image are artifacts resulting from the magnification. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00452

Atmospheric Scintillation at Dome C, Antarctica: Implications for Photometryand Astrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenyon, S. L.; Lawrence, J. S.; Ashley, M. C. B.; Storey, J. W. V.; Tokovinin, A.; Fossat, E.

2006-06-01

We present low-resolution turbulence profiles of the atmosphere above Dome C, Antarctica, measured with the MASS instrument during 25 nights in 2004 March-May. Except for the lowest layer, Dome C has significantly less turbulence than Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón. In particular, the integrated turbulence at 16 km is always less than the median values at the two Chilean sites. From these profiles we evaluate the photometric noise produced by scintillation, and the atmospheric contribution to the error budget in narrow-angle differential astrometry. In comparison with the two midlatitude sites in Chile, Dome C offers a potential gain of about 3.6 in both photometric precision (for long integrations) and narrow-angle astrometry precision. These gain estimates are preliminary, being computed with average wind-speed profiles, but the validity of our approach is confirmed by independent data. Although the data from Dome C cover a fairly limited time frame, they lend strong support to expectations that Dome C will offer significant advantages for photometric and astrometric studies.

Atmospheric scintillation at Dome C, Antarctica: implications for photometry and astrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenyon, S.; Lawrence, J.; Ashley, M. C. B.; Storey, J. W. V.; Tokovinin, A.; Fossat, E.

2006-08-01

Night-time turbulence profiles of the atmosphere above Dome C, Antarctica, were measured during 2004, using a MASS instrument. We compare this data with turbulence profiles above Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon, also measured with a MASS, and find, with the exception of the owest layer, that Dome C has significantly less turbulence. In addition, the integrated at turbulence 16 km above Dome C is always less than the median values at the two Chilean sites. Using average wind speed profiles, we assess the photometric noise produced by scintillation, and the atmospheric contribution to the error budget in narrow angle differential astrometry. In comparison with the two mid-latitude sites in Chile, Dome C offers a potential gain of about 3.6 in both photometric precision (for long integrations) and narrow-angle astrometry precision. Although the data from Dome C cover a fairly limited time frame, they lend strong support to expectations that Dome C will offer significant advantages for photometric and astrometric studies.

Astrometry with the VLT Interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quirrenbach, Andreas

The VLTI was originally conceived as an imaging instrument, providing a resolution of a few milliarcseconds at near-infrared wavelengths for studies of stars, circumstellar matter, and extragalactic objects. However, following the pioneering work on interferometric narrow-angle astrometry by Shao and Colavita (1992) and Colavita (1994), it was proposed that the VLTI could also be used for astrometric planet detection (Quirrenbach 1995). It was envisaged that the astrometric mode of the VLTI could be implemented by taking advantage of the large unvignetted field-of-view foreseen at that time (von der Lühe, Quirrenbach, & Koehler 1995). The idea of using the VLTI for narrowangle astrometry was embraced by ESO's Interferometry Science Advisory Committee (Paresce et al. 1996), but the technical concept for the delay lines has changed. The current plan for narrow-angle astrometry is based on dual star feeds at the telescopes and comprehensive internal laser metrology, as described in the PRIMA (Phase-Referenced Imaging and Microarcsecond Astrometry) study (Quirrenbach et al. 1998).

Single Still Image

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

This narrow angle image taken by Cassini's camera system of the Moon is one of the best of a sequence of narrow angle frames taken as the spacecraft passed by the Moon on the way to its closest approach with Earth on August 17, 1999. The 80 millisecond exposure was taken through a spectral filter centered at 0.33 microns; the filter bandpass was 85 Angstroms wide. The spatial scale of the image is about 1.4 miles per pixel (about 2.3 kilometers). The imaging data were processed and released by the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ.

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Cassini Imaging Team/University of Arizona

Cassini, launched in 1997, is a joint mission of NASA, the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Optical polarimetry of Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesh, S.; Joshi, U. C.; Baliyan, K. S.

2009-06-01

Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4 was observed for linear polarization using the optical polarimeter mounted at the 1.2 m telescope at Mt. Abu Observatory, during the months of May and June 2004. Observations were conducted through the International Halley Watch narrow band (continuum) and BVR broad band filters. During the observing run the phase angle ranged from 85.6° in May to 55° in June. As expected, polarization increases with wavelength in this phase angle range. Polarization colour in the narrow bands changes at different epochs, perhaps related to cometary activity or molecular emission contamination. The polarization was also measured in the cometary coma at different locations along a line, in the direction of the tail. As expected, we notice minor decrease in the polarization as photocenter (nucleus) is traversed while brightness decreases sharply away from it. Based on these polarization observations we infer that the Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4 has high polarization and a typical grain composition—mixture of silicates and organics.

Up Close to Mimas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

During its approach to Mimas on Aug. 2, 2005, the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera obtained multi-spectral views of the moon from a range of 228,000 kilometers (142,500 miles).

This image is a narrow angle clear-filter image which was processed to enhance the contrast in brightness and sharpness of visible features.

Herschel crater, a 140-kilometer-wide (88-mile) impact feature with a prominent central peak, is visible in the upper right of this image.

This image was obtained when the Cassini spacecraft was above 25 degrees south, 134 degrees west latitude and longitude. The Sun-Mimas-spacecraft angle was 45 degrees and north is at the top.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .

Daphnis Up Close

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-01-18

The wavemaker moon, Daphnis, is featured in this view, taken as NASA's Cassini spacecraft made one of its ring-grazing passes over the outer edges of Saturn's rings on Jan. 16, 2017. This is the closest view of the small moon obtained yet. Daphnis (5 miles or 8 kilometers across) orbits within the 42-kilometer (26-mile) wide Keeler Gap. Cassini's viewing angle causes the gap to appear narrower than it actually is, due to foreshortening. The little moon's gravity raises waves in the edges of the gap in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Cassini was able to observe the vertical structures in 2009, around the time of Saturn's equinox (see PIA11654). Like a couple of Saturn's other small ring moons, Atlas and Pan, Daphnis appears to have a narrow ridge around its equator and a fairly smooth mantle of material on its surface -- likely an accumulation of fine particles from the rings. A few craters are obvious at this resolution. An additional ridge can be seen further north that runs parallel to the equatorial band. Fine details in the rings are also on display in this image. In particular, a grainy texture is seen in several wide lanes which hints at structures where particles are clumping together. In comparison to the otherwise sharp edges of the Keeler Gap, the wave peak in the gap edge at left has a softened appearance. This is possibly due to the movement of fine ring particles being spread out into the gap following Daphnis' last close approach to that edge on a previous orbit. A faint, narrow tendril of ring material follows just behind Daphnis (to its left). This may have resulted from a moment when Daphnis drew a packet of material out of the ring, and now that packet is spreading itself out. The image was taken in visible (green) light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 17,000 miles (28,000 kilometers) from Daphnis and at a Sun-Daphnis-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 71 degrees. Image scale is 551 feet (168 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21056

Do Coupled Climate Models Correctly SImulate the Upward Branch of the Deept Ocean Global Conveyor?

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

Sarmiento, Jorge L; Downes, Stephanie; Bianchi, Daniele

The large-scale meridional overturning circulation (MOC) connects the deep ocean, a major reservoir of carbon, to the other components of the climate system and must therefore be accurately represented in Earth System Models. Our project aims to address the specific question of the pathways and mechanisms controlling the upwelling branch of the MOC, a subject of significant disagreement between models and observational syntheses, and among general circulation models. Observations of these pathways are limited, particularly in regions of complex hydrography such as the Southern Ocean. As such, we rely on models to examine theories of the overturning circulation, both physicallymore » and biogeochemically. This grant focused on a particular aspect of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) where there is currently significant disagreement between models and observationally based analyses of the MOC, and amongst general circulation models. In particular, the research focused on addressing the following questions: 1. Where does the deep water that sinks in the polar regions rise to the surface? 2. What processes are responsible for this rise? 3. Do state-of-the-art coupled GCMs capture these processes? Our research had three key components: observational synthesis, model development and model analysis. In this final report we outline the key results from these areas of research for the 2007 to 2012 grant period. The research described here was carried out primarily by graduate student, Daniele Bianchi (now a Postdoc at McGill University, Canada), and Postdoc Stephanie Downes (now a Research Fellow at The Australian national University, Australia). Additional support was provided for programmers Jennifer Simeon as well as Rick Slater.« less

Recent changes in the North Atlantic.

