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By the line-by-line method, a computer program is used to analyze Earth atmospheric radiosonde data from hundreds of weather balloon observations. In terms of a quasi-all-sky protocol, fundamental infrared atmospheric radiative flux components are calculated: at the top boundary, the outgoing long wave radiation, the surface transmitted radiation, and the upward atmospheric emittance; at the bottom boundary, the downward atmospheric emittance. The partition of the outgoing long wave radiation into upward atmospheric emittance and surface transmitted radiation components is based on the accurate computation of the true greenhouse-gas optical thickness for the radiosonde data. New relationships among the flux components have been found and are used to construct a quasi-all-sky model of the earth's atmospheric energy transfer process. In the 1948–2008 time period the global average annual mean true greenhouse-gas optical thickness is found to be time-stationary. Simulated radiative no-feedback effects of measured actual CO2 change over the 61 years were calculated and found to be of magnitude easily detectable by the empirical data and analytical methods used. The data negate increase in CO2 in the atmosphere as a hypothetical cause for the apparently observed global warming. A hypothesis of significant positive feedback by water vapor effect on atmospheric infrared absorption is also negated by the observed measurements. Apparently major revision of the physics underlying the greenhouse effect is needed.

The quantity of available wheat gluten exceeds the current food use markets. Thermoforming is an alternative technical means for transforming wheat gluten. Thermoforming was applied here to wheat gluten under chemically reductive conditions to form pliable, translucent sheets. A wide variety of conditions, i.e., temperature, reducing agents, plasticizers and additives were tested to obtain a range of elastic properties in the thermoformed sheets. These properties were compared to those of commercially available polymers, such as polypropylene. Elasticity of the gluten formulations were indexed by Young's modulus and were in the range measured for commercial products when tested in the 30-70% relative humidity range. Removal of the gliadin subfraction of gluten yielded polymers with higher Young's modulus since this component acts as a polymer-chain terminator. At relative humidity less than 30% all whole gluten-based sheets were brittle, while above 70% they were highly elastic.

A considerable fraction (>40%) of the outgoing longwave radiation escapes from the Earth's atmosphere-surface system within a region of the spectrum known as the far-infrared (wave-numbers less than 650 cm −1 ). Dominated by the line and continuum spectral features of the pure rotation band of water vapor, the far-infrared has a strong influence upon the radiative balance of the troposphere, and hence upon the climate of the Earth. Despite the importance of the far-infrared contribution, however, very few spectrally resolved observations have been made of the atmosphere for wave-numbers less than 650 cm −1 . The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), under its Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), is currently developing technology that will enable routine, space-based spectral measurements of the far-infrared. As part of NASA's IIP, the Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) project is developing an instrument that will have the capability of measuring the spectrum over the range from 100 to 1000 cm −1 at a resolution of 0.6 cm −1 . To properly analyze the data from the FIRST instrument, accurate radiative transfer models will be required. Unlike the mid-infrared, however, no inter-comparison of codes has been performed for the far-infrared. Thus, in parallel with the development of the FIRST instrument, an investigation has been undertaken to inter-compare radiative transfer models for potential use in the analysis of far-infrared measurements. The initial phase of this investigation has focused upon the inter-comparison of six distinct line-by-line models. The results from this study have demonstrated remarkably good agreement among the models, with differences being of order 0.5%, thereby providing a high measure of confidence in our ability to accurately compute spectral radiances in the far-infrared.

Aims. To investigate the outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in bifurcation versus non-bifurcation lesions using the next-generation Resolute zotarolimus-eluting stent (R-ZES). Methods and Results. We analyzed 3-year pooled data from the RESOLUTE All-Comers trial and the RESOLUTE International registry. The R-ZES was used in 2772 non-bifurcation lesion patients and 703 bifurcation lesion patients, of which 482 were treated with a simple-stent technique (1 stent used to treat the bifurcation lesion) and 221 with a complex bifurcation technique (2 or more stents used). The primary endpoint was 3-year target lesion failure (TLF, defined as the composite of death from cardiac causes, target vessel myocardial infarction, or clinically-indicated target lesion revascularization [TLR]), and was 13.3% in bifurcation vs 11.3% in non-bifurcation lesion patients (adjusted P=.06). Landmark analysis revealed that this difference was driven by differences in the first 30 days between bifurcation vs non-bifurcation lesions (TLF, 6.6% vs 2.7%, respectively; adjusted P

