Interview with Paul and Germaine Orloff by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Biographical NotePaul Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, on June 30, 1931. He is first-generation American, the son of two immigrants from Belarus, and one of two children. He met the Mitchell family at a young age because Mrs. Mitchell and his father would commute together to the woolen mill in Waterville. Consequently, he spent much of his time in the Mitchell home growing up, eventually becoming best friends with Robbie Mitchell, George’s brother. He attended Michigan State University, keeping in contact with Germaine, whom he was then dating, by letters. He served on the Waterville School Board for eight years. Germaine Alice (Michaud) Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, in 1933. The daughter of a Canadian immigrant, she grew up in the French section of Waterville, one of six children. She attended Colby College, living at home while commuting to campus. She served on the city council in Waterville for six years, running on the Democratic ticket. SummaryThis interview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine, in the mid-twentieth century; immigrant cultures in Maine; lower middle class experience in Waterville; the Mitchell family; Robbie Mitchell’s personality; Hollingsworth & Whitney; George Mitchell as a young man; George Mitchell’s dating; Bowdoin and Colby Colleges; participation in the Democratic Party; the Orloff family; activities at the Boys and Girls Club; memories about various members of the Mitchell family; tennis; growing up as first generation Americans; George Mitchell’s current activities; and local political activity

Interview with Paul and Germaine Orloff by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Biographical NotePaul Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, on June 30, 1931. He is first-generation American, the son of two immigrants from Belarus, and one of two children. He met the Mitchell family at a young age because Mrs. Mitchell and his father would commute together to the woolen mill in Waterville. Consequently, he spent much of his time in the Mitchell home growing up, eventually becoming best friends with Robbie Mitchell, George’s brother. He attended Michigan State University, keeping in contact with Germaine, whom he was then dating, by letters. He served on the Waterville School Board for eight years. Germaine Alice (Michaud) Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, in 1933. The daughter of a Canadian immigrant, she grew up in the French section of Waterville, one of six children. She attended Colby College, living at home while commuting to campus. She served on the city council in Waterville for six years, running on the Democratic ticket. SummaryThis interview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine, in the mid-twentieth century; immigrant cultures in Maine; lower middle class experience in Waterville; the Mitchell family; Robbie Mitchell’s personality; Hollingsworth & Whitney; George Mitchell as a young man; George Mitchell’s dating; Bowdoin and Colby Colleges; participation in the Democratic Party; the Orloff family; activities at the Boys and Girls Club; memories about various members of the Mitchell family; tennis; growing up as first generation Americans; George Mitchell’s current activities; and local political activity

Fumigation of Burrowing Rodents with Carbon Monoxide: A Comparison to Alternative Management Options

Pocket gophers and ground squirrels cause extensive damage to many crops. Pressurized exhaust injection devices are increasingly used for managing these rodents, although no data were available to support their use. Therefore, we established a study to: 1) determine the efficacy of pressurized exhaust machines for pocket gopher and ground squirrel management, 2) compare these results to other burrow fumigant options, and 3) compare their cost effectiveness. Specifically, we tested two different pressurized exhaust machines for both ground squirrels and pocket gophers: Pressurized Exhaust Rodent Controller (PERC), and 2) Cheetah rodent control machine. For California ground squirrels, efficacy for the PERC machine was greater in moist soils (mean = 100%) than in drier soils (mean = 66%). Initial treatments using the PERC machine were more expensive than other burrow fumigation options, given the large cost of the machine. However, costs quickly dropped below that of gas cartridges (~44 days), and eventually dropped below that of aluminum phosphide if used extensively (~830 days). Efficacy for the Cheetah rodent control machine was far less encouraging for California ground squirrels, with results showing increased squirrel numbers at treatment sites (mean = +115%) post-treatment. For pocket gophers, aluminum phosphide (mean = 86%) and trapping (mean = 81%) proved to be more effective than PERC applications (mean = 56%) in heavy organic soils. We observed somewhat greater PERC efficacy in mineral soils (mean = 68%), suggesting potential variability in efficacy across soil types. At this point, the use of the PERC machine appears to be a viable option for inclusion into Integrated Pest Management programs for burrowing rodents where alternative options are limited; the Cheetah rodent control machine showed no utility for ground squirrel management in our study. More extensive testing of pressurized exhaust devices in differing soil types and under variable moisture levels is needed to determine their utility across a broader spectrum of treatment situations

Effect of tip planform on blade loading characteristics for a two-bladed rotor in hover

A laser velocimeter was used to study the flow surrounding a 2.13 m diam. two-bladed, teetering model-scale helicopter rotor operating in the hover condition. The rotor system employed interchangeable blade tips over the outer 25% radius. A conventional rectangular planform and an experimental ogee tip shape were studied. The radial distribution of the blade circulation was obtained by measuring the velocity tangent to a closed rectangular contour around the airfoil section at a number of radial locations. A relationship between local circulation and bound vorticity was invoked to obtain the radial variations in the sectional lifting properties of the blade. The tip vortex-induced velocity was also measured immediately behind the generating blade and immediately before the encounter with the following blade. The mutual influence between blade loading, shed vorticity, and the structure of the encountered vortex are quantified by the results presented and are discussed comparatively for the rectangular and ogee planforms. The experimental loading for the rectangular tip is also compared with predictions of existing rotor analysis

Gender and the welfare state

Gender relations, as embodied in the sexual division of labor, compulsory heterosexuality, discourses and ideologies of citizenship, motherhood, masculinity and femininity, and the like, profoundly shape the character of welfare states. Likewise, the institutions of social provision the set of social assistance and social insurance programs, universal citizenship entitlements, and public services to which we refer as "the welfare state" affect gender relations in various ways. Although many recent studies of the welfare state use a comparative analysis to study the factors shaping the welfare state, few of these studies have paid systematic attention to gender. Similarly, most feminist work has not been systematically comparative. This paper summarizes the current state of understanding of the varying effects of welfare states on gender relations, and vice versa.

Breaking of B-L in superstring inspired E6 model

In the framework of the superstring inspired E6 model, low-energy extensions of the standard model compatible with leptogenesis are considered and masses of right-handed neutrinos in two scenarios allowed by long-lived protons are discussed. The presence of two additional generations allows breaking of B-L without generating nonzero vacuum expectation values of right-handed sneutrinos of the three known generations. After the symmetry breaking, right-handed neutrinos acquire Majorana masses of order of 10^11 GeV. Within the framework of a simple discrete symmetry, assumptions made to provide a large mass of right-handed neutrinos are shown to be self-consistent. Supersymmetric structure of the theory ensures that large corrections, associated with the presence of a (super)heavy gauge field, cancel out.Comment: 18 pages, 6 tables, axodraw use

Dispelling the myth of robotic efficiency: why human space exploration will tell us more about the Solar System than will robotic exploration alone

There is a widely held view in the astronomical community that unmanned robotic space vehicles are, and will always be, more efficient explorers of planetary surfaces than astronauts (e.g. Coates, 2001; Clements 2009; Rees 2011). Partly this is due to a common assumption that robotic exploration is cheaper than human exploration (although, as we shall see, this isn't necessarily true if like is compared with like), and partly from the expectation that continued developments in technology will relentlessly increase the capability, and reduce the size and cost, of robotic missions to the point that human exploration will not be able to compete. I will argue below that the experience of human exploration during the Apollo missions, more recent field analogue studies, and trends in robotic space exploration actually all point to exactly the opposite conclusion.Comment: 12 pages; 5 figures. Published, with minor modifications, in Astronomy and Geophysics, Vol. 53, pp. 2.22-2.26, 201