Long-term lunar stations: Some ecological considerations

A major factor for long-term success of a lunar station is the ability to keep an agroecosystem functioning at a desirable, stable steady-state with ecological stability and reliability. Design for a long-lived extraterrestrial manned station must take into account interactions among its subsystems to insure that overall functionality is enhanced (or at least not compromised). Physical isolation of feed production, human living areas, recycling, and other systems may be straightforward, however, microbiological isolation will be very difficult. While it is possible to eliminate plant-associated microbiological communities by growing the plants asepticallly, it is not practical to keep plants germ-free on a large scale if humans are working with them. Ecological theory strongly suggests that some kinds of communities or organisms effectively increase the stability of ecosystems and will protect the plants from potential pathogens. A carefully designed and maintained (lunar-derived) soil can provide a variety of habitats for effective microbial buffers while adding structure to the agroecosystem. A soil can also increase ecosystem reliability through buffering otherwise large element and compound fluctuations (of nutrients, wastes, etc.) as well as buffering temperature level and atmosphere composition. We are doing experiments in ecological dynamics and attempting to extend the relevant theories

The Hamiltonian structure of a two-dimensional rigid circular cylinder interacting dynamically with N point vortices

This paper studies the dynamical fluid plus rigid-body system consisting of a two-dimensional rigid cylinder of general cross-sectional shape interacting with N point vortices. We derive the equations of motion for this system and show that, in particular, if the vortex strengths sum to zero and the rigid-body has a circular shape, the equations are Hamiltonian with respect to a Poisson bracket structure that is the sum of the rigid body Lie–Poisson bracket on Se(2)*, the dual of the Lie algebra of the Euclidean group on the plane, and the canonical Poisson bracket for the dynamics of N point vortices in an unbounded plane. We then use this Hamiltonian structure to study the linear and nonlinear stability of the moving Föppl equilibrium solutions using the energy-Casimir method

Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations of the Abell 3391/Abell 3395 Intercluster Filament

We present Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations of the Abell 3391/Abell 3395 intercluster filament. It has been suggested that the galaxy clusters Abell 3395, Abell 3391, and the galaxy group ESO-161 located between the two clusters, are in alignment along a large-scale intercluster filament. We find that the filament is aligned close to the plane of the sky, in contrast to previous results. We find a global projected filament temperature kT = $4.45_{-0.55}^{+0.89}$~keV, electron density $n_e=1.08^{+0.06}_{-0.05} \times 10^{-4}$~cm$^{-3}$, and $M_{\rm gas} = 2.7^{+0.2}_{-0.1} \times 10^{13}$~M$_\odot$. The thermodynamic properties of the filament are consistent with that of intracluster medium (ICM) of Abell 3395 and Abell 3391, suggesting that the filament emission is dominated by ICM gas that has been tidally disrupted during an early stage merger between these two clusters. We present temperature, density, entropy, and abundance profiles across the filament. We find that the galaxy group ESO-161 may be undergoing ram pressure stripping in the low density environment at or near the virial radius of both clusters due to its rapid motion through the filament.Comment: 13 Pages, 12 Figures, 5 Tables. Submitted to ApJ, comments are welcom

Analysis of Clostridium difficile patterns at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

AIMS: To analyze CDI patterns to TJUH, particularly in Opportunity Units To visually examine the relationship between CDI cases within units Provide data analysis to the CDI working grouphttps://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/1072/thumbnail.jp

Modelling and experimental investigation of carangiform locomotion for control

We propose a model for planar carangiform swimming based on conservative equations for the interaction of a rigid body and an incompressible fluid. We account for the generation of thrust due to vortex shedding through controlled coupling terms. We investigate the correct form of this coupling experimentally with a robotic propulsor, comparing its observed behavior to that predicted by unsteady hydrodynamics. Our analysis of thrust generation by an oscillating hydrofoil allows us to characterize and evaluate certain families of gaits. Our final swimming model takes the form of a control-affine nonlinear system

Desirable Difficulties: Toward a Critical Postmodern Arts-Based Practice

Prior scholarship on collaborative writing projects by women in the academy acknowledges sustained attempts of intraracial and interracial collaboration/divides. Interracial collaborative scholarship, while noble in effort, may result in unacknowledged tensions surrounding racial identity politics. In these collaborative environments the problematics of race cannot be denied, with Black women often drawing upon their racialized identities, while White women emphasize their gendered identities. An unawareness and/or invisibility of Whiteness as a racial construct of privilege further problematizes feminist postmodern discourse. This polyvocal text focuses on responding to and working within the tensions of identity politics encountered in interracial scholarship among four women academics. What follows is an attempt at describing an arts-based project, emerging from concentrated efforts to develop an approach to collaborative scholarship aimed at identifying and inhabiting the divides rather than only navigating around, over or under them

Fuel loading prediction models developed from aerial photographs of the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains of New Mexico, USA

Fuel load prediction equations that made use of aerial photographs were developed for Mixed Conifer, Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) and Pinyon-Juniper (Pinus edulis Engelm.)-(Juniperusmonosperma Engelm.) cover types from one-time measurements made in the Santa Fe watershed (SFWS) located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, and at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) located in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. The results of the watershed data set were favorable and exhibited a high degree of relative accuracy. The results from the LANL data set did not share the same degree of accuracy, but rather exhibited a high degree of error. Use of these or similar prediction equations may be limited to certain regions and community types that exhibit similar regional characteristics such as terrain, soil, and weather conditions. Applied use of the prediction equations required less time than traditional fuel sampling performed onsite, but suffered from a loss of accuracy. It is strongly suggested that additional study of this method be undertaken to generate more accurate and reliable equations. Hopefully, more accurate equations may augment existing fuel sampling techniques and be put to practical use for fire planning purposes

Plasticity of face processing in infancy

Experience plays a crucial role for the normal development of many perceptual and cognitive functions, such as speech perception. For example, between 6 and 10 months of age, the infant's ability to discriminate among native speech sounds improves, whereas the ability to discriminate among foreign speech sounds declines. However, a recent investigation suggests that some experience with nonnative languages from 9 months of age facilitates the maintenance of this ability at 12 months. Nelson has suggested that the systems underlying face processing may be similarly sculpted by experience with different kinds of faces. In the current investigation, we demonstrate that, in human infants between 6 and 9 months of age, exposure to nonnative faces, in this case, faces of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), facilitates the discrimination of monkey faces, an ability that is otherwise lost around 9 months of age. These data support, and further elucidate, the role of early experience in the development of face processing