Bilingual, digital, audio-visual training modules improve technical knowledge of feedlot and dairy workers

Two studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of digital multimedia modules as training tools for animal care workers. Employees at a commercial feedlot (n = 17) and a commercial dairy (n = 10) were asked to independently complete a 10-question quiz prior to and following viewing of training modules. Module topics in the feedlot were proper handling of non-ambulatory animals and humane methods of euthanasia; modules were administered to the workers, as a group, in either English (n = 7) or Spanish (N = 10), depending on previously indicated worker preference. Modules addressing dairy cattle health practices and dairy cattle handling were presented to the dairy care workers who had a preference for learning in either English (n = 7) or Spanish (n = 3). For feedlot workers, post-test scores were improved by 28% after viewing the modules compared to pre-test scores (74% vs. 58%; P 0.30) between language, topic, and between-test variation, indicating that the modules were equally effective at information delivery to both audiences in both languages. For the dairy workers, test scores improved by 27% from pre-viewing to post-viewing (73% vs. 92%; P < 0.01); there was an interaction between the effect of module and language preference (P < 0.01) indicating that although scores increased for both of the topic areas for the English-speaking workers, only the score for the animal health topic increased for the Spanish-speaking workers. Regardless of nationality, level of formal education, topic, or preferred language, digital media are effective at improving knowledge transfer to animal care professionals

GRB Energetics in the Swift Era

We examine the rest frame energetics of 76 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with known redshift that were detected by the Swift spacecraft and monitored by the satellite's X-ray Telescope (XRT). Using the bolometric fluence values estimated in Butler et al. 2007b and the last XRT observation for each event, we set a lower limit the their collimation corrected energy Eg and find that a 68% of our sample are at high enough redshift and/or low enough fluence to accommodate a jet break occurring beyond the last XRT observation and still be consistent with the pre-Swift Eg distribution for long GRBs. We find that relatively few of the X-ray light curves for the remaining events show evidence for late-time decay slopes that are consistent with that expected from post jet break emission. The breaks in the X-ray light curves that do exist tend to be shallower and occur earlier than the breaks previously observed in optical light curves, yielding a Eg distribution that is far lower than the pre-Swift distribution. If these early X-ray breaks are not due to jet effects, then a small but significant fraction of our sample have lower limits to their collimation corrected energy that place them well above the pre-Swift Eg distribution. Either scenario would necessitate a much wider post-Swift Eg distribution for long cosmological GRBs compared to the narrow standard energy deduced from pre-Swift observations. We note that almost all of the pre-Swift Eg estimates come from jet breaks detected in the optical whereas our sample is limited entirely to X-ray wavelengths, furthering the suggestion that the assumed achromaticity of jet breaks may not extend to high energies.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, Accepted to Ap

Cool Jupiters greatly outnumber their toasty siblings : Occurrence rates from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©2019 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Our understanding of planetary systems different to our own has grown dramatically in the past 30 yr. However, our efforts to ascertain the degree to which the Solar system is abnormal or unique have been hindered by the observational biases inherent to the methods that have yielded the greatest exoplanet hauls. On the basis of such surveys, one might consider our planetary system highly unusual - but the reality is that we are only now beginning to uncover the true picture. In this work, we use the full 18-yr archive of data from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search to examine the abundance of 'cool Jupiters' - analogues to the Solar system's giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. We find that such planets are intrinsically far more common through the cosmos than their siblings, the hot Jupiters.We find that the occurrence rate of such 'cool Jupiters' is 6.73 +2.09 -1.13 per cent, almost an order of magnitude higher than the occurrence of hot Jupiters (at 0.84 +0.70 -0.20 per cent). We also find that the occurrence rate of giant planets is essentially constant beyond orbital distances of ~1 au. Our results reinforce the importance of legacy radial velocity surveys for the understanding of the Solar system's place in the cosmos.Peer reviewe

NASA/Goddard Thermal Technology Overview 2014

This presentation summarizes the current plans and efforts at NASA Goddard to develop new thermal control technology for anticipated future missions. It will also address some of the programmatic developments currently underway at NASA, especially with respect to the Technology Development Program at NASA. While funding for basic technology development is still scarce, significant efforts are being made in direct support of flight programs. New technology development continues to be driven by the needs of future missions, and applications of these technologies to current Goddard programs will be addressed. Many of these technologies also have broad applicability to DOD, DOE, and commercial programs. Partnerships have been developed with the Air Force, Navy, and various universities to promote technology development. In addition, technology development activities supported by internal research and development (IRAD) program, the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, and the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), are reviewed in this presentation. Specific technologies addressed include; two-phase systems applications and issues on NASA missions, latest developments of electro-hydrodynamically pumped systems, development of high electrical conductivity coatings, and various other research activities. New Technology program underway at NASA, although funding is limited center dot NASA/GSFC's primary mission of science satellite development is healthy and vibrant, although new missions are scarce - now have people on overhead working new missions and proposals center dot Future mission applications promise to be thermally challenging center dot Direct technology funding is still very restricted - Projects are the best source for direct application of technology - SBIR thermal subtopic resurrected in FY 14 - Limited Technology development underway via IRAD, NESC, other sources - Administrator pushing to revive technology and educational programs at NASA - new HQ directorate establishe

Biogeochemical Characterization of Metal Behavior from Novel Mussel Shell Bioreactor Sludge Residues