PubMed

Dickson, Robert R; Curry, Ruth; Yashayaev, Igor

2003-09-15

It has long been recognized that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is potentially sensitive to greenhouse-gas and other climate forcing, and that changes in the MOC have the potential to cause abrupt climate change. However, the mechanisms remain poorly understood and our ability to detect these changes remains incomplete. Four main (interrelated) types of ocean change in particular are associated in the literature with greenhouse-gas forcing. These are: a slowing of MOC overturning rate; changes in northern seas which might effect a change in Atlantic overturning, including changes in the freshwater flux from the Arctic, and changes in the transport and/or hydrographic character of the northern overflows which ventilate the deep Atlantic; a change in the trans-ocean gradients of steric height (both zonal and meridional) which might accompany a change in the MOC; and an intensification of the global water cycle. Though as yet we have no direct measure of the freshwater flux passing from the Arctic to the Atlantic either via the Canadian Arctic Archipelago or along the East Greenland Shelf, and no direct measure yet of the Atlantic overturning rate, we examine a wide range of time-series from the existing hydrographic record for oceanic evidence of the other anticipated responses. Large amplitude and sustained changes are found (or indicated by proxy) over the past three to four decades in the southward transport of fresh waters along the Labrador shelf and slope, in the hydrography of the deep dense overflows from Nordic seas, in the transport of the eastern overflow through Faroe Bank Channel, and in the global hydrologic cycle. Though the type and scale of changes in ocean salinity are consistent with an amplification of the water cycle, we find no convincing evidence of any significant, concerted slowdown in the Atlantic overturning circulation.

Reversed flow of Atlantic deep water during the Last Glacial Maximum.

PubMed

Negre, César; Zahn, Rainer; Thomas, Alexander L; Masqué, Pere; Henderson, Gideon M; Martínez-Méndez, Gema; Hall, Ian R; Mas, José L

2010-11-04

The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the Atlantic Ocean is considered to be one of the most important components of the climate system. This is because its warm surface currents, such as the Gulf Stream, redistribute huge amounts of energy from tropical to high latitudes and influence regional weather and climate patterns, whereas its lower limb ventilates the deep ocean and affects the storage of carbon in the abyss, away from the atmosphere. Despite its significance for future climate, the operation of the MOC under contrasting climates of the past remains controversial. Nutrient-based proxies and recent model simulations indicate that during the Last Glacial Maximum the convective activity in the North Atlantic Ocean was much weaker than at present. In contrast, rate-sensitive radiogenic (231)Pa/(230)Th isotope ratios from the North Atlantic have been interpreted to indicate only minor changes in MOC strength. Here we show that the basin-scale abyssal circulation of the Atlantic Ocean was probably reversed during the Last Glacial Maximum and was dominated by northward water flow from the Southern Ocean. These conclusions are based on new high-resolution data from the South Atlantic Ocean that establish the basin-scale north to south gradient in (231)Pa/(230)Th, and thus the direction of the deep ocean circulation. Our findings are consistent with nutrient-based proxies and argue that further analysis of (231)Pa/(230)Th outside the North Atlantic basin will enhance our understanding of past ocean circulation, provided that spatial gradients are carefully considered. This broader perspective suggests that the modern pattern of the Atlantic MOC-with a prominent southerly flow of deep waters originating in the North Atlantic-arose only during the Holocene epoch.

5-Aminolevulinic acid-based photochemical internalization of the immunotoxin MOC31-gelonin generates synergistic cytotoxic effects in vitro.

PubMed

Selbo, P K; Kaalhus, O; Sivam, G; Berg, K

2001-08-01

Photochemical internalization (PCI) is a novel method for the endosomal or lysosomal release of membrane-impermeable molecules into the cytosol of target cells. This novel technology is based on the photodynamically induced rupture of endocytic vesicles preloaded with molecules of therapeutic interest. PCI of the ribosome-inactivating plant toxin gelonin and the immunotoxin monoclonal antibody 31 (MOC31) gelonin has been performed previously by the use of the endocytic vesicle-localizing photosensitizers TPPS2a and AIPcS2a and light, demonstrating synergistic toxicity against the more than 20 different cell lines tested, most of them of neoplastic origin. In this study we demonstrate that 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) is also capable of inducing PCI of MOC31-gelonin in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line WiDr. The cells were incubated with 1 mM 5-ALA for up to 8 h in serum-free medium and from 24 to 96 h in serum-containing medium. Fluorescence microscopical studies indicate a partial plasma membrane localization of PpIX when 5-ALA was applied under serum-free conditions. This plasma membrane localization was not seen when 5-ALA was given in the presence of serum. There was a granular component of the PpIX localization in addition to a diffuse cytoplasmic localization. The granular component resembled the localization of the fluorescent dye conjugate Alexa-gelonin and the lysosomal localizing dye acridine orange. Our present results provide evidence for an endocytic vesicle-associated fraction of PpIX after 5-ALA incubation of the WiDr cells. We demonstrate that PCI, by combining 5-ALA, MOC31-gelonin and light, induces a synergistic cytotoxic effect against the WiDr cells.

The Aging Neurosurgeon: When Is Enough, Enough? Attitudes Toward Ceasing Practice and Testing in Late Career.

PubMed

Babu, Maya A; Liau, Linda M; Spinner, Robert J; Meyer, Fredric B

2017-12-01

To present the first wide-scale survey to assess perceptions of testing the aging neurosurgeon. This study included 4899 neurosurgeons, 2435 American Board of Neurological Surgery Diplomates participating in Maintenance of Certification (MOC), 1440 Diplomates certified before 1999 (grandfathered), and 1024 retired Diplomates. We developed an online confidential survey conducted from March 1, 2016, to May 31, 2016. We received 1449 responses overall (30% response rate). Most respondents (938; 65%) were aged 50 years and older. Overall, most respondents (718; 50%) believe that the aging neurosurgeon (65 years and older) should undergo additional testing, including cognitive assessment or a review of cases, in addition to a standard (MOC) examination. Nine hundred fifty-six (67%) respondents believed that there should be no absolute age cutoff at which neurosurgical practice is forced to end. Six hundred six (42%) respondents believed that MOC should be tailored to accommodate the aging neurosurgeon. Most respondents (766; 59%) believed that MOC should consist of a review individual case logs and patient outcomes for the aging neurosurgeon. Appropriately assessing the aging neurosurgeon is important to protect patient safety and also maximize the capacity of an aging neurosurgical workforce. This first of its kind survey of neurosurgeon diplomates of the American Board of Neurological Surgery provides important information as to what mechanisms can be created to fairly evaluate aging neurosurgeons. Although this is a study of neurosurgeons, the implications of these findings are widely applicable across specialties, and additional research on testing for aging and competency is needed across specialties. Copyright © 2017 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Supporting the Evaluation and Implementation of Musculoskeletal Models of Care: A Globally Informed Framework for Judging Readiness and Success.

PubMed

Briggs, Andrew M; Jordan, Joanne E; Jennings, Matthew; Speerin, Robyn; Bragge, Peter; Chua, Jason; Woolf, Anthony D; Slater, Helen

2017-04-01

To develop a globally informed framework to evaluate readiness for implementation and success after implementation of musculoskeletal models of care (MOCs). Three phases were undertaken: 1) a qualitative study with 27 Australian subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop a draft framework; 2) an eDelphi study with an international panel of 93 SMEs across 30 nations to evaluate face validity, and refine and establish consensus on the framework components; and 3) translation of the framework into a user-focused resource and evaluation of its acceptability with the eDelphi panel. A comprehensive evaluation framework was developed for judging the readiness and success of musculoskeletal MOCs. The framework consists of 9 domains, with each domain containing a number of themes underpinned by detailed elements. In the first Delphi round, scores of "partly agree" or "completely agree" with the draft framework ranged 96.7%-100%. In the second round, "essential" scores ranged 58.6%-98.9%, resulting in 14 of 34 themes being classified as essential. SMEs strongly agreed or agreed that the final framework was useful (98.8%), usable (95.1%), credible (100%) and appealing (93.9%). Overall, 96.3% strongly supported or supported the final structure of the framework as it was presented, while 100%, 96.3%, and 100% strongly supported or supported the content within the readiness, initiating implementation, and success streams, respectively. An empirically derived framework to evaluate the readiness and success of musculoskeletal MOCs was strongly supported by an international panel of SMEs. The framework provides an important internationally applicable benchmark for the development, implementation, and evaluation of musculoskeletal MOCs. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.

