Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Clean, High-Yield Preparation Of S,S- And R,S- Amino Acid Isosteres, Aslam A. Malik, Todd E. Clement, Hasan Palandoken, James Robinson Iii, Joy A. Stringer

Chemistry and Biochemistry

The present invention provides compounds and methods that can be used to convert the intermediate halomethyl ketones (HMKs), e.g., chloromethyl ketones, to the corresponding S,S- and R,S-diastereomers. More particularly, the present invention provides: (1) reduction methods; (2) inversion methods; and (3) methods involving the epoxidation of alkenes. Using the various methods of the present invention, the R,S-epoxide and the intermediary compounds can be prepared reliably, in high yields and in high purity.

Icodes: A Ship Load-Planning System, Stephen Goodman, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The Integrated Computerized Deployment System (ICODES) is a logistic software application of ship load-planning tools that utilizes intelligent software agents in a human-computer collaborative mode. As an example of a new generation of ‘information-centric’ military decision-support systems, ICODES includes expert agents with automatic reasoning and analysis capabilities. This is made possible by an internal virtual representation of the load-planning environment, in terms of ship and cargo characteristics and the complex relationships that constitute the context within which load-planning operations are performed. ICODES agents monitor the principal determinants of cargo stowage, including: the placement and segregation requirements for hazardous cargo items; …

Sils Mrat: A Shipboard Integration Of Logistics Systems And Mission Readiness Analysis Tool, Michael A. Zang, Chris K. Neff, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

SILS (Shipboard Integration of Logistics Systems) is an umbrella program initiated and sponsored by Dr. Phillip Abraham in the Logistics Directorate of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR). The SILS vision is a system of systems that brings together shipboard and shore based data and information sources in a single integrated environment. SILS MRAT (Mission Readiness Analysis Tool) is a high-level shipboard component of SILS, which applies intelligent agent technology to the near real time decision support needs of commanding officers, department heads, and key operations & maintenance personnel. This tool demonstrates the capability of a system architecture to …

Point Of Zero Charge Determination In Soils And Minerals Via Traditional Methods And Detection Of Electroacoustic Mobility, Chip Appel, Lena Q. Ma, R. Dean Rhue, Elizabeth Kennelley

Earth and Soil Sciences

Points of zero charge were determined on two highly weathered surface soils from Puerto Rico, an Oxisol and Ultisol, as well as mineral-standard kaolinite and synthetic goethite using three methods: (1) potentiometric titration measuring the adsorption of H+ and OH− on amphoteric surfaces in solutions of varying ionic strength (I) (point of zero salt effect), (2) direct assessment of surface charges via non-specific ion adsorption as a function of pH and I (point of zero net charge), and (3) electroacoustic mobility of reversible particles as it varies with pH and I (isoelectric point). The first two methods yielded points of …

Decision-Support Systems: Notions, Prototypes, And In-Use Applications With Emphasis On Military Applications, Jens G. Pohl, Arthur Chapman, Kym Jason Pohl, Jonathan Primrose, Adam Wozniak

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This report describes work performed by the Collaborative Agent Design Research Center (CADRC) over the past several years in the design and implementation of collaborative, computer-based, decision-support systems, mostly for military applications. In these systems multiple components, either program modules or separate processes (i.e., software agents), cooperate with each other and human decision makers to solve complex problems. The components are essentially of two types: knowledge-based narrow domain experts that provide services to other agents (i.e., service-agents); and, more autonomous agents (i.e., object-agents) that represent the interests of selected objects in high level information representation schemas.

Based on the notion …

A Comparison Of California Forest Practice Rules And Two Forest Certification Systems, Christopher Dicus, Kenneth Delfino

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Searching For Planetary Transits In The Field Of Open Cluster Ngc 6819 – I, R. A. Street, Keith Horne, T. A. Lister, A. Penny, Y. Tsapras, A. Quirrenbach, N. Safizadeh, David Mitchell, J. Cooke, A. Collier Cameron

Physics

We present results from our survey for planetary transits in the field of the intermediate-age (∼2.5 Gyr), metal-rich ([Fe/H] ∼+0.07) open cluster NGC 6819. We have obtained high-precision time-series photometry for over 38 000 stars in this field and have developed an effective matched-filter algorithm to search for photometric transits. This algorithm identified 8 candidate stars showing multiple transit-like events, plus 3 stars with single eclipses. On closer inspection, while most are shown to be low-mass stellar binaries, some of these events could be the result of brown dwarf companions. The data for one of the single-transit candidates indicate a …

Dynamic Networks For Motion Planning In Multi-Robot Space Systems, Christopher M. Clark, Stephen M. Rock, Jean-Claude Latombe

Computer Science and Software Engineering

A new motion planning framework is presented that enables multiple mobile robots with limited ranges of sensing and communication to maneuver and achieve goals safely in dynamic environments. The framework is applicable to both planetary rover and free-floating space robot applications. To combine the respective advantages of centralized and de-centralized planning, this framework is based on the concept of centralized planning within dynamic robot networks. As the robots move in their environment, localized robot groups form networks, within which world models and robot goals can be shared. Whenever a network is formed, new information becomes available to all robots in …

Radius Of Convergence Of A Power Series, Todor D. Todorov

Mathematics

We derive two simple and memorizable formulas for the radius of convergence of a power series which seem to be appropriate for teaching in an introductory calculus course.

