Study of application of space telescope science operations software for SIRTF use

The design and development of the Space Telescope Science Operations Ground System (ST SOGS) was evaluated to compile a history of lessons learned that would benefit NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). Forty-nine specific recommendations resulted and were categorized as follows: (1) requirements: a discussion of the content, timeliness and proper allocation of the system and segment requirements and the resulting impact on SOGS development; (2) science instruments: a consideration of the impact of the Science Instrument design and data streams on SOGS software; and (3) contract phasing: an analysis of the impact of beginning the various ST program segments at different times. Approximately half of the software design and source code might be useable for SIRTF. Transportability of this software requires, at minimum, a compatible DEC VAX-based architecture and VMS operating system, system support software similar to that developed for SOGS, and continued evolution of the SIRTF operations concept and requirements such that they remain compatible with ST SOGS operation

Experimental study of digital image processing techniques for LANDSAT data

The author has identified the following significant results. Results are reported for: (1) subscene registration, (2) full scene rectification and registration, (3) resampling techniques, (4) and ground control point (GCP) extraction. Subscenes (354 pixels x 234 lines) were registered to approximately 1/4 pixel accuracy and evaluated by change detection imagery for three cases: (1) bulk data registration, (2) precision correction of a reference subscene using GCP data, and (3) independently precision processed subscenes. Full scene rectification and registration results were evaluated by using a correlation technique to measure registration errors of 0.3 pixel rms thoughout the full scene. Resampling evaluations of nearest neighbor and TRW cubic convolution processed data included change detection imagery and feature classification. Resampled data were also evaluated for an MSS scene containing specular solar reflections

Topological Investigation of the Fractionally Quantized Hall Conductivity

Using the fiber bundle concept developed in geometry and topology, the fractionally quantized Hall conductivity is discussed in the relevant many--particle configuration space. Electron-magnetic field and electron-electron interactions under FQHE conditions are treated as functional connections over the torus, the torus being the underlying two-dimensional manifold. Relations to the $(2+1)$--dimensional Chern--Simons theory are indicated. The conductivity being a topological invariant is given as $\frac{e^2}{h}$ times a linking number which is the quotient of the winding numbers of the self-consistent field and the magnetic field, respectively. Odd denominators are explained by the two spin structures which have been considered for the FQHE correlated electron system.Comment: LaTeX-file with psfig 1.

Illuminating spindle convex bodies and minimizing the volume of spherical sets of constant width

A subset of the d-dimensional Euclidean space having nonempty interior is called a spindle convex body if it is the intersection of (finitely or infinitely many) congruent d-dimensional closed balls. The spindle convex body is called a "fat" one, if it contains the centers of its generating balls. The core part of this paper is an extension of Schramm's theorem and its proof on illuminating convex bodies of constant width to the family of "fat" spindle convex bodies.Comment: 17 page

Exploring Public Opinion on the Role of Human Rights in Foreign Policy (abstract)

Much of the literature on human rights foreign policy assumes - sometimes explicitly but usually implicitly - that constituents want foreign policy conditioned on human rights or that human rights policy is a political “good” for policymakers to pursue. Yet, little scholarly work has been done to support this assumption, either in terms of providing theoretical foundations for this assumption or assessing the empirical support for it. And this assumption matters not just for the academic literature but also for the practice of human rights advocacy. One tool to promote human rights norms globally and to improve conditions is through advocating for human rights-oriented foreign policy. The conditions under which we would expect to observe this type of human rights policy rests on two mechanisms: political elite preferences and constituent preferences about human rights foreign policy. In this paper, I explore the latter, investigating the conditions under which constituents want foreign policy to account for human rights. Using an experimental survey design on a national sample, I will analyze public opinion about human rights foreign policy. In particular, I will assess three primary hypotheses about public opinion of human rights foreign policy. First, I hypothesize that respondents will be more likely to favor a human rights-oriented foreign policy against smaller, less strategically or economically important states. I further hypothesize that NGO framing of abuses can activate public opinion about human rights foreign policy. Lastly, I hypothesize that certain demographic characteristics of respondents will matter, namely that women, liberal, and more educated respondents will be more likely to favor conditioning foreign policy on human rights