1.5 Meter Per Pixel View of Boulders in Ganges Chasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)spacecraft was designed to be able to take pictures that 'bridge the gap' between what could be seen by the Mariner 9 and Viking Orbiters from space and what could be seen by landers from the ground. In other words, MOC was designed to be able to see boulders of sizes similar to and larger than those named 'Yogi' at the Mars Pathfinder site and 'Big Joe' at the Viking 1 landing site. To see such boulders, a resolution of at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel was required.

With the start of the MGS Mapping Phase of the mission during the second week of March 1999, the MOC team is pleased to report that 'the gap is bridged.' This image shows a field of boulders on the surface of a landslide deposit in Ganges Chasma. Ganges Chasma is one of the valleys in the Valles Marineris canyon system. The image resolution is 1.5 meters per pixel. The boulders shown here range in size from about 2 meters (7 feet) to about 20 meters (66 feet) in size. The image covers an area 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) across, and illumination is from the upper left.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Enhanced tumor control with combination mTOR and PD-L1 inhibition in syngeneic oral cavity cancers

PubMed Central

Moore, Ellen C.; Cash, Harrison A.; Caruso, Andria M.; Uppaluri, Ravindra; Hodge, James W.; Van Waes, Carter; Allen, Clint T.

2016-01-01

Significant subsets of patients with oral cancer fail to respond to single-agent programmed death (PD) blockade. Syngeneic models of oral cancer were used to determine if blocking oncogenic signaling improved in vivo responses to PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (mAb). Anti-PD-L1 enhanced durable primary tumor control and survival when combined with mTOR (rapamycin), but not in combination with MEK inhibition (PD901) in immunogenic MOC1 tumors. Conversely, PD-L1 mAb did not enhance tumor control in poorly immunogenic MOC2 tumors. Rapamycin enhanced expansion of peripheral antigen-specific CD8 T cells and IFNγ production following ex vivo antigen stimulation. More CD8 T cells infiltrated and were activated after PD-L1 mAb treatment in mice with immunogenic MOC1 tumors, which was stable or increased by the addition of rapamycin, but suppressed when PD901 was added. Rapamycin increased IFNγ production capacity in peripheral and tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells. In vivo antibody depletion revealed a CD8 T cell, and not NK cell, -dependent mechanism of tumor growth inhibition after treatment with rapamycin and PD-L1 mAb, ruling out significant effects from NK cell–mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Rapamycin also enhanced IFNγ or PD-L1 mAb treatment–associated induction of MHC class I expression on MOC1 tumor cells, an effect abrogated by depleting infiltrating CD8 T cells from the tumor microenvironment. This data conflicts with traditional views of rapamycin as a universal immunosuppressant, and when combined with evidence of enhanced antitumor activity with the combination of rapamycin and PD-L1 mAb, suggests that this treatment combination deserves careful evaluation in the clinical setting. PMID:27076449

Medusae Fossae Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

An exotic terrain of wind-eroded ridges and residual smooth surfaces are seen in one of the highest resolution images ever taken of Mars from orbit. The Medusae Fossae formation is believed to be formed of the fragmental ejecta of huge explosive volcanic eruptions. When subjected to intense wind-blasting over hundreds of millions of years, this material erodes easily once the uppermost tougher crust is breached. In the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shown on the right, the crust, or cap rock, can be seen in the upper right part of the picture. The finely-spaced ridges are similar to features on Earth called yardangs, which are formed by intense winds plucking individual grains from, and by wind-driven sand blasting particles off, sedimentary deposits.

The MOC image was taken on October 30, 1997 at 11:05 AM PST, shortly after the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft's 31st closest approach to Mars. The image covers an area 3.6 X 21.5 km (2.2 X 13.4 miles) at 3.6 m (12 feet) per picture element--craters only 11 m (36 feet, about the size of a swimming pool) across can be seen. The context image (left; the best Viking view of the area; VO 1 387S34) has a resolution of 240 m/pixel, or 67 times lower resolution than the MOC frame.

Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

Salmonella typhimurium PtsJ is a novel MocR-like transcriptional repressor involved in regulating the vitamin B6 salvage pathway.

PubMed

Tramonti, Angela; Milano, Teresa; Nardella, Caterina; di Salvo, Martino L; Pascarella, Stefano; Contestabile, Roberto

2017-02-01

The vitamin B 6 salvage pathway, involving pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase (PNPOx) and pyridoxal kinase (PLK), recycles B 6 vitamers from nutrients and protein turnover to produce pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the catalytically active form of the vitamin. Regulation of this pathway, widespread in living organisms including humans and many bacteria, is very important to vitamin B 6 homeostasis but poorly understood. Although some information is available on the enzymatic regulation of PNPOx and PLK, little is known on their regulation at the transcriptional level. In the present work, we identified a new MocR-like regulator, PtsJ from Salmonella typhimurium, which controls the expression of the pdxK gene encoding one of the two PLKs expressed in this organism (PLK1). Analysis of pdxK expression in a ptsJ knockout strain demonstrated that PtsJ acts as a transcriptional repressor. This is the first case of a MocR-like regulator acting as repressor of its target gene. Expression and purification of PtsJ allowed a detailed characterisation of its effector and DNA-binding properties. PLP is the only B 6 vitamer acting as effector molecule for PtsJ. A DNA-binding region composed of four repeated nucleotide sequences is responsible for binding of PtsJ to its target promoter. Analysis of binding stoichiometry revealed that protein subunits/DNA molar ratio varies from 4 : 1 to 2 : 1, depending on the presence or absence of PLP. Structural characteristics of DNA transcriptional factor-binding sites suggest that PtsJ binds DNA according to a different model with respect to other characterised members of the MocR subgroup. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Enabling Narrow(est) IWA Coronagraphy with STIS BAR5 and BAR10 Occulters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Glenn; Gaspar, Andras; Debes, John; Gull, Theodore; Hines, Dean; Apai, Daniel; Rieke, George

2017-09-01

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph's (STIS) BAR5 coronagraphic occulter was designed to provide high-contrast, visible-light, imaging in close (> 0.15") angular proximity to bright point-sources. We explored and verified the functionality and utility of the BAR5 occulter. We also investigated, and herein report on, the use of the BAR10 rounded corners as narrow-angle occulters and compare IWA vs. contrast performance for the BAR5, BAR10, and Wedge occulters. With that, we provide recommendations for the most efficacious BAR5 and BAR10 use on-orbit in support of GO science.

ARC-1986-A86-7011

NASA Image and Video Library

1986-01-14

Range : 2.52 million miles (1.56 million miles) P-29481B/W Voyager 2 returned this photograph with all nine known Uranus rings visible from a 15 sec. exposure through the narrow angle camera. The rings are quite dark and very narrow. The most prominent and outermost of the nine, Epsilon, is seen at top. The next three in toward Uranus, called Delta, Gamma, and Eta, are much fainter and more narrow than Epsilon ring. Then come Beta and Alpha rings, and finally, the innermost grouping, known simply as the 4,5, & 6 rings. The last three are very faint and are at the limit of detection for the Voyager camera. Uranus' rings range in width from about 100 km. (60 mi.) at the widest part of the Epsilon ring, to only a few kilometers for most of the others. this iamge was processed to enhance narrow features; the bright dots are imperfections on the camera detector. The resolution scale is about 50 km. (30 mi.)

A summary of Viking sample-trench analyses for angles of internal friction and cohesions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, H. J.; Clow, G. D.; Hutton, R. E.

1982-01-01

Analyses of sample trenches excavated on Mars, using a theory for plowing by narrow blades, provide estimates of the angles of internal friction and the cohesions of the Martian surface materials. Angles of internal friction appear to be the same as those of many terrestrial soils because they are generally between 27 degrees and 39 degrees. Drift material, at the Lander 1 site, has a low angle of internal friction (near 18 degrees). All the materials excavated have low cohesions, generally between 0.2 and 10 kPa. The occurrence of cross bedding, layers of crusts, and blocky slabs shows that these materials are heterogeneous and that they contain planes of weakness. The results reported here have significant implications for future landed missions, Martian eolian processes, and interpretation of infrared temperatures.

Dermatoglyphic characters and physique: a correlation study.

PubMed

Rothhammer, F; Llop, E; Neel, J V

1982-01-01

The association of anthropometrics, particularly hand measurements, with dermatoglyphic characters is quantified. Children with square hands exhibit higher main line indices, a-b ridge counts, and more open atd angles. Adults with broader hands have more arches. Taller individuals with larger hands present higher a-b ridge counts and leaner subjects with long narrow hands, closer atd angles. The correlation of physique and dermatoglyphics is small but if verified, suggests that at early fetal stages, factors responsible for the establishment of dermatoglyphic patterns interact with genetic determinants of adult shape that are already active.

Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous ZnS with narrow size distribution of small pores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nistor, L. C.; Mateescu, C. D.; Birjega, R.; Nistor, S. V.

2008-08-01

Pure, nanocrystalline cubic ZnS forming a stable mesoporous structure was synthesized at room temperature by a non-toxic surfactant-assisted liquid liquid reaction, in the 9.5 10.5 pH range of values. The appearance of an X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak in the region of very small angles (˜ 2°) reveals the presence of a porous material with a narrow pore size distribution, but with an irregular arrangement of the pores, a so-called worm hole or sponge-like material. The analysis of the wide angle XRD diffractograms shows the building blocks to be ZnS nanocrystals with cubic structure and average diameter of 2 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations confirm the XRD results; ZnS crystallites of 2.5 nm with cubic (blende) structure are the building blocks of the pore walls with pore sizes from 1.9 to 2.5 nm, and a broader size distribution for samples with smaller pores. Textural measurements (N2 adsorption desorption isotherms) confirm the presence of mesoporous ZnS with a narrow range of small pore sizes. The relatively lower surface area of around 100 m2/g is attributed to some remaining organic molecules, which are filling the smallest pores. Their presence, confirmed by IR spectroscopy, seems to be responsible for the high stability of the resulting mesoporous ZnS as well.

Growth and liver histology of Channa punctatus exposed to a common biofertilizer.

PubMed

Nath, S; Matozzo, V; Bhandari, D; Faggio, C

2018-01-28

Mustard oil cake (MOC) is widely used as biofertilizer in the field of agriculture and aquaculture. Channa punctatus was exposed to 0.42 g.L -1 sublethal concentration for 4, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Due to such exposure, body growth and histological changes in liver were observed. It was revealed that weight, length and breadth of fish were gradually increased with the days of exposure in compare to control fish, whereas, liver showed an increase in sinusoidal space and lipidosis during early days, followed by a recovery from the stress of MOC on the 28th day.

Localization, Localization, Localization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, T.; Malin, M.; Golombek, M.; Duxbury, T.; Johnson, A.; Guinn, J.; McElrath, T.; Kirk, R.; Archinal, B.; Soderblom, L.

2004-01-01

Localization of the two Mars Exploration Rovers involved three independent approaches to place the landers with respect to the surface of Mars and to refine the location of those points on the surface with the Mars control net: 1) Track the spacecraft through entry, descent, and landing, then refine the final roll stop position by radio tracking and comparison to images taken during descent; 2) Locate features on the horizon imaged by the two rovers and compare them to the MOC and THEMIS VIS images, and the DIMES images on the two MER landers; and 3) 'Check' and refine locations by acquisition of MOC 1.5 meter and 50 cm/pixel images.

Contralateral Masking in Bilateral Cochlear Implant Patients: A Model of Medial Olivocochlear Function Loss

PubMed Central

Aronoff, Justin M.; Padilla, Monica; Fu, Qian-Jie; Landsberger, David M.

2015-01-01

Contralateral masking is the phenomenon where a masker presented to one ear affects the ability to detect a signal in the opposite ear. For normal hearing listeners, contralateral masking results in masking patterns that are both sharper and dramatically smaller in magnitude than ipsilateral masking. The goal of this study was to investigate whether medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferents are needed for the sharpness and relatively small magnitude of the contralateral masking function. To do this, bilateral cochlear implant patients were tested because, by directly stimulating the auditory nerve, cochlear implants circumvent the effects of the MOC efferents. The results indicated that, as with normal hearing listeners, the contralateral masking function was sharper than the ipsilateral masking function. However, although there was a reduction in the magnitude of the contralateral masking function compared to the ipsilateral masking function, it was relatively modest. This is in sharp contrast to the results of normal hearing listeners where the magnitude of the contralateral masking function is greatly reduced. These results suggest that MOC function may not play a large role in the sharpness of the contralateral masking function but may play a considerable role in the magnitude of the contralateral masking function. PMID:25798581

Transitioning youth to adult healthcare: new tools from the Illinois Transition Care Project.

PubMed

Sanabria, K E; Ruch-Ross, H S; Bargeron, J L; Contri, D A; Kalichman, M A

2015-01-01

To improve youths' transition to adult healthcare, especially for youth with disabilities, The Illinois Transition Care Project created separate, yet complementary, curricula for pediatric and adult-oriented providers. Content from the curricula was tested by practicing physicians. The project created a library of skill worksheets with functional goals for patients. All methods included opportunities to teach life skills to patients to independently manage their conditions. The curricula used Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 4 credit as an incentive for physician participation. Pediatric pilot data indicate improvement across all sites and activities. Adult medicine results indicate increased perceived importance and feasibility of accepting young adult patients with childhood conditions. Patient/parent reviewers indicate the tools are understandable, interesting, and effective. Findings suggest the curricula, with MOC Part 4 credit for physicians, are effective in improving transition care. Project results provided new information on population management for transitioning youth and on the use of MOC Part 4 credit as an incentive. Findings have implications for primary care and specialty physicians, team-based care, teaching self-management skills to patients and methods for engaging adult-oriented physicians in the transition process.

Low meprin α expression differentiates primary ovarian mucinous carcinoma from gastrointestinal cancers that commonly metastasise to the ovaries

PubMed Central

Heinzelmann‐Schwarz, Viola A; Scolyer, Richard A; Scurry, James P; Smith, Alison N; Gardiner‐Garden, Margaret; Biankin, Andrew V; Baron‐Hay, Sally; Scott, Carolyn; Ward, Robyn L; Fink, Daniel; Hacker, Neville F; Sutherland, Robert L; O'Brien, Philippa M

2007-01-01

Background Currently, no specific immunohistochemical markers are available to differentiate primary mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer (MOC) from adenocarcinomas originating at other sites that have metastasised to the ovary, which may have an impact on patient management and prognosis. Aim To investigate the expression of two intestinal markers, galectin 4 and meprin α, in mucinous carcinomas of the ovary and gastrointestinal tract. Methods Using immunohistochemical analysis, the expression of galectin 4 and meprin α was investigated in 10 MOCs and in 38 mucinous adenocarcinomas of colon, pancreas, stomach and appendix, the most common sites of origin of ovarian metastases. Results Total cytoplasmic galectin 4 expression was relatively consistent between the different carcinomas. Membranous meprin α expression was significantly lower in MOCs compared with gastrointestinal carcinomas. Moreover, meprin α expression showed greater discrimination between the ovarian and gastrointestinal carcinomas than the cytokeratins CK7 and CK20, the current standard immunohistochemical markers used to determine the tissue origin of mucinous carcinomas involving the ovaries. Conclusions Meprin α is a useful additional marker in differentiating primary from secondary mucinous adenocarcinomas of the ovary. PMID:16822880

Pools of programmed death-ligand within the oral cavity tumor microenvironment: Variable alteration by targeted therapies.

PubMed

Shah, Sujay; Caruso, Andria; Cash, Harrison; Waes, Carter Van; Allen, Clint T

2016-08-01

Enhanced understanding of programmed death-ligand (PD-L) expression in oral cancer is important for establishing rational combinations of emerging immune checkpoint and molecular targeted therapies. We assessed PD-L and interferon (IFN) expression in immunogenic murine oral cancer-1 (MOC1) and poorly immunogenic MOC2 cell models after treatment with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and MEK1/2 small molecule inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. PD-L1 but not PD-L2 is expressed on MOC1 and 2 cells and is type I and II IFN-dependent. PD-L1 is differentially expressed on cancer and endothelial cells and infiltrating myeloid-derived suppressor cells, macrophages, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in highly and poorly immunogenic tumors. PD-L1 expression is variably altered after treatment with inhibitors in vivo, with an imperfect relationship to alterations in IFN levels in the tumor microenvironment. PD-L1 expressed on cancer and infiltrating immune cells is variably altered by targeted therapies and may, in part, reflect changes in tumor IFN. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38:1176-1186, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Albedo Boundary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-510, 11 October 2003

The sharp, nearly straight line that runs diagonally across the center of this April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image is an albedo boundary. Albedois a term that refers to reflectance of sunlight. A surface with a low albedo is one that appears dark because it reflects less light than a high albedo (bright) surface. On Mars, albedo boundaries occur between two materials of differing texture, particle size, or composition, or some combination of these three factors. The boundary shown here is remarkable because it is so sharp and straight. This is caused by wind. Most likely, the entire surface was once covered with the lower-albedo (darker) material that is now seen in the upper half of the image. At some later time, wind stripped away this darker material from the surfaces in the lower half of the image. The difference in albedo here might be related to composition, and possibly particle size. This picture is located near the southwest rim of Schiaparelli Basin at 5.5oS, 345.9oW. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the left.

