Investigation of infra-red and nonequilibrium air radiation

This report describes progress on the first year of a research program on the infrared radiation of air plasmas conducted in the High Temperature Gasdynamics Laboratory at Stanford University. This program is intended to investigate the masking of infrared signatures by the air plasma formed behind the bow shock of high velocity missiles. To this date, the radiative emission of air plasmas in the infrared has been the object of few experimental investigations, and although several infrared systems are already modeled in radiation codes such as NEQAIR, measurements are required to validate numerical predictions and indicate whether all transitions of importance are accounted for. The present program is motivated by the fact that 9 excited states (A, B, C, D, B', F, H, and H') of NO radiate in the infrared, especially between 1 and 1.5 microns where at least 9 transitions involving can be observed. Because these IR transitions are relatively well separated from each other, excited NO states concentrations can be easily measured, thus providing essential information on excited-state chemistry for use in optical diagnostics or in electronic excitation model validation. Developing accurate collisional-radiative models for these excited NO states is of importance as the UV-VUV transitions of NO (beta, gamma, epsilon, beta prime, gamma prime) produce a major, if not dominant, fraction of the radiation emitted by air plasmas. During the first year of the program, research has focused on the spectral range 1.0 to 1.5 microns, as detailed in Section 2 of this report. The measurements, conducted in a 50 kW radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma torch operating on air at atmospheric pressure, extend previous shock tube investigations by Wray to a wider spectral range (1.0 to 1.5 microns vs 0.9 to 1.2 microns) and higher temperatures (7600 K in the plasma torch versus 6700 K in the shock-tube). These higher temperatures in the present experiment have made it possible to observe high-lying excited NO states that were previously undetectable. These measurements are currently being extended up to 5 microns, with particular attention paid to the rovibronic bands of ground state NO, molecular continua, CO transitions, and other systems of importance. Publications and presentations resulting from or related to this work are cited in Section 3, and Section 4 lists the personnel who contributed to this report

Interview with Chuck Kruger by Mike Hastings

Biographical NoteCharles “Chuck” Kruger was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on July 2, 1950. His parents were Charles Bromley Kruger and Barbara Burke Kruger. His father was a WWII veteran and captain of a B-17 before starting an aviation business and then going into the family business. As a boy Chuck sang in St. Peter’s Church boys’ choir, and he started playing guitar at age 14. Chuck went to boarding school in New Hope, where he became interested in theatre, English, and writing. After high school, he went to New York City, where he played in a band and sang in the Masterwork Chorus for about a year. He attended Nasson College, started his own acoustic band, lived off-campus and did gigs at the ski areas. After graduating, he performed professionally and met with success as a singer/songwriter solo act. He married and had a son in 1984. He drove and helped raise funds for George Mitchell and became increasingly interested in Maine politics. In 1986 he began to work on campaigns and joined the State Committee while also working for MBNA. At the time of this interview, he had recently been elected to the Maine state legislature. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: family background and education; Chuck’s father’s experience in the war; singing and playing in New York in 1969; attending Nasson College in Maine and the ski area gigs with the Mirror Lake Band; the Profile Theater Company; career as a professional musician and recording albums; driving for Mitchell in 1974; performing at fund raisers; story about Mitchell and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Ceremony; working in Maine politics; booking off-site programming for MBNA; the decision to run for state senate; being a state senator; tax reform and not creating a bill; thoughts and memories of the business and people involved; reflections on Mitchell; and the state legislature today

Sources of nutrition in intertidal sea anemones from the south-western Cape, South Africa

Respiration rates of seven species of intertidal sea anemones from the south-western Cape, South Africa were measured with and without illumination to determine whether zooxanthellae contributed to their nutritional needs. Light had no significant effect on oxygen exchange in any of the species, suggesting that all are azooxanthellate. Diets of anemones from two sites, Wooley’s Pool in False Bay and Blouberg on the Atlantic coast some 20 km north of Cape Town, were examined by gut content analysis. Seven species occurred at Wooley’s Pool, but only one (Bunodactis reynaudi) at Blouberg. At Wooley’s Pool 39.4% of anemones contained food, while at Blouberg only 7.4% did so. A wide spectrum of prey taxa were consumed by the various anemone species, although considerable dietary overlap occurred. Pelecypods, gastropods and isopods were ingested by all the species examined. Pelecypods dominated the diet of B. reynaudi at Blouberg (91% occurrence), but were recorded in only 42% of the same species at Wooley’s Pool. The frequency of occurrence of pelecypods in the guts of the other species ranged from 9% (Anthothoe stimpsoni) to 28% (Actinia equina). Gastropods were the main prey items eaten by Anthopleura michaelseni (67% occurrence), Pseudactinia flagellifera (43%) and Pseudactinia varia (42%), while isopods were the most frequently occurring constituent in the diets of A. stimpsoni (62%) and Bunodosoma capensis (16%). A. equina was the only species for which insects were a regular part of the diet (26% occurrence). Platyhelminths were found only in the guts of B. capensis (11%); holothurians only in B. reynaudi at Wooley’s Pool (2%), and crinoids only in P. flagellifera (2%). Large quantities of algal material and indigestible debris were also ingested, indicating that sea anemones are non-selective feeders. Cluster analysis and multi-dimensional scaling techniques revealed four distinct feeding groups among the anemone assemblages. These are characterized as microphagous (A. stimpsoni), generalist (S. capensis and A. equina), macrophagous (S. reynaudi at Wooley’s Pool, A. michaelseni, P. flagellifera and P. varia) and specialist bivalve- feeder (B. reynaudi at Blouberg)