The Design And Construction Of A Rainfall Simulator, Jacqueline Blanquies, Misty Scharff, Brent Hallock

Earth and Soil Sciences

A reliable, accurate and portable rainfall simulator was needed for vegetative and erosion control research at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) for California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and California State University Sacramento. This simulator was designed to be easily set up and maintained as well as able to create a variety of rainfall regimes. The nozzle performance tests and lateral spacing tests were performed at Cal Poly’s Erosion Research Facility. This simulator was designed and constructed based upon the principles of the Norton Ladder Type Rainfall Simulator. This simulator is the standard for research involving simulated …

Vegetation Establishment For Erosion Control Under Simulated Rainfall, Brent G. Hallock, Misty Scharff, Steve Rein, Kaila Dettman

Earth and Soil Sciences

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) manages rights of ways that transect 41 m H (101m ac) and span over 3000 m (9000 ft) in elevation from seashore to sup alpine. There are approximately 4,900 native and 1,000 naturalized alien plant species in California. Only a few hundred are reliably useful in erosion and sediment control. Specifying native and naturalized vegetation mixes for use in hydroseeding or plug planting in conjunction with mechanical erosion control methods can have varying result for minimizing accelerated soil erosion. To investigate these factors, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in conjunction with Caltrans and CSU, …

Modern Spectral Climate Patterns In Rhythmically Deposited Argillites Of The Gowganda Formation (Early Proterozoic), Southern Ontario, Canada, Gary B. Hughes, Robert Giegengack, Haralambos N. Kritikos

Statistics

Rhythmically deposited argillites of the Gowganda Formation (ca. 2.0–2.5 Ga) probably formed in a glacial setting. Drop stones and layered sedimentary couplets in the rock presumably indicate formation in a lacustrine environment with repeating freeze–thaw cycles. It is plausible that temporal variations in the thickness of sedimentary layers are related to interannual climatic variability, e.g. average seasonal temperature could have influenced melting and the amount of sediment source material carried to the lake. A sequence of layer couplet thickness measurements was made from high-resolution digitized photographs taken at an outcrop in southern Ontario, Canada. The frequency spectrum of thickness measurements …

Electrical And Spectroscopic Studies Of The Effects Of Dc Electric Fields On Pre-Mixed Propane-Air Flames, S D. Marcum, G D. Gillen, B N. Ganguly

Physics

The effects of DC electric fields on temperature distributions within pre-mixed propane-air flames have been measured by the technique of thin filament pyrometry (TFP). We have focussed on the dramatic electric-field-induced modifications of the shape and size of the inner cone and the concomitant changes in the temperature profiles of fuel-rich mixtures with equivalence ratios of 1-1.35. Temperature profile measurements show large decreases in the reaction zone volume that is dependent upon the applied voltage polarity, indicating that electron impact excitation is not responsible for the observed effects. Additionally, the observed flame temperature profile modifications are not strongly dependent on …

Selectivities Of Potassium-Calcium And Potassium-Lead Exchange In Two Tropical Soils, Chip Appel, Lena Q. Ma, R. Dean Rhue, William Reve

Earth and Soil Sciences

Measurement of cation selectivity in soils provides important information about the affinity and binding strength of a particular cation on soil surfaces. Gaines-Thomas (K_GT) selectivity coefficients were determined for a variety of K/Ca and K/Pb ratios on an Oxisol and Ultisol soil from Puerto Rico. The calculated K_GT values indicated a preference for K⁺ over Ca²⁺ or Pb²⁺. The selectivity for Pb²⁺ was significantly greater than that for Ca²⁺ due to Pb²⁺'s larger hydrated charge density relative to that of Ca²⁺. The patterns of selectivity were independent …

The Derangement Problem Relative To The Mahonian Process, Jessica Delfert, Hillary Einziger, Don Rawlings

Mathematics

We survey n! plus q-derangement problems. Solutions to four Mahonian statistics arising in connection with cycle placement rules are presented. A few conjectures are also made.