Athabasca Vallis Streamlined 'Islands'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-322, 12 December 2002

Tremendous floods carved these tear drop-shaped landforms in Athabasca Vallis in the Cerberus region, south of the Elysium volcanoes. The orientation of the streamlined forms indicate that the fluid flowed from the right/upper right toward the left/lower left (from the northeast to the southwest). Similar features occur in central and eastern Washington in the northwestern United States. The examples in Washington formed when massive amounts of water rushed across the landscape, scouring a 'channeled scabland' during the last Ice Age, roughly 12,000-13,000 years ago. The features on Mars are much older; while the absolute age cannot be determined, the small impact craters with rayed ejecta patterns on the flood surfaces indicate it must be much, much older than the flood landscape in Washington. This is a mosaic of six Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired in 1999 through 2002. Illumination is from the left. The mosaic covers an area 11.9 km (7.4 mi) by 13.0 km (8.1 mi). The full-size mosaic has a resolution of 4 meters (13 ft) per pixel.

Structural anatomy of a dismembered ophiolite suite from Gondwana: The Manamedu complex, Cauvery suture zone, southern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chetty, T. R. K.; Yellappa, T.; Nagesh, P.; Mohanty, D. P.; Venkatasivappa, V.; Santosh, M.; Tsunogae, T.

2011-08-01

Detailed geological and structural mapping of the Manamedu ophiolite complex (MOC), from the south-eastern part of the Cauvery suture zone (CSZ) within the Gondwana collisional suture in southern India reveals the anatomy of a dismembered ophiolite succession comprising pyroxenite actinolite-hornblendite, hornblendite, gabbro-norite, gabbro, anorthosite, amphibolite, plagiogranite, mafic dykes, and associated pelagic sediments such as chert-magnetite bands and carbonate horizons. The magmatic foliation trajectory map shows inward dipping foliations and a variety of fold structures. Structural cross-sections of the MOC reveal gentle inward dips with repetition and omission of different lithologies often marked by curvilinear hinge lines. The succession displays imbricate thrust sheets and slices of dismembered ophiolite suites distributed along several localities within the CSZ. The MOC can be interpreted as a deformed large duplex structure associated with south-verging back thrust system, consistent with crustal-scale 'flower structure'. The nature and distribution of ophiolitic rocks in the CSZ suggest supra-subduction zone setting associated with the lithospheric subduction of the Neoproterozoic Mozambique Ocean, followed by collision and obduction during the final stage of amalgamation of the Gondwana supercontinent in the end Precambrian.

Theory of phase stabilities and bonding mechanisms in stoichiometric and substoichiometric molybdenum carbide

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

Hugosson, H.W.; Eriksson, O.; Nordstroem, L.

1999-10-01

First principles, total energy methods have been applied to predict the relative stabilities of the four experimentally verified MoC phases: the cubic {delta}(NaCl) phase and the three hexagonal {gamma}(WC), {eta} and {gamma}{sup {prime}}(TiAs) phases. The effect of vacancies on the relative stability of these four phases was investigated using a model structure with ordered vacancies within the carbon sublattice. For stoichiometric MoC, the {gamma} phase was found to be the most stable followed by {gamma}{sup {prime}}, {delta}, and {eta}, but for substoichiometric MoC{sub 0.75}, the order of relative stability was changed and the substoichiometric {delta} phase was found to havemore » the lowest energy followed by {gamma}{sup {prime}} and {gamma}. A study of the electronic structure revealed vacancy induced peaks in the density of state and the electron density attached to these peaks was analyzed and found to emanate from unscreened Mo{endash}Mo bonds through the carbon vacancy site. Finally, the oxygen stabilization of the {gamma}{sup {prime}} MoC phase was studied. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Impaired Mitochondrial Transcription Termination Disrupts the Stromal Redox Poise in Chlamydomonas1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Uhmeyer, Andreas

2017-01-01

In photosynthetic eukaryotes, the metabolite exchange between chloroplast and mitochondria ensures efficient photosynthesis under saturating light conditions. The Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant stm6 is devoid of the mitochondrial transcription termination factor MOC1 and aberrantly expresses the mitochondrial genome, resulting in enhanced photosynthetic hydrogen production and diminished light tolerance. We analyzed the modulation of mitochondrial and chlororespiration during the acclimation of stm6 and the MOC1-complemented strain to excess light. Although light stress stimulated mitochondrial respiration via the energy-conserving cytochrome c pathway in both strains, the mutant was unable to fine-tune the expression and activity of oxidative phosphorylation complex I in excess light, which was accompanied by an increased mitochondrial respiration via the alternative oxidase pathway. Furthermore, stm6 failed to fully activate chlororespiration and cyclic electron flow due to a more oxidized state of the chloroplast stroma, which is caused by an increased mitochondrial electron sink capacity. Increased susceptibility to photoinhibition of PSII in stm6 demonstrates that the MOC1-dependent modulation of mitochondrial respiration helps control the stromal redox poise as a crucial part of high-light acclimation in C. reinhardtii. PMID:28500267

A time-dependent neutron transport method of characteristics formulation with time derivative propagation

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

Hoffman, Adam J., E-mail: adamhoff@umich.edu; Lee, John C., E-mail: jcl@umich.edu

2016-02-15

A new time-dependent Method of Characteristics (MOC) formulation for nuclear reactor kinetics was developed utilizing angular flux time-derivative propagation. This method avoids the requirement of storing the angular flux at previous points in time to represent a discretized time derivative; instead, an equation for the angular flux time derivative along 1D spatial characteristics is derived and solved concurrently with the 1D transport characteristic equation. This approach allows the angular flux time derivative to be recast principally in terms of the neutron source time derivatives, which are approximated to high-order accuracy using the backward differentiation formula (BDF). This approach, called Sourcemore » Derivative Propagation (SDP), drastically reduces the memory requirements of time-dependent MOC relative to methods that require storing the angular flux. An SDP method was developed for 2D and 3D applications and implemented in the computer code DeCART in 2D. DeCART was used to model two reactor transient benchmarks: a modified TWIGL problem and a C5G7 transient. The SDP method accurately and efficiently replicated the solution of the conventional time-dependent MOC method using two orders of magnitude less memory.« less

Time-frequency analysis of stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions and their changes with efferent stimulation in guinea pigs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berezina-Greene, Maria A.; Guinan, John J.

2015-12-01

To aid in understanding their origin, stimulus frequency otoacoustic emissions (SFOAEs) were measured at a series of tone frequencies using the suppression method, both with and without stimulation of medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferents, in anesthetized guinea pigs. Time-frequency analysis showed SFOAE energy peaks in 1-3 delay components throughout the measured frequency range (0.5-12 kHz). One component's delay usually coincided with the phase-gradient delay. When multiple delay components were present, they were usually near SFOAE dips. Below 2 kHz, SFOAE delays were shorter than predicted from mechanical measurements. With MOC stimulation, SFOAE amplitude was decreased at most frequencies, but was sometimes enhanced, and all SFOAE delay components were affected. The MOC effects and an analysis of model data suggest that the multiple SFOAE delay components arise at the edges of the traveling-wave peak, not far basal of the peak. Comparisons with published guinea-pig neural data suggest that the short latencies of low-frequency SFOAEs may arise from coherent reflection from an organ-of-Corti motion that has a shorter group delay than the traveling wave.

