WP-2 attached payload accommodations

The presentation provides an overview of the current SSFP attached payload accommodations on the U.S. truss. The overview includes discussions on the four attach sites, the power architecture, thermal control, DMS provisions, and the mechanical attach mechanism. The presentation concludes with a description of a McDonnell Douglas concept for an attached payload pallet designed to take advantage of the four sites and existing SSF hardware. This presentation should provide the payload community with a basic understanding of the SSF attached payload utility ports and aid in attached payload concept development

Chemical elements in our environment

Humans are intimately linked to the Earth’s surface environment; we are fundamentally dependent on it, yet we are responsible for many aspects of environmental change. This provides an urgent impetus to enhance our knowledge of the chemical status of our environment and improve our understanding of the processes and consequences of environmental change so that any hazards can be identified. The BGS delivers our National Capability in baseline geochemical mapping, providing a flexible observational framework for the chemistry of Britain’s surface environment

Cultural logic of German foreign direct investment (FDI) in service sector

Major studies on FDI looks at location, technology, policy, availability of natural resources, skilled labor, state support, climate, political and economic advantages for investment decisions. There are few studies that look at cultural factors affecting FDI decisions in service. This paper provides qualitative analysis of the impact of national culture on the flow of foreign direct investment in the service sector within the context of Germany. In particular, the paper discusses the cultural logic of German foreign direct investment in the service sector. It argues that inward FDI in the service sector was actually substantially more affected by cultural distance compared to outward FDI. The study finds that it is important to distinguish between inward and outward FDI to assess the cultural logic of German FDI in the service sector

Optimal mapping of terrestrial gamma dose rates using geological parent material and aerogeophysical survey data

Regulatory authorities need ways to estimate natural terrestrial gamma radiation dose rates (nGy h−1) across the landscape accurately, to assess its potential deleterious health effects. The primary method for estimating outdoor dose rate is to use an in situ detector supported 1 m above the ground, but such measurements are costly and cannot capture the landscape-scale variation in dose rates which are associated with changes in soil and parent material mineralogy. We investigate the potential for improving estimates of terrestrial gamma dose rates across Northern Ireland (13542 km2) using measurements from 168 sites and two sources of ancillary data: (i) a map based on a simplified classification of soil parent material, and (ii) dose estimates from a national-scale, airborne radiometric survey. We used the linear mixed modelling framework in which the two ancillary variables were included in separate models as fixed effects, plus a correlation structure which captures the spatially correlated variance component. We used a cross-validation procedure to determine the magnitude of the prediction errors for the different models. We removed a random subset of 10 terrestrial measurements and formed the model from the remainder (n = 158), and then used the model to predict values at the other 10 sites. We repeated this procedure 50 times. The measurements of terrestrial dose vary between 1 and 103 (nGy h−1). The median absolute model prediction errors (nGy h−1) for the three models declined in the following order: no ancillary data (10.8) > simple geological classification (8.3) > airborne radiometric dose (5.4) as a single fixed effect. Estimates of airborne radiometric gamma dose rate can significantly improve the spatial prediction of terrestrial dose rate

The application of regional-scale geochemical data in defining the extent of aeolian sediments : the Late Pleistocene loess and coversand deposits of East Anglia, UK

The ‘European Coversand Sheet’ is a discontinuous ‘sheet’ of aeolian (windblown) loess and coversand that extends through eastern and southern England, across the English Channel into northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands (Kasse, 1997; Antoine et al., 2003). Whilst some of the earlier aeolian sediments date from the Middle Pleistocene, most correspond to the Late Pleistocene Weichselian / Devensian and earliest Holocene stages. East Anglia contains considerable accumulations of aeolian sediment. Although several valuable studies have attempted to determine the spatial extent of aeolian material (e.g. Catt, 1977, 1985), defining their margins has proved largely difficult because aeolian material is highly susceptible to reworking and removal by various natural and anthropogenic agents. Within this study, we use regional‐scale geochemical data from soils to reconstruct the extent of aeolian sediments in East Anglia. A specific geochemical signature, defined by elevated concentrations of Hafnium (Hf) and Zirconium (Zr), is strongly characteristic of soils developed on aeolian deposits within the United States, China, Europe and New Zealand (Taylor et al., 1983). The data suggests that the approach is sufficiently sensitive to identify a residual aeolian component within soils even where deposits may be thin and unmappable by conventional methods, or if the material has been largely eroded

The use of a panel code on high lift configurations of a swept forward wing

A study was done on high lift configurations of a generic swept forward wing using a panel code prediction method. A survey was done of existing codes available at Ames, frow which the program VSAERO was chosen. The results of VSAERO were compared with data obtained from the Ames 7- by 10-foot wind tunnel. The results of the comparison in lift were good (within 3.5%). The comparison of the pressure coefficients was also good. The pitching moment coefficients obtained by VSAERO were not in good agreement with experiment. VSAERO's ability to predict drag is questionable and cannot be counted on for accurate trends. Further studies were done on the effects of a leading edge glove, canards, leading edge sweeps and various wing twists on spanwise loading and trim lift with encouraging results. An unsuccessful attempt was made to model spanwise blowing and boundary layer control on the trailing edge flap. The potential results of VSAERO were compared with experimental data of flap deflections with boundary layer control to check the first order effects

iMolTalk: an interactive, internet-based protein structure analysis server

iMolTalk (http://i.moltalk.org) is a new and interactive web server for protein structure analysis. It addresses the need to identify and highlight biochemically important regions in protein structures. As input, the server requires only the four-digit Protein Data Bank (PDB) identifier, of an experimentally determined structure or a structure file in PDB format stemming e.g. from comparative modelling. iMolTalk offers a wide range of implemented tools (i) to extract general information from PDB files, such as generic header information or the sequence derived from three-dimensional co-ordinates; (ii) to map corresponding residues from sequence to structure; (iii) to search for contacts of residues (amino or nucleic acids) or heterogeneous groups to the protein, present cofactors and substrates; and (iv) to identify protein-protein interfaces between chains in a structure. The server provides results as user-friendly two-dimensional graphical representations and in textual format, ideal for further processing. At any time during the analysis, the user can choose, for the following step, from the set of implemented tools or submit his/her own script to the server to extend the functionality of iMolTal

Using soil geochemistry to investigate gold and base metal distribution and dispersal in the glaciated north of Ireland

Soil geochemistry is routinely and effectively used for mineral prospecting in areas of glaciated terrain, notably in Canada and Finland. This study uses the Tellus and Tellus Border soil geochemical data to investigate possible glacial dispersal of gold and base metals in the Down–Longford terrane of Ireland. Results from multivariate statistical analysis of the data correlate well with known mineralisation and prove effective in identifying further areas of potentially high prospectivity. Dispersal of gold and base metals is identified, reflecting single and multiple ice flow directions over relatively short distances (≤20 km)

High resolution observations of 137Cs in northern Britain and Ireland from airborne radiometric data

This study presents high-resolution airborne geophysical estimates of the distribution of 137Cs across three areas of northern Britain and Ireland. The radiometric spectra were acquired as part of a program of modern resource and environmental surveying. The largest survey area considered covers the whole of Northern Ireland. All three data sets display some clustering on high ground together with regional scale banding features. The two main banding directions are approximately NNW-SSE and NW-SE. Our interpretation of the regional scale features is in relation to existing knowledge of the wet deposition model of the Chernobyl release of 1986. The airborne estimates, obtained at 200 m flight line intervals, add significant detail in relation to the meteorological and atmospheric interactions involved in the fallout from the Chernobyl plume over Western Europe