Determination Of The Topological Structure Of An Orbifold By Its Group Of Orbifold Diffeomerphisms, Joseph E. Borzellino, Victor Brunsden

Mathematics

We show that the topological structure of a compact, locally smooth orbifold is determined by its orbifold diffeomorphism group. Let Diff^r_Orb (O) denote the C^r orbifold diffeomorphisms of an orbifold O. Suppose that Φ: Diff^r_Orb(O₁) → Diff^r_Orb (O₂) is a group isomorphism between the the orbifold diffeomorphism groups of two orbifolds O₁ and O₂. We show that Φ is induced by a homeomorphism h: X_O1 → X_O2 , where X_O denotes the underlying topological …

A Tail-Recursive Semantics For Stack Inspections, John Clements, Mathias Felleisen

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Security folklore holds that a security mechanism based on stack inspection is incompatible with a global tail call optimization policy. An implementation of such a language may have to allocate memory for a source-code tail call, and a program that uses only tail calls (and no other memory-allocating construct) may nevertheless exhaust the available memory. In this paper, we prove this widely held belief wrong. We exhibit an abstract machine for a language with security stack inspection whose space consumption function is equivalent to that of the canonical tail call optimizing abstract machine. Our machine is surprisingly simple and suggests …

Measurement Of The Index Of Refraction Of A Flat Zinc Germanium Phosphide Wafer In The Infrared, Glen Gillen, Shekhar Guha

Physics

We have developed and tested a novel application of interferometry to determine the absolute refractive index of individual infrared materials having flat and parallel surfaces without alteration of the sample in any way, and measured no for ZnGeP₂.

Necessary And Sufficient Condition That The Limit Of Stieltjes Transforms Is A Stieltjes Transform, Jeffrey S. Geronimo, Theodore P. Hill

Research Scholars in Residence

The pointwise limit S of a sequence of Stieltjes transforms (S_n) of real Borel probability measures (P_n) is itself the Stieltjes transform of a Borel p.m. P if and only if iy S(iy) →−1as y →∞, in which case P_n converges to P in distribution. Applications are given to several problems in mathematical physics.

Us Nuclear Security Cooperation With Russia And Transparency, David W. Hafemeister

Physics

This chapter reviews the efforts of Russia and the United States to conclude agreements on the control or reduction of their inventories of nuclear warheads and military fissile materials. While some of the negotiations attempted to codify arms limitation and reduction measures, others were aimed at constraining the spread of fissile materials and technologies to the non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS). A number of the negotiations had elements of both arms control and non-proliferation.

Most of the monitoring provisions contained in nuclear agreements between Russia and the USA are in the category of transparency measures—those that give confidence that a …

Viscoelasticity From A Microscopic Model Of Dislocation Dynamics, M. Christina Marchetti, Karl Saunders

Physics

It is shown that the dynamics of a viscoelastic medium can be modeled as that of a two-dimensional crystal with a finite concentration of dislocations, as well as vacancy and interstitial defects. At the longest length scales the viscoelasticity is described by the simplest Maxwell model, whose shear and compressional relaxation times are obtained in terms of microscopic quantities, including the density of free dislocations. At short length scales, t bond orientational order effects become important and lead to wave vector dependent corrections to the relaxation times.

A Fast Connection-Time Redirection Mechanism For Internet Application Scalability, Michael Haungs, Raju Pandey, Earl Barr, J. Fritz Barnes

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Applications that are distributed, fault tolerant, or perform dynamic load balancing rely on redirection techniques, such as network address translation (NAT), DNS request routing, or middleware to handle Internet scale loads. In this paper, we describe a new connection redirection mechanism that allows applications to change end-points of communication channels. The mechanism supports redirections across LANs and WANs and is application-independent. Further, it does not introduce any central bottlenecks. We have implemented the redirection mechanism using a novel end-point control session layer. The performance results show that the overhead of the mechanism is minimal. Further, Internet applications built using this …

Autoregressive Moving Average Models Of Conifer Crown Profiles, Samantha J. Gill, Gregory S. Biging

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

A time-series autoregressive moving average (ARMA) approach was used to develop stochastic models of tree crown profiles for five conifer species of the Sierran mixed conifer habitat type. Models consisted of three components: (1) a polynomial trend; (2) an ARMA model; and (3) random error. A Bayesian information criterion was used to evaluate alternative models. It was found that 70% of the crown profiles could be modeled using first-order ARMA [AR(1) or MA(1)] models, and that an additional 25% could be modeled using a white noise model [(AR(0)]. When the coefficients of the ARMA models were statistically significant, the models …

Measuring Surface Chemical Properties Of Soil Using Flow Calorimetry, R. D. Rhue, Chip Appel, Nadine Kabengi