Digestion rates of prey eaten by intertidal sea anemones from the south-western Cape, South Africa

Digestion rates were determined for natural prey items offered to each of seven species of sea anemones found at Wooley's Pool in False Say and to the single species (Bunodactis reynaudl) recorded at Siouberg on the Atlantic coast of the south-western Cape, South Africa.This was done by examining prey items removed from the coelenterons at regular intervals after feeding and assessing their degree of digestion according to a predetermined scale. There was considerable variation in the gut retention times between different anemone species offered the same prey types, with Actinia equina consistently showing the shortest gut retention times (12 h for amphipods, 15 h for pelecypods and 23 h for isopods). Of the various prey categories tested, amphipods tended to be the most rapidly digested group, while molluscs and echinoderms usually remained in the coelenteron the longest. Mean gut retention times in B. reynaudi, the only species found both in False Bay (1 TC) and on the cold west coast (12'C) were markedly longer (72 vs 60 hand 43 vs 30 h for pelecypods and gastropods respectively) at the lower temperature.S. Afr. J. Zool. 1997,32(4

Investigation of Infra-red and Nonequilibrium Air Radiation

This report summarizes the results obtained during a research program on the infrared radiation of air plasmas conducted in the High Temperature Gasdynamics Laboratory at Stanford University. This program was intended to investigate the masking of infrared signatures by the air plasma formed behind the bow shock of high velocity missiles. Prior to this work, the radiative emission of air plasmas in the infrared had been the object of few experimental investigations, and although several infrared systems were already modeled in radiation codes such as NEQAIR, measurements were required to validate numerical predictions and indicate whether all transitions of importance were accounted for in the model. The program was further motivated by the fact that 9 excited states (A, B, C, D, B', F, H, and H') of NO radiate in the infrared, especially between 1 and 1.5 microns where at least 9 transitions involving can be observed. Because these IR transitions are relatively well separated from each other, excited NO states concentrations can be easily measured, thus providing essential information on excited-state chemistry for use in optical diagnostics or in electronic excitation model validation. Detailed comparisons between measured and simulated spectra are presented

Myotonometric Measurements of Muscle during Changes in Gravitational Forces

Goal: Assess operational characteristics and reliability of the Myotonometer, a portable medical device that quantifies muscle tone and strength, while gravitational forces are changing

Hydro-NEXRAD Radar-rainfall Estimation Algorithm Development, Testing And Evaluation

The Hydro-NEXRAD radar-rainfall estimation algorithms involve three main components: 1) preprocessing, 2) rain rate, and 3) rainfall accumulation. The preprocessing algorithm performs the quality control of reflectivity volume data and generates a hybrid scan. That is, reflectivity values for each azimuth and range bin are assigned from the several lowest elevation angles. It optionally estimates an azimuth-dependent vertical reflectivity profile and performs a correction for range effects. The rain rate algorithm converts the corrected reflectivity to rainfall intensity. The user can specify any power-law type empirical relationship between reflectivity and rainfall intensity. The last step of rainfall estimation is to integrate consecutive rate scans for specific time duration ranging from 15 minutes to daily. The algorithm mimics real-time calculations and involves advection correction. © 2007 ASCE

Critical research needs for successful food systems adaptation to climate change

There is a growing sense of the fragility of agricultural production in the Global North and South and of increasing risks to food security, as scientific observations confirm significant changes in the Gulf Stream, polar ice, atmospheric CO2, methane release, and other measures of climate change. This sense is heightened as each of us experiences extreme weather, such as the increasing frequency of droughts, floods, unseasonal temperatures, and erratic seasonality. The central research challenge before us is how global, national, regional, and local food systems may adapt to accelerating climate change stresses and uncertainties to ensure the availability, access, consumption, and stability of healthy food for and by all people. Missing aspects of research fall into two broad categories: the impacts of rapid climate change on the environmental systems supporting food production, and climate change’s impact on the predominantly human systems that influence food security. Of particular concern is how different policy and governance mechanisms can support or hinder the collective decision-making needed to promote a swift adaptive response to increase and sustain food security. Human systems research is needed to investigate food system activities beyond production (processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management). It also must consider political, cultural, and regulatory factors that influence behavior and facilitate positive behavioral changes. To accurately envision future scenarios, research is needed to characterize risk comprehensively throughout the food system, assess barriers to and opportunities for changing food systems, and evaluate novel and traditional approaches that may lead to greater food security

New physics search in the LHCb era

We present theoretical and experimental preparations for an indirect search for new physics using the rare decay $\bar B_d \to \bar K^* l^+ l^-$. We design new observables with very small theoretical uncertainties and good experimental resolution.Comment: Based on invited talks given at the Second Workshop on Theory, Phenomenology and Experiments in Heavy Flavour Physics, 16th-19th of June, Capri, Italy and at the Fifth International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity, Triangle, 9th-13th of September, Rome, Italy; 8 pages, 12 figures, latex, changes: typos in (8) and (15) correcte

On transverse asymmetries in B --> K* l+l-

We discuss the three independent asymmetries, AT(2)(q2), AT(im)(q2) and AT(re)(q2), that one can build from the amplitudes A_perp(q2) and A_par(q2). These quantities are expected to be accessible from the new B-physics experiments, they are sensitive to the presence of new physics, and they are not significantly sensitive to hadronic uncertainties. Studying their low q2-dependence can be helpful in discerning among various possible new physics scenarios. All three asymmetries can be extracted from the full angular analysis of B-->K* l+l-. Our formulas apply to both the massless and the massive lepton case.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures (png) - version published in NP