Intracellular accumulation of mannopine, an opine produced by crown gall tumors, transiently inhibits growth of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

PubMed

Kim, K S; Baek, C H; Lee, J K; Yang, J M; Farrand, S K

2001-06-01

pYDH208, a cosmid clone from the octopine-mannityl opine-type tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid pTi15955 confers utilization of mannopine (MOP) and agropine (AGR) on Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain NT1. NT1 harboring pYDH208 with an insertion mutation in mocC, which codes for MOP oxidoreductase, not only fails to utilize MOP as a sole carbon source, but also was inhibited in its growth by MOP and AGR. In contrast, the growth of mutants with insertions in other tested moc genes was not inhibited by either opine. Growth of strains NT1 or UIA5, a derivative of C58 that lacks pAtC58, was not inhibited by MOP, but growth of NT1 or UIA5 harboring pRE10, which codes for the MOP transport system, was inhibited by the opine. When a clone expressing mocC was introduced, the growth of strain NT1(pRE10) was not inhibited by MOP, although UIA5(pRE10) was still weakly inhibited. In strain NT1(pRE10, mocC), santhopine (SOP), produced by the oxidation of MOP by MocC, was further degraded by functions encoded by pAtC58. These results suggest that MOP and, to a lesser extent, SOP are inhibitory when accumulated intracellularly. The growth of NT1(pRE10), as measured by turbidity and viable cell counts, ceased upon the addition of MOP but restarted in a few hours. Regrowth was partly the result of the outgrowth of spontaneous MOP-resistant mutants and partly the adaptation of cells to MOP in the medium. Chrysopine, isochrysopine, and analogs of MOP in which the glutamine residue is substituted with other amino acids were barely taken up by NT1(pRE10) and were not inhibitory to growth of the strain. Sugar analogs of MOP were inhibitory, and those containing sugars in the D form were more inhibitory than those containing sugars in the L form. MOP analogs containing hexose sugars were more inhibitory than those containing sugars with three, four, or five carbon atoms. Mutants of NT1(pRE10) that are resistant to MOP arose in the zone of growth inhibition. Genetic and physiological analyses indicate that the mutations are located on pRE10 and abolish uptake of the opine.

Natural variation at sympathy for the ligule controls penetrance of the semidominant lioguleless narrow-R mutation in Zea mays

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Leaf architecture determines plant structural integrity, light harvesting, and economic considerations such as plant density. Ligules, junctions at the leaf sheath and blade in grasses, protect stalks from environmental stresses and, in conjunction with auricles, controls leaf angle. The liguleless ...

Mars global digital dune database: MC-30

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayward, R.K.; Fenton, L.K.; Titus, T.N.; Colaprete, A.; Christensen, P.R.

2012-01-01

The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) provides data and describes the methodology used in creating the global database of moderate- to large-size dune fields on Mars. The database is being released in a series of U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Reports. The first report (Hayward and others, 2007) included dune fields from lat 65° N. to 65° S. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1158/). The second report (Hayward and others, 2010) included dune fields from lat 60° N. to 90° N. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1170/). This report encompasses ~75,000 km2 of mapped dune fields from lat 60° to 90° S. The dune fields included in this global database were initially located using Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) Infrared (IR) images. In the previous two reports, some dune fields may have been unintentionally excluded for two reasons: (1) incomplete THEMIS IR (daytime) coverage may have caused us to exclude some moderate- to large-size dune fields or (2) resolution of THEMIS IR coverage (100 m/pixel) certainly caused us to exclude smaller dune fields. In this report, mapping is more complete. The Arizona State University THEMIS daytime IR mosaic provided complete IR coverage, and it is unlikely that we missed any large dune fields in the South Pole (SP) region. In addition, the increased availability of higher resolution images resulted in the inclusion of more small (~1 km2) sand dune fields and sand patches. To maintain consistency with the previous releases, we have identified the sand features that would not have been included in earlier releases. While the moderate to large dune fields in MGD3 are likely to constitute the largest compilation of sediment on the planet, we acknowledge that our database excludes numerous small dune fields and some moderate to large dune fields as well. Please note that the absence of mapped dune fields does not mean that dune fields do not exist and is not intended to imply a lack of saltating sand in other areas. Where availability and quality of THEMIS visible (VIS), Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) narrow angle, Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera, or Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment images allowed, we classified dunes and included some dune slipface measurements, which were derived from gross dune morphology and represent the approximate prevailing wind direction at the last time of significant dune modification. It was beyond the scope of this report to look at the detail needed to discern subtle dune modification. It was also beyond the scope of this report to measure all slipfaces. We attempted to include enough slipface measurements to represent the general circulation (as implied by gross dune morphology) and to give a sense of the complex nature of aeolian activity on Mars. The absence of slipface measurements in a given direction should not be taken as evidence that winds in that direction did not occur. When a dune field was located within a crater, the azimuth from crater centroid to dune field centroid was calculated, as another possible indicator of wind direction. Output from a general circulation model is also included. In addition to polygons locating dune fields, the database includes ~700 of the THEMIS VIS and MOC images that were used to build the database.

Dynamic gonioscopy using optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Matonti, Frederic; Chazalon, Elodie; Trichet, Elodie; Khaled, El Samak; Denis, Danièle; Hoffart, Louis

2012-01-01

To describe the use of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in studying the dynamic changes of the anterior chamber angle by corneal indentation. In a prospective observational study, the anterior segments of 21 eyes were imaged using AS-OCT. After the initial scan, a second scan was executed on the same areas with a central corneal indentation. An evaluation of the reopening of the angle and its measurement were performed. With AS-OCT, the indirect signs were accurate enough to guide the diagnosis in all plateau iris confirmed by ultrabiomicroscopy. The angle widths were significantly increased after indentation. This method would appear to offer a convenient and rapid method of assessing the configuration of the anterior chamber; it may help during the routine clinical assessment and treatment of patients with narrow or closed angles, particularly when gonioscopy is difficult to interpret. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

Measurement of first ray of foot with reference to hallux valgus.

PubMed

Howale, Deepak S; Iyer, Kanaklata V; Shah, Jigesh V

2012-06-01

A study was carried out on 58 healthy volunteers. None of the volunteeres had any foot complaints. This was done to study Indian feet, as foot is an important part of human anatomy and its certain deformities eg, hallux valgus, can be very disabling. We have studied anatomical angles between 1st and 2nd rays of foot eg, angle of hallux valgus and angle of slant of distal facet of medial cuneiform and have shown significant correlation between them and development of hallux valgus. The coefficient of correlation (r) calculated between these two angles is significant, showing that this angle influences the angle of hallux valgus and hence development of hallux valgus. These are anatomical angles and indicate shapes of medial cuneiform and 1st metatarsal. Hence these seem to be inherited, making the feet anatomically predisposed to develop hallux valgus. This view is supported by Gray's Anatomy. The extrinsic factors such as narrow toes, closed, footwear worn for an extended period do increase the angle of hallux valgus. So, in predisposed feet, this is one of the extrinsic factor which can lead to development of hallux valgus. On studying these two angles, orthopaedicians should be on alert and should advise such individuals on wearing foot- friendly foot-wear.

Film cooling performance of a row of dual-fanned holes at various injection angles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guangchao; Wang, Haofeng; Zhang, Wei; Kou, Zhihai; Xu, Rangshu

2017-10-01

Film cooling performance about a row of dual-fanned holes with injection angles of 30°, 60 ° and 90° were experimentally investigated at blowing ratios of 1.0 and 2.0. Dual-fanned hole is a novel shaped hole which has both inlet expansion and outlet expansion. A transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique was used to reveal the local values of film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient. The results show that injection angles have strong influence on the two dimensional distributions of film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient. For the small injection angle of 30 degree and small blowing ratio of 1.0, there is only a narrow spanwise region covered with film. The increase of injection angle and blowing ratio both leads to the enhanced spanwise film diffusion, but reduced local cooling ability far away from the hole. Injection angles have comprehensive influence on the averaged film cooling effectiveness for various x/d locations. As injection angles are 30 and 60 degree, two bands of high heat transfer coefficients are found in mixing region of the gas and coolant. As injection angle increases to 90 degree, the mixing leads to the enhanced heat transfer region near the film hole. The averaged heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase of injection angle.

Large area multi-channel plasmonic absorber based on the touching triangular dimers fabricated by angle controlled colloidal nanolithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamidi, S. M.; Behjati, S.

2018-02-01

Here we introduce large area plasmonic touching triangular dimers by angle controlled colloidal nanolithography to use them as an efficient multi channel absorber and also high figure of merit sensors. For this purpose, we coated gold thin films onto nanometric and also micrometric polystyrene hexagonal closed packed masks in different deposition angles and also diverse substrate polar angles. Our prepared samples, after remove masks, show large area touching triangular pattern with different inter particle distances in greater polar angles. To get more sense about optical response of the samples such as transmittance and also electric field distribution, we use finite difference time domain method in simulation part. The transmittance plot shows one narrow or multi-channel adjustable deep depend on inter-particle distances which can be controlled by azimuthally angle in nano lithography process. Also, due to the isoelliptical points in the transmittance spectra; we can see the bright and dark plasmon modes coupling and thus the Fano like resonance takes place in the optical spectral region which is very useful for refractive index measurement.