Earth and Soil Sciences

Flow calorimetry, which is ideally suited for measuring reactions occurring at the liquid/solid interface, has been used to study the surface chemistry of many types of solids, but little use of it has been made in the study of surface reactions of soils. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the application of flow calorimetry to the study of two fundamental soil chemical processes, namely cation exchange and phosphate sorption. Surface horizon samples of a Typic Acrorthox and a Typic Tropohumult from Puerto Rico, a strong acid cation exchange resin (Dowex 50W-8), and an amorphous Al(OH)₃ were used. …

Heats Of K/Ca And K/Pb Exchange In Two Tropical Soils As Measured By Flow Calorimetry, Chip Appel, Dean Rhue, Lena Ma, Bill Reve

Earth and Soil Sciences

Flow calorimetry can provide useful information about surface chemical reactions in soils that cannot be obtained readily by other methods. When flow calorimetry is conducted over a range of surface coverages, different sorption heats can be calculated to yield information about how binding energies vary with coverage, i.e., surface heterogeneity. The purpose of this study was to determine heats of exchange for K/Ca and K/Pb systems using flow calorimetry and to evaluate the degree of surface heterogeneity with respect to cation exchange. Surface horizon samples from a Typic Acrorthox and Typic Tropohumult from Puerto Rico were used. Lead was adsorbed …

Two-Dimensional Imaging Of Neutral Alkali Atom Samples Using Surface Ionization, Katharina Gillen-Christandl, Gregory P. Lafyatis, Andrei Modoran, Tung-Hsiu Shih

Physics

We describe the design and characterization of a high resolution, high efficiency detector for two-dimensional imaging of neutral atoms. Incident atoms are surface-ionized by a tungsten-coated hot ribbon and the resulting ions are accelerated into a microchannel plate detector with a phosphor screen output. With this design we can detect individual alkali and other low ionization potential atoms and molecules with a spatial resolution of ∼ 20 μm. We find backgrounds on the order of 30 Hz over an active detection region of 20 mm², a time response of ⩽ 1/30 s, and a detection efficiency of …

Selectivities Of K/Ca And K/Pb Exchange In Two Tropical Soils, C. S. Appel, L. Q. Ma, R. D. Rhue, W. Reve

Earth and Soil Sciences

Measurement of cation selectivity in soils provides important information about the affinity and binding strength of a particular cation on soil surfaces. Gaines-Thomas (KGT) selectivity coefficients were determined for a variety of K/Ca and K/Pb ratios on an Oxisol and Ultisol soil from Puerto Rico. The calculated KGT values indicated a preference for K+ over Ca2+ or Pb2+. The selectivity for Pb2+ was significantly greater than that for Ca2+ due to the larger hydrated charge density of Pb2+ relative to that of Ca2+. The patterns of selectivity were independent of metal type. The selectivity of the Oxisol for Ca2+ or …

Measuring Packet Reordering, John M. Bellardo, Stefan Savage

Computer Science and Software Engineering

The Internet architecture provides an unsequenced datagram delivery service. Nevertheless, many higher-layer protocols, such as TCP, assume that packets are usually delivered in sequence, and consequently suffer significant degradation when packets are reordered in flight. While there have been several recent proposals to create protocols that adapt to reordering, evaluating their effectiveness requires understanding the dynamics of the reordering processes prevalent in the Internet. Unfortunately, Internet packet sequencing is a poorly characterized and understudied behavior. This failing can be largely attributed to the lack of accurate and universally applicable methods for measuring packet reordering. In this paper, we describe a …

Numeric Issues In Test Software Correctness, Robert G. Hayes, Gary B. Hughes, Phillip M. Dorin, Raymond J. Toal

Statistics

Test system designers are comfortable with the concepts of precision and accuracy with regard to measurements achieved with modern instrumentation. In a well-designed test system, great care is taken to ensure accurate measurements, with rigorous attention to instrument specifications and calibration. However, measurement values are subjected to representation and manipulation as limited precision floating-point numbers by test software. This paper investigates some of the issues related to floating point representation of measurement values, as well as the consequences of algorithm selection. To illustrate, we consider the test case of standard deviation calculations as used in the testing of infrared focal …

Kinematic Path-Planning For Formations Of Mobile Robots With A Nonholonomic Constraint, Timothy D. Barfoot, Christopher M. Clark, Stephen M. Rock, Gabriele M.T. D'Eleuterio

Computer Science and Software Engineering

A method of planning paths for formations of mobile robots with nonholonomic constraints is presented. The kinematics equations presented in this paper allow a general geometrical formation of mobile robots to be maintained while the group as a whole travels an arbitrary path. It is possible to represent a formation of mobile robots by a single entity with the same type of nonholonomic constraint as the individual members. Thus, any path-planner or control method may be used with the formation as would be applied to an individual robot. Equations are developed for changing the geometrical formation and hardware results are …