Historians agree that the Second World War proved one of the most momentous events in recorded history. The six years of fighting cost perhaps 60 million civilian and military lives. The major cities of Dresden, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, just to name a few, were bombed into rubble. When peace arrived in August of 1945, the devastation lay everywhere. The lost lives could never be reclaimed, but over time the cities rebounded. Today, only the Frankfurt Museum scale model of the ruined city center or the bombed-out shell of the A-Bomb Dome in the Hiroshima Peace Park remind the visitor of the events of a half century ago. Battlefields have become farms again, and Tokyo, Dresden, Nagasaki, and Berlin all throng with activity. As poet Carl Sandburg noted in his 1918 poem "Grass": "Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:/ What place is this?/ Vhere are we now?"l

The success of satellite monitoring of global climate change depends on the ability to validate satellite inference methods against accurate “ground truth.” Under a recent World Meteorological Organization—World Climate Research Program activity a baseline surface radiation network is being established for long-term monitoring of surface radiation balance (SPB) components. At present, it is not possible to measure all of the SRB components at known accuracies. In this paper, selected longwave surface irradiance measurements are tested against high-resolution radiative transfer computations. It is shown that the differences between the modeled IR flux density using a line-by-line code and pyrgeometer measurements are within the required accuracy for ground observations.

The myth of the American West has become the nation's greatest cultural creation. From nineteenth-century German writer Karl May to the present day Solidarity movement in Poland, images drawn from the frontier West have inspired people throughout the globe. Although scholars have spent years trying to separate fact from fiction in this tale, most have concluded that it is impossible. “The myth,” historian Robert Athearn has noted, “is an essential part of the western past.”1

Interactive visualization of three-dimensional data from CT scans has been applied for quantitative analysis and surgical planning of rraniofacial deformities. Approaches to integrate existing two-dimensional normative databses for threedimensional analysis are discussed. Methods of simulating osteotomies (bone cuts) and repositioning of computer analogs of hard and soft tissue units are presented.

Measurements of up-looking spectral radiances measured during the Convection and Moisture Experiment and down-looking spectral radiances measured at one of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement sites are compared with simulations with use of two different line-by-line models. Simulations are performed in tightly controlled conditions to verify the behavior of the models. Spectra computed at higher samplings are used to study the spectral structure of the differences between simulations and measurements. A revised list of water vapor spectroscopic parameters is used to test the impact of improved spectroscopic data on the accuracy of the line-by-line calculations. The sensitivity of the results to errors that result from uncertainties in the input atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles is also investigated.

We have worked in conjunction with scientists from the General Electric Corporation over 6 years to develop an open-bore MR imaging system (0.5 T) enabling optimal vertical access of surgeon and assistant to the patient, and real-time imaging during major neurosurgical procedures.The intraoperative MR system (MRT) is located in a specially modified operative suite that combines the features of an MR-imaging suite with a fully functional operating room. An MR-compatible anesthesia machine and patient-monitoring device are located next to the magnet. The position of instruments, platforms and supports may be mapped in the operative field using 3 charge-coupled device video cameras mounted in the overhead support truncheon that follow various light-emitting diodes on the devices (Pixsys). The MR image plane can be defined as the axial, coronal or sagittal views through a point along the vector beneath the Pixsys tripod. A variety of surface coils were designed to take full advantage of full open patient access. The software, implemented by a technologist located outside the MR room, is now equivalent to that available on the commercial 0.5-tesla Signa Advantage system. Development of very robust 3-dimensional software in conjunction with the Surgical Planning Laboratory (SPL) at the BrighamWomen's Hospital is the subject of significant effort. The MRT system has been shown to possess imaging capabilities comparable, or even slightly superior (by 10%), to a conventional 0.5-tesla MR scanner. Two modified liquid-crystal display screens are mounted on the magnet housing for the surgeon to monitor the images during the procedures. Projection into larger screens or the operating microscope is under development.We have performed 110 neurosurgical cases in MRT as of January 29, 1997, including 47 biopsies, 6 catheter placements, 4 cyst drainages, 47 craniotomies for resection, 3 spinal cases (1 syrinx drainage), and 3 laser tumor ablations.MRT is especially useful in guiding biopsies and resections near cysts, ventricles and critical vascular structures where preoperative images with framed/frameless techniques would be inadequate to show anatomic changes during the procedure. Real-time images of a biopsy needle within the abnormal area are very useful in cases of subtle pathologic change. More complete resection of infiltrative tumor is readily accomplished. SPL image fusion of SPECT and neurofunctional data (e.g. from magnetic stimulation preoperatively) into the imaging space enables the surgeon to better visualize tumor invasion or neural function in real-time imaging during resection. Imaging of thermal gradients for cryoprobe or laser ablation, and combination with endoscopy and robotics will offer additional benefit in the performance of difficult neurosurgical procedures.

Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs has emerged as the most notorious member of the British Mission to Los Alamos. Unnoticed at the time, his name became a household word in 1950 when he was exposed as a Soviet agent. Thanks to the recent declassification of FBI documents on the case, the public has more data on Fuchs than on any of the other “Atomic spies.” In spite of this information, however, Klaus Fuchs remains almost as much an enigma today as he was to his colleagues at Los Alamos.1

Because it could never be put in absolute terms, the impact of the British Mission to Los Alamos has been hard to characterize. Most historians who have dealt with the theme have fallen back on generalities. Stephane Groueff, for example, termed the British/American Los Alamos collaboration “perfect,” and the overall British Mission contribution “inestimable.”1 Andrew Pierre suggested that their main contribution lay in “uncommensurables,” such as providing secondary opinions, special equipment, and special talents that the Americans lacked.2 Hewlett and Anderson have noted that the Mission “lent an international atmosphere” to Los Alamos.3 Peter Malone has confessed that their contribution was “difficult to assess.”4

The first members of the British Mission — Otto Frisch and Ernest and Peggy Titterton — arrived in Los Alamos in mid-December, 1943, soon to be followed by Sir James and Lady Chadwick. Egon Bretscher came in February, 1944 and Rudolf and Genia Peierls shortly thereafter. The team was essentially complete by the fall of 1944, although Canadians Kathleen and J. Carson Mark did not arrive until May of 1945.1

Like their American counterparts, the British Mission personnel had no idea what to expect when they were assigned to Los Alamos. Most of them boarded the California Limited in Chicago and disembarked at Lamy, New Mexico (the closest railway station to Los Alamos), about ten miles from Santa Fe. They then were met by car, usually driven by a WAC, and taken to 109 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe. There they were introduced to Dorothy McKibben, who headed the Santa Fe office, and received their passes to Los Alamos. All were astonished by the adobe architecture, the high desert vegetation, and the expansive horizon of the American Southwest. One scientist recalled wartime Santa Fe as “something out of a western set.”1

The story of the British Mission to Los Alamos involves more than simply a tale of Anglo-American cooperation and scientific breakthroughs. It is also a story of scientists who returned to England to forge the main outlines of the postwar nuclear world. Although they shared a similar Los Alamos experience, they held far from identical views on the major issues of the day. In fact, the British scientists eventually fanned across the entire political spectrum: from the bulwarks of the Anglo-Australian nuclear establishment to Soviet agent, with the majority falling somewhere in between.

We discuss the problem arising from the nonuniform distribution of spectral transmittance of the instrument's shielding dome. Recently, by using high-resolution atmospheric radiation software, itbecame possible to evaluate both the real downward IR spectral flux density and the transmitted spectral flux density of the instrument's dome. By using a simplified model we obtained a theoretical formula that describes the effect of dome transmittance on the instrument's response. By the formula, the effective dome transmittance (average dome transmittance weighted by the spectral flux density) is directly proportional to the calibration constant of the instrument. In order to obtain a quantitative relationship we computed the effective dome transmittance for several domes and model atmospheres. ccording to our results the maximum difference in effective dome transmittance of individual domes is 20% for Eppley-type silicon domes and 10% for polyethylene domes. These relatively large differencesmust be corrected when the domes are replaced. The effective dome transmittance shows strongcorrelation with precipitable water and the total downward IR flux density. The combined effect on thecalibration factor is a maximum 2% for the Eppley domes and 5% for the polyethylene domes. By usingthe linear regression method these types of error can be minimized.