Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteoroids

Astrophysical models for meteoroid formation and stellar and planetary evolutions are developed from simulation composition studies

An unusual meteor spectrum

An extraordinary spectrum of a meteor at a velocity of about 18.5 + or - 1.0 km/s was observed with an image orthicon camera. The radiant of the meteor was at an altitude of about 49 deg. It was first seen showing a yellow red continuous spectrum alone at a height of 137 + or - 8 km which is ascribed to the first positive group of nitrogen bands. After the meteor had descended to 116 + or - 6 km above sea level it brightened rapidly from its previous threshold brightness into a uniform continuum, the D-line of neutral sodium appeared, and at height 105 + or - 5 km all the other lines of the spectrum also appeared. The continuum remained dominant to the end. Water of hydration and entrained carbon flakes of characteristic dimension about 0.2 micron or less are proposed as constituents of the meteoroid to explain these phenomena

Image-orthicon spectra of Geminids in 1969

The spectra of 25 meteors, recorded with an image orthicon technique in December 1969, are studied in relation to similar records made in August of the same year. Of 19 Geminid meteors in the absolute visual magnitude range 0 to +2, only one showed any evidence of the forbidden line of oxygen at 5577 A, while all Perseid meteors recorded in August exhibited the oxygen line, a result of the large difference in geocentric velocity between the two showers. Atoms identified in faint Geminid meteors include neutral iron, magnesium, calcium and sodium. The molecular bands of nitrogen are also observed

The effect of meloxicam on behavior and pain sensitivity of dairy calves following cautery dehorning with a local anesthetic

AbstractEffects of a single injection of meloxicam on calf behavior, pain sensitivity, and feed and water intakes were examined following dehorning. Sixty Holstein heifer calves were blocked by age and randomly assigned to receive an i.m. injection of meloxicam (0.5 mg/kg) or a placebo. All calves were given a lidocaine cornual nerve block (5mL per horn). Treatments and nerve blocks were administered 10min before cautery dehorning. Continuous sampling of behavior was performed during five 1-h intervals using video recordings, and total daily activity was monitored using an accelerometer. A pain sensitivity test was administered with a pressure algometer, and feed and water intakes were recorded daily. Calves were sham-dehorned 24h before actual dehorning to establish baseline values, and all variables were assessed at the same times following dehorning and sham dehorning for up to 48h post-dehorning. Meloxicam-treated calves displayed less ear flicking during the 44h following dehorning (increases of 4.29±1.10 and 1.31±0.66 ear flicks/h in the first 24h, and increases of 3.27±0.89 and 0.55±0.50 ear flicks/h during the second 24h, for control and meloxicam calves, respectively) and less head shaking during the first 9h following dehorning (increase of 2.53±0.54 and 0.85±0.46 headshakes/h over baseline for control and meloxicam, respectively). Meloxicam-treated calves were less active than controls during the first 5h following dehorning (activity 34.1±3.2 and 30.6±2.6 for control and meloxicam, respectively) and displayed less sensitivity to pressure algometry 4h after dehorning (pressure tolerance of 1.62±0.13kg of force and 2.13±0.15kg of force for control and meloxicam calves, respectively). Changes in behavior suggest that meloxicam was effective for reducing post-surgical pain and distress associated with calf dehorning

Survey-Based Examination of Demographics, Potential Causes and Treatments of Aberrant Behavior Syndrome(Berserk Male Syndrome) in Camelids

The objective of this study was to examine potential signs, causal factors and treatment interventions for camelids displaying Aberrant Behavior Syndrome (ABS), also known as Berserk Male Syndrome. A survey was developed for camelid owners and veterinarians with camelid experience using Survey Monkey software. Respondents were asked to describe the behaviors associated with the most recent case of ABS they were involved with, information about the animal displaying ABS, and evaluation of the efficacy of treatment interventions used. The majority of respondents identified a general demographic of an intact male camelid raised by its biological mother with daily or weekly handing by humans. Aggressive behavior emerged at one to three years of age, and was directed more frequently at humans than at other animals. Treatment interventions included behavioral modification, castration, moving and/or isolating the animal. All treatments had a higher rate of failure than success. The results of this survey indicate a need for research to identify causal factors and treatments for this behavioral disorder

Boundedness and Stability of Impulsively Perturbed Systems in a Banach Space

Consider a linear impulsive equation in a Banach space $$\dot{x}(t)+A(t)x(t) = f(t), ~t \geq 0,$$ $$x(\tau_i +0)= B_i x(\tau_i -0) + \alpha_i,$$ with $\lim_{i \rightarrow \infty} \tau_i = \infty$. Suppose each solution of the corresponding semi-homogeneous equation $$\dot{x}(t)+A(t)x(t) = 0,$$ (2) is bounded for any bounded sequence $\{ \alpha_i \}$. The conditions are determined ensuring (a) the solution of the corresponding homogeneous equation has an exponential estimate; (b) each solution of (1),(2) is bounded on the half-line for any bounded $f$ and bounded sequence $\{ \alpha_i \}$ ; (c) $\lim_{t \rightarrow \infty}x(t)=0$ for any $f, \alpha_i$ tending to zero; (d) exponential estimate of $f$ implies a similar estimate for $x$.Comment: 19 pages, LaTex-fil

Ferromagnetic models for cooperative behavior: Revisiting Universality in complex phenomena

Ferromagnetic models are harmonic oscillators in statistical mechanics. Beyond their original scope in tackling phase transition and symmetry breaking in theoretical physics, they are nowadays experiencing a renewal applicative interest as they capture the main features of disparate complex phenomena, whose quantitative investigation in the past were forbidden due to data lacking. After a streamlined introduction to these models, suitably embedded on random graphs, aim of the present paper is to show their importance in a plethora of widespread research fields, so to highlight the unifying framework reached by using statistical mechanics as a tool for their investigation. Specifically we will deal with examples stemmed from sociology, chemistry, cybernetics (electronics) and biology (immunology).Comment: Contributing to the proceedings of the Conference "Mathematical models and methods for Planet Heart", INdAM, Rome 201