Acid mine drainage (AMD) remediation commonly produces byproducts which must be stored or utilized to reduce the risk of further contamination. A mussel shell bioreactor has been implemented at a coal mine in New Zealand, which is an effective remediation option, although an accumulated sludge layer decreased efficiency which was then removed and requires storage. To understand associated risks related to storage or use of the AMD sludge material, a laboratory mesocosm study investigated the physio-chemical and biological influence in two conditions: anoxic storage (burial deep within a waste rock dump) or exposure to oxic environments (use of sludge on the surface of the mine). Solid phase characterization by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and selective extraction was completed to compare two environmental conditions (oxic and anoxic) under biologically active and abiotic systems (achieved by gamma irradiation). Changes in microbial community structure were monitored using 16s rDNA amplification and next-generation sequencing. The results indicate that microbes in an oxic environment increase the formation of oxyhydroxides and acidic conditions increase metal mobility. In an oxic and circumneutral environment, the AMD sludge may be repurposed to act as an oxygen barrier for mine tailings or soil amendment. Anoxic conditions would likely promote the biomineralization of sulfide minerals in the AMD sludge by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), which were abundant in the system. The anoxic conditions reduced the risk of trace metals (Zn) associated with oxides, but increased Fe associated with organic material. In summary, fewer risks are associated with anoxic burial but repurposing in an oxic condition may be appropriate under favorable conditions

A Complete Catalog of Swift GRB Spectra and Durations: Demise of a Physical Origin for Pre-Swift High-Energy Correlations

We calculate durations and spectral paramaters for 218 Swift bursts detected by the BAT instrument between and including GRBs 041220 and 070509, including 77 events with measured redshifts. Incorporating prior knowledge into the spectral fits, we are able to measure the characteristic $\nu F_{\nu}$ spectral peak energy $E_{\rm pk,obs}$ and the isotropic equivalent energy $E_{\rm iso}$ (1--$10^4$ keV) for all events. This complete and rather extensive catalog, analyzed with a unified methodology, allows us to address the persistence and origin of high-energy correlations suggested in pre-Swift observations. We find that the $E_{\rm pk,obs}$-$E_{\rm iso}$ correlation is present in the Swift sample; however, the best-fit powerlaw relation is inconsistent with the best-fit pre-Swift relation at >5 sigma significance. Moreover, it has a factor >~ 2 larger intrinsic scatter, after accounting for large errors on $E_{\rm pk,obs}$. A large fraction of the Swift events are hard and subluminous relative to (and inconsistent with) the pre-Swift relation, in agreement with indications from BATSE GRBs without redshift. Moreover, we determine an experimental threshold for the BAT detector and show how the $E_{\rm pk,obs}$--$E_{\rm iso}$ correlation arises artificially due to partial correlation with the threshold. We show that pre-Swift correlations found by Amati et al.(2002), Yonetoku et al. (2004), Firmani et al.(2006) (and independently by others) are likely unrelated to the physical properties of GRBs and are likely useless for tests of cosmology. Also, an explanation of these correlations in terms of a detector threshold provides a natural and quantitative explanation for why short-duration GRBs and events at low redshift tend to be outliers to the correlations.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, Accepted to Ap

Chiral Corrections to Lattice Calculations of Charge Radii

Logarithmic divergences in pion and proton charge radii associated with chiral loops are investigated to assess systematic uncertainties in current lattice determinations of charge radii. The chiral corrections offer a possible solution to the long standing problem of why present lattice calculations yield proton and pion radii which are similar in size.Comment: PostScript file only. Ten pages. Figures included. U. of MD Preprint #92-19

Does stakeholder involvement really benefit biodiversity conservation?

The establishment of protected areas, such as Natura 2000, is a common approach to curbing biodiversity loss. But many of these areas are owned or managed by private actors. Policies indicate that their involvement should be encouraged to ensure long term success. However, to date there have been no systematic evaluations of whether local actor involvement in the management of protected areas does in fact contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, which is the expressed policy goal. Research incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data was carried out in three case studies in Scotland where local actor input was required in the development and/or implementation of Natura 2000 management plans. No relationship was found between the characteristics of the process of stakeholder involvement and stakeholders’ perceptions of future biodiversity outcomes. Social outcomes of increased stakeholder involvement, such as increased trust, did however increase the perceived likelihood of positive future biodiversity outcomes. The findings indicate that efforts aimed at increasing stakeholder involvement in the management of protected areas need to consider making processes more independent, and acknowledge and address underlying biodiversity conflicts. The findings also emphasise the need to evaluate multi-level conservation efforts in terms of processes, social outcomes and biodiversity outcomes

Testing QCD Sum Rule Techniques on the Lattice

Results for the first test of the ``crude'' QCD continuum model, commonly used in QCD Sum Rule analyses, are presented for baryon correlation functions. The QCD continuum model is found to effectively account for excited state contributions to the short-time regime of two-point correlation functions and allows the isolation of ground state properties. Confusion in the literature surrounding the physics represented in point-to-point correlation functions is also addressed. These results justify the use of the ``crude'' QCD continuum model and lend credence to the results of rigorous QCD Sum Rule analyses.Comment: Discussion of systematic uncertainties augmente

Polls and the political process: the use of opinion polls by political parties and mass media organizations in European post‐communist societies (1990–95)

Opinion polling occupies a significant role within the political process of most liberal-capitalist societies, where it is used by governments, parties and the mass media alike. This paper examines the extent to which polls are used for the same purposes in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and in particular, for bringing political elites and citizens together. It argues that these political elites are more concerned with using opinion polls for gaining competitive advantage over their rivals and for reaffirming their political power, than for devolving political power to citizens and improving the general processes of democratization