Lewis X antigen mediates adhesion of human breast carcinoma cells to activated endothelium. Possible involvement of the endothelial scavenger receptor C-Type lectin

Lewis x (Lex, CD15), also known as SSEA-1 (stage specific embryonic antigen-1), is a trisaccharide with the structure Galβ(1–4)Fucα(1–3)GlcNAc, which is expressed on glycoconjugates in human polymorphonuclear granulocytes and various tumors such as colon and breast carcinoma. We have investigated the role of Lex in the adhesion of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and PMN to human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC) and the effects of two different anti-Lex mAbs (FC-2.15 and MCS-1) on this adhesion. We also analyzed the cytolysis of Lex+-cells induced by anti-Lex mAbs and complement when cells were adhered to the endothelium, and the effect of these antibodies on HUVEC. The results indicate that MCF-7 cells can bind to HUVEC, and that MCS-1 but not FC-2.15 mAb inhibit this interaction. Both mAbs can efficiently lyse MCF-7 cells bound to HUVEC in the presence of complement without damaging endothelial cells. We also found a Lex-dependent PMN interaction with HUVEC. Although both anti-Lex mAbs lysed PMN in suspension and adhered to HUVEC, PMN aggregation was only induced by mAb FC-2.15. Blotting studies revealed that the endothelial scavenger receptor C-type lectin (SRCL), which binds Lex-trisaccharide, interacts with specific glycoproteins of Mr␣∼␣28 kD and 10 kD from MCF-7 cells. The interaction between Lex+-cancer cells and vascular endothelium is a potential target for cancer treatment.Fil: Elola, Maria Teresa. Fundación Instituto Leloir; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Capurro, Mariana Isabel. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Barrio, Maria Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Investigación, Docencia y Prevención del Cáncer; ArgentinaFil: Coombs, Peter J.. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Taylor, Maureen E.. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Drickamer, Kurt. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Mordoh, Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Investigación, Docencia y Prevención del Cáncer; Argentin

Complex actions in two-dimensional topology change

We investigate topology change in (1+1) dimensions by analyzing the scalar-curvature action $1/2 \int R dV$ at the points of metric-degeneration that (with minor exceptions) any nontrivial Lorentzian cobordism necessarily possesses. In two dimensions any cobordism can be built up as a combination of only two elementary types, the ``yarmulke'' and the ``trousers.'' For each of these elementary cobordisms, we consider a family of Morse-theory inspired Lorentzian metrics that vanish smoothly at a single point, resulting in a conical-type singularity there. In the yarmulke case, the distinguished point is analogous to a cosmological initial (or final) singularity, with the spacetime as a whole being obtained from one causal region of Misner space by adjoining a single point. In the trousers case, the distinguished point is a ``crotch singularity'' that signals a change in the spacetime topology (this being also the fundamental vertex of string theory, if one makes that interpretation). We regularize the metrics by adding a small imaginary part whose sign is fixed to be positive by the condition that it lead to a convergent scalar field path integral on the regularized spacetime. As the regulator is removed, the scalar density $1/2 \sqrt{-g} R$ approaches a delta-function whose strength is complex: for the yarmulke family the strength is $\beta -2\pi i$, where $\beta$ is the rapidity parameter of the associated Misner space; for the trousers family it is simply $+2\pi i$. This implies that in the path integral over spacetime metrics for Einstein gravity in three or more spacetime dimensions, topology change via a crotch singularity is exponentially suppressed, whereas appearance or disappearance of a universe via a yarmulke singularity is exponentially enhanced.Comment: 34 pages, REVTeX v3.0. (Presentational reorganization; core results unchanged.

