Modular Space Stations

The NASA Space Station Program has recently undergone substantial changes, brought about by the future availability of the Space Shuttle as an earth-to-orbit transportation system. The assembly of a Modular Space Station in earth orbit from elements delivered by the Space Shuttle is feasible and can be accomplished in the late 1970f s or early 1980*s. Low transportation costs, return of modular elements for either refurbishment or update, and incremental growth are major advantages of the modular approach. Initially, a modest three- to six-man Station can be assembled in orbit and, over a period of years, evolve to a larger more sophisticated facility by adding modules and updating subsystems as technology advances

Second International Lygus Symposium: Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, April 15-19 2007

The Second International Lygus Symposium brought together 52 entomologists from six nations and 11 states representing universities, public agencies, and private entities to discuss the latest research on Lygus species and their relatives. Symposium topics included Lygus biology, behavior and ecology, IPM, insecticides and resistance, and biological control. Papers and posters dealt with Lygus as a pest of several crops, including cotton, strawberries, seed alfalfa, canola, dry beans, cucumbers, cereals, peaches, and new crops guayule and lesquerella. Intercrop movement of Lygus2008200820082008 species was another important topic of many presentations. In the capstone session, participants identified needs and priorities for ongoing Lygus research and education (available at http://ag.arizona.edu/apmc/Arid_SWPMC_RAMP.html). The conference was sponsored in part by FMC Corporation, the University of Arizona Arizona Pest Management Center, the University of California Statewide IPM Program, and a grant to Ellsworth et al. (CRIS# 0207436) from the USDA-CSREES, Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP)

Composition of primary cosmic rays near the bend from a study of hadrons in air showers at sea level

Data on hadrons in air showers arriving at sea level were studied to find sensitivity to primary cosmic ray composition. The rate of showers which satisfy minimum shower density and hadron energy requirements as well as the rate of showers containing hadrons delayed with respect to the electron shower front are compared to Monte Carlo simulations. The data on the rate of total triggers and delayed hadrons are compared to predicted rates for two models of primary composition. The data are consistent with models which require an increasing heavy nuclei fraction near 10 to the 15th power eV. The spectra which are consistent with the observed rate are also compared to the observed shower size spectrum at sea level and mountain level

Leaf Demography And Phenology In Amazonian Rain Forest: A Census Of 40 000 Leaves Of 23 Tree Species

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116912/1/ecm20047413.pd

Plant species richness, elevated CO 2 , and atmospheric nitrogen deposition alter soil microbial community composition and function

We determined soil microbial community composition and function in a field experiment in which plant communities of increasing species richness were exposed to factorial elevated CO 2 and nitrogen (N) deposition treatments. Because elevated CO 2 and N deposition increased plant productivity to a greater extent in more diverse plant assemblages, it is plausible that heterotrophic microbial communities would experience greater substrate availability, potentially increasing microbial activity, and accelerating soil carbon (C) and N cycling. We, therefore, hypothesized that the response of microbial communities to elevated CO 2 and N deposition is contingent on the species richness of plant communities. Microbial community composition was determined by phospholipid fatty acid analysis, and function was measured using the activity of key extracellular enzymes involved in litter decomposition. Higher plant species richness, as a main effect, fostered greater microbial biomass, cellulolytic and chitinolytic capacity, as well as the abundance of saprophytic and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Moreover, the effect of plant species richness on microbial communities was significantly modified by elevated CO 2 and N deposition. For instance, microbial biomass and fungal abundance increased with greater species richness, but only under combinations of elevated CO 2 and ambient N, or ambient CO 2 and N deposition. Cellobiohydrolase activity increased with higher plant species richness, and this trend was amplified by elevated CO 2 . In most cases, the effect of plant species richness remained significant even after accounting for the influence of plant biomass. Taken together, our results demonstrate that plant species richness can directly regulate microbial activity and community composition, and that plant species richness is a significant determinant of microbial response to elevated CO 2 and N deposition. The strong positive effect of plant species richness on cellulolytic capacity and microbial biomass indicate that the rates of soil C cycling may decline with decreasing plant species richness.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72693/1/j.1365-2486.2007.01313.x.pd

On the high energy proton spectrum measurements

The steepening of the proton spectrum beyond 1000 GeV and the rise in inelastic cross sections between 20 and 600 GeV observed by the PROTON-1-2-3 satellite experiments were explained by systematic effects of energy dependent albedo (backscatter) from the calorimeter

Study of muons near shower cores at sea level using the E594 neutrino detector

The E594 neutrino detector has been used to study the lateral distribution of muons of energy 3 GeV near shower cores. The detector consists of a 340 ton fine grain calorimeter with 400,000 cells of flash chamber and dimensions of 3.7 m x 20 m x 3.7 m (height). The average density in the calorimeter is 1.4 gm/sq cm, and the average Z is 21. The detector was triggered by four 0.6 sq m scintillators placed immediately on the top of the calorimeter. The trigger required at least two of these four counters. The accompanying extensive air showers (EAS) was sampled by 14 scintillation counters located up to 15 m from the calorimeter. Several off line cuts have been applied to the data. Demanding five particles in at least two of the trigger detectors, a total of 20 particles in all of them together, and an arrival angle for the shower 450 deg reduced the data sample to 11053 events. Of these in 4869 cases, a computer algorithm found at least three muons in the calorimeter