Angle performance on optima MDxt

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

David, Jonathan; Kamenitsa, Dennis

2012-11-06

Angle control on medium current implanters is important due to the high angle-sensitivity of typical medium current implants, such as halo implants. On the Optima MDxt, beam-to-wafer angles are controlled in both the horizontal and vertical directions. In the horizontal direction, the beam angle is measured through six narrow slits, and any angle adjustment is made by electrostatically steering the beam, while cross-wafer beam parallelism is adjusted by changing the focus of the electrostatic parallelizing lens (P-lens). In the vertical direction, the beam angle is measured through a high aspect ratio mask, and any angle adjustment is made by slightlymore » tilting the wafer platen prior to implant. A variety of tests were run to measure the accuracy and repeatability of Optima MDxt's angle control. SIMS profiles of a high energy, channeling sensitive condition show both the cross-wafer angle uniformity, along with the small-angle resolution of the system. Angle repeatability was quantified by running a channeling sensitive implant as a regular monitor over a seven month period and measuring the sheet resistance-to-angle sensitivity. Even though crystal cut error was not controlled for in this case, when attributing all Rs variation to angle changes, the overall angle repeatability was measured as 0.16 Degree-Sign (1{sigma}). A separate angle repeatability test involved running a series of V-curves tests over a four month period using low crystal cut wafers selected from the same boule. The results of this test showed the angle repeatability to be <0.1 Degree-Sign (1{sigma}).« less

An interpretation of the narrow positron annihilation feature from X-ray nova Muscae 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Wan; Gehrels, Neil; Cheng, F. H.

1993-01-01

The physical mechanism responsible for the narrow redshifted positron annihilation gamma-ray line from the X-ray nova Muscae 1991 is studied. The orbital inclination angle of the system is estimated and its black hole mass is constrained under the assumptions that the annihilation line centroid redshift is purely gravitational and that the line width is due to the combined effect of temperature broadening and disk rotation. The large black hole mass lower limit of 8 solar and the high binary mass ratio it implies raise a serious challenge to theoretical models of the formation and evolution of massive binaries.

A new species of Rhipicephalus (Acari: Ixodidae), a parasite of giraffes in Kenya.

PubMed

Horak, Ivan G; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A; Kariuki, Edward K

2013-07-01

A new tick species belonging to the genus Rhipicephalus Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae), namely, Rhipicephalus walkerae n. sp., is described. The male and female of this species are similar to those of several species in the Rhipicephalus appendiculatus group but can be distinguished from them by the very dense pattern of medium-sized punctations covering the conscutum and scutum, long and narrow dorsal prolongation of the spiracular plate, and relatively short dorsal cornua; in addition, the male has long and narrow adanal plates without a posterolateral angle. R. walkerae is known only from Kenya, where the adults were collected from giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis (L.).

Tunable polarization plasma channel undulator for narrow bandwidth photon emission

DOE PAGES

Rykovanov, S. G.; Wang, J. W.; Kharin, V. Yu.; ...

2016-09-09

The theory of a plasma undulator excited by a short intense laser pulse in a parabolic plasma channel is presented. The undulator fields are generated either by the laser pulse incident off-axis and/or under the angle with respect to the channel axis. Linear plasma theory is used to derive the wakefield structure. It is shown that the electrons injected into the plasma wakefields experience betatron motion and undulator oscillations. Optimal electron beam injection conditions are derived for minimizing the amplitude of the betatron motion, producing narrow-bandwidth undulator radiation. Polarization control is readily achieved by varying the laser pulse injection conditions.

Evidence for Narrow Baryon Resonances in Inelastic {ital pp} Scattering

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

Tatischeff, B.; Willis, N.; Comets, M.P.

The reaction pp{r_arrow}p{pi}{sup +}N has been studied at three energies (T{sub p}=1520 , 1805, and 2100MeV) and six angles from 0{degree} up to 17{degree} (laboratory). Several narrow states have been observed in missing mass spectra at 1004, 1044, and 1094MeV. Their widths are typically 1 order of magnitude smaller than the widths of N{sup {asterisk}} or {Delta} . Possible biases are discussed. These masses are in good agreement with those calculated within a simple phenomenological mass formula based on color magnetic interaction between two colored quark clusters. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

Modified Kelvin Equations for Capillary Condensation in Narrow and Wide Grooves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malijevský, Alexandr; Parry, Andrew O.

2018-03-01

We consider the location and order of capillary condensation transitions occurring in deep grooves of width L and depth D . For walls that are completely wet by liquid (contact angle θ =0 ) the transition is continuous and its location is not sensitive to the depth of the groove. However, for walls that are partially wet by liquid, where the transition is first order, we show that the pressure at which it occurs is determined by a modified Kelvin equation characterized by an edge contact angle θE describing the shape of the meniscus formed at the top of the groove. The dependence of θE on the groove depth D relies, in turn, on whether corner menisci are formed at the bottom of the groove in the low density gaslike phase. While for macroscopically wide grooves these are always present when θ <45 ° we argue that their formation is inhibited in narrow grooves. This has a number of implications including that the local pinning of the meniscus and location of the condensation transition is different depending on whether the contact angle is greater or less than a universal value θ*≈31 °. Our arguments are supported by detailed microscopic density functional theory calculations that show that the modified Kelvin equation remains highly accurate even when L and D are of the order of tens of molecular diameters.

Photonic band gap properties of one-dimensional Thue-Morse all-dielectric photonic quasicrystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Chenxi; Tan, Wei; Liu, Jianjun

2018-05-01

In this paper, the photonic band gap (PBG) properties of one-dimensional (1D) Thue-Morse photonic quasicrystal (PQC) S4 structure are theoretically investigated by using transfer matrix method in Bragg condition. The effects of the center wavelength, relative permittivity and incident angle on PBG properties are elaborately analyzed. Numerical results reveal that, in the case of normal incidence, the symmetry and periodicity properties of the photonic band structure are presented. As the center wavelength increases, the PBG center frequency and PBG width decrease while the photonic band structure is always symmetrical about the central frequency and the photonic band structure repeats periodically in the expanding observation frequency range. With the decrease of relative permittivity contrast, the PBG width and the relative PBG width gradually decreases until PBG disappears while the symmetry of the photonic band structure always exists. In the case of oblique incidence, as the incident angle increases, multiple narrow PBGs gradually merge into a wide PBG for the TE mode while for the TM mode, the number of PBG continuously decreases and eventually disappears, i.e., multiple narrow PBGs become a wide passband for the TM mode. The research results will provide a reference for the choice of the material, the incident angle for the PBG properties and its applications of 1D Thue-Morse PQC.

Pore-scale water dynamics during drying and the impacts of structure and surface wettability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruz, Brian C.; Furrer, Jessica M.; Guo, Yi-Syuan; Dougherty, Daniel; Hinestroza, Hector F.; Hernandez, Jhoan S.; Gage, Daniel J.; Cho, Yong Ku; Shor, Leslie M.

2017-07-01

Plants and microbes secrete mucilage into soil during dry conditions, which can alter soil structure and increase contact angle. Structured soils exhibit a broad pore size distribution with many small and many large pores, and strong capillary forces in narrow pores can retain moisture in soil aggregates. Meanwhile, contact angle determines the water repellency of soils, which can result in suppressed evaporation rates. Although they are often studied independently, both structure and contact angle influence water movement, distribution, and retention in soils. Here drying experiments were conducted using soil micromodels patterned to emulate different aggregation states of a sandy loam soil. Micromodels were treated to exhibit contact angles representative of those in bulk soil (8.4° ± 1.9°) and the rhizosphere (65° ± 9.2°). Drying was simulated using a lattice Boltzmann single-component, multiphase model. In our experiments, micromodels with higher contact angle surfaces took 4 times longer to completely dry versus micromodels with lower contact angle surfaces. Microstructure influenced drying rate as a function of saturation and controlled the spatial distribution of moisture within micromodels. Lattice Boltzmann simulations accurately predicted pore-scale moisture retention patterns within micromodels with different structures and contact angles.

Measurements of wind vectors, eddy momentum transports, and energy conversions in Jupiter's atmosphere from Voyager 1 images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beebe, R. F.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Hunt, G. E.; Mitchell, J. L.; Muller, J.-P.

1980-01-01

Voyager 1 narrow-angle images were used to obtain displacements of features down to 100 to 200 km in size over intervals of 10 hours. A global map of velocity vectors and longitudinally averaged zonal wind vectors as functions of the latitude, is presented and discussed

Graded bit patterned magnetic arrays fabricated via angled low-energy He ion irradiation.