Thermodynamics of (3+1)-dimensional black holes with toroidal or higher genus horizons

We examine counterparts of the Reissner-Nordstrom-anti-de Sitter black hole spacetimes in which the two-sphere has been replaced by a surface Sigma of constant negative or zero curvature. When horizons exist, the spacetimes are black holes with an asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter infinity, but the infinity topology differs from that in the asymptotically Minkowski case, and the horizon topology is not S^2. Maximal analytic extensions of the solutions are given. The local Hawking temperature is found. When Sigma is closed, we derive the first law of thermodynamics using a Brown-York type quasilocal energy at a finite boundary, and we identify the entropy as one quarter of the horizon area, independent of the horizon topology. The heat capacities with constant charge and constant electrostatic potential are shown to be positive definite. With the boundary pushed to infinity, we consider thermodynamical ensembles that fix the renormalized temperature and either the charge or the electrostatic potential at infinity. Both ensembles turn out to be thermodynamically stable, and dominated by a unique classical solution.Comment: 25 pages, REVTeX v3.1, contains 5 LaTeX figures. (Typos corrected, references and minor comments added. To be published in Phys. Rev. D.

Differences in user-centeredness in a large R&D organization

Many organizations employ formal methodologies for developing systems and software. Formal methodologies help ensure that systems meet requirements, increase the predictability of outcomes, help manage complexity, and reduce risk. Expertise and certification in prominent methods can also serve promotional purposes for the organization. Despite these benefits, there appears to be much less methodological standardization in how organizations engage in user-centered activities, such as user interface design and usability testing. This study examines this issue in a single large research and development organization that emphasizes formal methodology in its software development. The study examined why different projects within the organization engaged in different amounts and types of user-centered activities. We interviewed system engineers and human factors engineers involved with four different system development projects. We developed case studies for each project and identified several trends. First, user-centered activities are sometimes seen as being more expendable than other parts of the development process and therefore are more likely to be cut when delays or cost overruns occur. Second, when the formal methodology did not specifically include steps for user-centered design or usability testing, it was difficult for engineers to incorporate such activities because there was nowhere to put them due to resource constraints. Finally, several participants reported that their projects included user-centered activities mainly because the system engineers had first been exposed to human factors on earlier projects

Convex hulls of random walks, hyperplane arrangements, and Weyl chambers

We give an explicit formula for the probability that the convex hull of an n-step random walk in Rd does not contain the origin, under the assumption that the distribution of increments of the walk is centrally symmetric and puts no mass on affine hyperplanes. This extends the formula by Sparre Andersen (Skand Aktuarietidskr 32:27–36, 1949) for the probability that such random walk in dimension one stays positive. Our result is distribution-free, that is, the probability does not depend on the distribution of increments. This probabilistic problem is shown to be equivalent to either of the two geometric ones: (1) Find the number of Weyl chambers of type Bn intersected by a generic linear subspace of Rn of codimension d; (2) Find the conic intrinsic volumes of a Weyl chamber of type Bn. We solve the first geometric problem using the theory of hyperplane arrangements. A by-product of our method is a new simple proof of the general formula by Klivans and Swartz (Discrete Comput Geom 46(3):417–426, 2011) relating the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of a linear hyperplane arrangement to the conic intrinsic volumes of the chambers constituting its complement. We obtain analogous distribution-free results for Weyl chambers of type An−1 (yielding the probability of absorption of the origin by the convex hull of a generic random walk bridge), type Dn, and direct products of Weyl chambers (yielding the absorption probability for the joint convex hull of several random walks or bridges). The simplest case of products of the form B1 ×···× B1 recovers the Wendel formula (Math Scand 11:109–111, 1962) for the probability that the convex hull of an i.i.d. multidimensional sample chosen from a centrally symmetric distribution does not contain the origin. We also give an asymptotic analysis of the obtained absorption probabilities as n → ∞, in both cases of fixed and increasing dimension d