PubMed

Chang, L V; Nasruallah, A; Ruchhoeft, P; Khizroev, S; Litvinov, D

2012-07-11

A bit patterned magnetic array based on Co/Pd magnetic multilayers with a binary perpendicular magnetic anisotropy distribution was fabricated. The binary anisotropy distribution was attained through angled helium ion irradiation of a bit edge using hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resist as an ion stopping layer to protect the rest of the bit. The viability of this technique was explored numerically and evaluated through magnetic measurements of the prepared bit patterned magnetic array. The resulting graded bit patterned magnetic array showed a 35% reduction in coercivity and a 9% narrowing of the standard deviation of the switching field.

Rhea and Her Craters

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-01-17

This Cassini image shows predominantly the impact-scarred leading hemisphere of Saturn's icy moon Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across). The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 12, 2004, at a distance of 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 30 degrees. The image scale is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast enhanced to aid visibility. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06564

Structure of polyacrylic acid and polymethacrylic acid solutions : a small angle neutron scattering study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moussaid, A.; Schosseler, F.; Munch, J. P.; Candau, S. J.

1993-04-01

The intensity scattered from polyacrylic acid and polymethacrylic acid solutions has been measured by small angle neutron scattering experiemnts. The influence of polymer concentration, ionization degree, temperature and salt content has been investigated. Results are in qualitative agreement with a model which predicts the existence of microphases in the unstable region of the phase diagram. Quantitative comparison with the theory is performed by fitting the theoretical structure factor to the experimental data. For a narrow range of ionizaiton degrees nearly quantitative agreement with the theory is found for the polyacrylic acide system.

Two-screen single-shot electron spectrometer for laser wakefield accelerated electron beams.

PubMed

Soloviev, A A; Starodubtsev, M V; Burdonov, K F; Kostyukov, I Yu; Nerush, E N; Shaykin, A A; Khazanov, E A

2011-04-01

The laser wakefield acceleration electron beams can essentially deviate from the axis of the system, which distinguishes them greatly from beams of conventional accelerators. In case of energy measurements by means of a permanent-magnet electron spectrometer, the deviation angle can affect accuracy, especially for high energies. A two-screen single-shot electron spectrometer that correctly allows for variations of the angle of entry is considered. The spectrometer design enables enhancing accuracy of measuring narrow electron beams significantly as compared to a one-screen spectrometer with analogous magnetic field, size, and angular acceptance. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Unsteady characteristics of a slat-cove flow field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascioni, Kyle A.; Cattafesta, Louis N.

2018-03-01

The leading-edge slat of a multielement wing is a significant contributor to the acoustic signature of an aircraft during the approach phase of the flight path. An experimental study of the two-dimensional 30P30N geometry is undertaken to further understand the flow physics and specific noise source mechanisms. The mean statistics from particle image velocimetry (PIV) shows the differences in the flow field with angle of attack, including the interaction between the cove and trailing-edge flow. Phase-locked PIV successfully links narrow-band peaks found in the surface pressure spectrum to shear layer instabilities and also reveals that a bulk cove oscillation at a Strouhal number based on a slat chord of 0.15 exists, indicative of shear layer flapping. Unsteady surface pressure measurements are documented and used to estimate spanwise coherence length scales. A narrow-band frequency prediction scheme is also tested and found to agree well with the data. Furthermore, higher-order spectral analysis suggests that nonlinear effects cause additional peaks to arise in the power spectrum, particularly at low angles of attack.

Narrow Angle Diversity using ACTS Ka-band Signal with Two USAT Ground Stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalu, A.; Emrich, C.; Ventre, J.; Wilson, W.; Acosta, R.

1998-01-01

Two ultra small aperture terminal (USAT) ground stations, separated by 1.2 km in a narrow angle diversity configuration, received a continuous Ka-band tone sent from Cleveland Link Evaluation Terminal (LET). The signal was transmitted to the USAT ground stations via NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) steerable beam. Received signal power at the two sites was measured and analyzed. A dedicated datalogger at each site recorded time-of-tip data from tipping bucket rain gauges, providing rain amount and instantaneous rain rate. WSR-88D data was also obtained for the collection period. Eleven events with ground-to-satellite slant-path precipitation and resultant signal attenuation were observed during the data collection period. Fade magnitude and duration were compared at the two sites and diversity gain was calculated. These results exceeded standard diversity gain model predictions by several decibels. Rain statistics from tipping bucket data and from radar data were also compared to signal attenuation. The nature of Florida's subtropical rainfall, specifically its impact on signal attenuation at the sites, was addressed.

Optic for industrial endoscope/borescope with narrow field of view and low distortion

DOEpatents

Stone, Gary F.; Trebes, James E.

2005-08-16

An optic for the imaging optics on the distal end of a flexible fiberoptic endoscope or rigid borescope inspection tool. The image coverage is over a narrow (<20 degrees) field of view with very low optical distortion (<5% pin cushion or barrel distortion), compared to the typical <20% distortion. The optic will permit non-contact surface roughness measurements using optical techniques. This optic will permit simultaneous collection of selected image plane data, which data can then be subsequently optically processed. The image analysis will yield non-contact surface topology data for inspection where access to the surface does not permit a mechanical styles profilometer verification of surface topology. The optic allows a very broad spectral band or range of optical inspection. It is capable of spectroscopic imaging and fluorescence induced imaging when a scanning illumination source is used. The total viewing angle for this optic is 10 degrees for the full field of view of 10 degrees, compared to 40-70 degrees full angle field of view of the conventional gradient index or GRIN's lens systems.

Faint F Ring and Prometheus

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-11-21

Surface features are visible on Saturn's moon Prometheus in this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Most of Cassini's images of Prometheus are too distant to resolve individual craters, making views like this a rare treat. Saturn's narrow F ring, which makes a diagonal line beginning at top center, appears bright and bold in some Cassini views, but not here. Since the sun is nearly behind Cassini in this image, most of the light hitting the F ring is being scattered away from the camera, making it appear dim. Light-scattering behavior like this is typical of rings comprised of small particles, such as the F ring. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 14 degrees below the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 24, 2016. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 226,000 miles (364,000 kilometers) from Prometheus and at a sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 51 degrees. Image scale is 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20508

CALiPER Report 21.2. Linear (T8) LED Lamp Performance in Five Types of Recessed Troffers

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

None

2014-05-01

Although lensed troffers are numerous, there are many other types of optical systems as well. This report looks at the performance of three linear (T8) LED lamps—chosen primarily based on their luminous intensity distributions (narrow, medium, and wide beam angles)—as well as a benchmark fluorescent lamp in five different troffer types. Also included are the results of a subjective evaluation. Results show that linear (T8) LED lamps can improve luminaire efficiency in K12-lensed and parabolic-louvered troffers, effect little change in volumetric and high-performance diffuse-lensed type luminaires, but reduce efficiency in recessed indirect troffers. These changes can be accompanied by visualmore » appearance and visual comfort consequences, especially when LED lamps with clear lenses and narrow distributions are installed. Linear (T8) LED lamps with diffuse apertures exhibited wider beam angles, performed more similarly to fluorescent lamps, and received better ratings from observers. Guidance is provided on which luminaires are the best candidates for retrofitting with linear (T8) LED lamps.« less

DOE CALiPER Program, Report 21.2: Linear (T8) LED Lamp Performance in Five Types of Recessed Troffers

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

Miller, Naomi J.; Perrin, Tess E.; Royer, Michael P.

2014-05-20

Although lensed troffers are numerous, there are many other types of optical systems as well. This report looked at the performance of three linear (T8) LED lamps chosen primarily based on their luminous intensity distributions (narrow, medium, and wide beam angles) as well as a benchmark fluorescent lamp in five different troffer types. Also included are the results of a subjective evaluation. Results show that linear (T8) LED lamps can improve luminaire efficiency in K12-lensed and parabolic-louvered troffers, effect little change in volumetric and high-performance diffuse-lensed type luminaires, but reduce efficiency in recessed indirect troffers. These changes can be accompaniedmore » by visual appearance and visual comfort consequences, especially when LED lamps with clear lenses and narrow distributions are installed. Linear (T8) LED lamps with diffuse apertures exhibited wider beam angles, performed more similarly to fluorescent lamps, and received better ratings from observers. Guidance is provided on which luminaires are the best candidates for retrofitting with linear (T8) LED lamps.« less