Recent stability and aerodynamic problems and their implications as to load estimation

Modern fighter airplanes tend to suffer from stability deficiencies which can give rise to inadvertent high structural loads. These deficiencies are briefly described and discussed

Mobile Robot for Exploring Cold Liquid/Solid Environments

The Planetary Autonomous Amphibious Robotic Vehicle (PAARV), now at the prototype stage of development, was originally intended for use in acquiring and analyzing samples of solid, liquid, and gaseous materials in cold environments on the shores and surfaces, and at shallow depths below the surfaces, of lakes and oceans on remote planets. The PAARV also could be adapted for use on Earth in similar exploration of cold environments in and near Arctic and Antarctic oceans and glacial and sub-glacial lakes

Some properties of sulfoacetic acid and 3-sulfopropionic acid and their use as analytical masking agents

The values of Ka2 for sulfoacetic and 3-sulfopropionic acids were determined potentiometrically. The values are (8.6 ± 0.3) x 10-5 and (3.0 ± 0.1) x10-5, respectively. These values or Ka2 were much lower than those predicted by the Branch and Calvin equation for the calculation of values or pKa of derivatives of acetic acid

From Beyond the Stars: Innovation and Inspiration in Meiji Japanese Art, 1868-1912

Design by Tom Wagner. Photography by the Kruizenga Art Museum, Tom Wagner, and Curatorial Assistance/WorldBridge Art, Inc. Produced by Storming the Castle Pictures (StCP) for the Kruizenga Art Museum as a catalogue for the exhibition, From Beyond the Stars, August 29 - December 16, 2017. Photographs, text and design copyright 2017 Hope College and Tom Wagner, no reproduction or use of any material, in whole or in part, without the written permission of Hope College.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/kam_catalogs/1001/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of the Wellspring Model for Improving Nursing Home Quality

Examines how successfully the Wellspring model improved the quality of care for residents of eleven nonprofit nursing homes in Wisconsin. Looks at staff turnover, and evaluates the impact on facilities, employees, residents, and cost

Predicting Effects of Ocean Warming, Acidification, and Water Quality on Chesapeake Region Eelgrass

Although environmental requirements of seagrasses have been studied for years, reliable metrics for predicting their response to current or future conditions remain elusive. Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) populations of the Chesapeake region lie near the southern limit of their range in the Western North Atlantic, exposing them to increasing thermal stress as the climate warms. However, CO2 stimulated photosynthesis may offset some of the negative effects of temperature stress. The combined effects of temperature, CO2, and light availability controlled by water quality and epiphytes were explored using GrassLight, a bio-optical model that provided a predictive environment for evaluating the interaction of multiple stressors on eelgrass distribution and density across the submarine landscape. Model predictions were validated against in situ measures of spectral diffuse attenuation, eelgrass density, and distribution. The potential for photosynthesis stimulated by ocean acidification to mitigate the effects of high temperature on eelgrass populations growing near the southern limit of their distribution was explored. The model accurately reproduced the submarine light environment from measured water quality parameters, and predicted their impacts on eelgrass distribution. It also reproduced the negative effects of warm summer temperatures on eelgrass distributions, and demonstrated that CO2 increases projected for the next century should stimulate photosynthesis sufficiently to offset the negative effects of thermal stress on eelgrass growing in the Chesapeake region, even in the presence of epiphytes. Thus, improved water quality should facilitate the survival of eelgrass populations in Chesapeake region, even in the face of a warming climate

A Neighborhood Analysis of Tree Growth and Survival in a Hurricane-Driven Tropical Forest

We present a likelihood-based regression method that was developed to analyze the effects of neighborhood competitive interactions and hurricane damage on tree growth and survival. The purpose of the method is to provide robust parameter estimates for a spatially explicit forest simulator and to gain insight into the processes that drive the patterns of species abundance in tropical forests. We test the method using census data from the 16-ha Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot in Puerto Rico and describe effects of the spatial configuration, sizes, and species of neighboring trees on the growth and survival of 12 dominant tree species representing a variety of life history strategies. Variation in size-dependent growth and mortality suggests a complex relationship between size, growth, and survival under different regimes of light availability. Crowding effects on growth and survival appear to be idiosyncratic to each individual species, and with the exception of pioneers, there is little commonality among species that share similar life histories. We also explain the implications of differential susceptibility to hurricane damage on species' growth and survival and on their ability to respond to damage to neighboring trees. Tree species in the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot differ strikingly in both their susceptibility to hurricane disturbance and the nature of their recovery from wind disturbance, through response of both adult plants and juveniles to enhanced resource availability. At the stand level, intense competitive thinning of densely packed saplings that grew after hurricane damage accounted for the majority of post-hurricane mortality, particularly for shade-intolerant species. At the individual species level, effects of previous hurricane damage on growth and survival depended primarily on variation in the quantity and quality of hurricane damage sustained by target species and their interaction with life history characteristics of these individual species. Finally, we compare models that make different assumptions about the effects of competing species on tree growth and survival (e.g., equivalence of competitors vs. distinct species-specific effects). Size effects alone could not account for growth and survival for the majority of target species. Our results also demonstrate that competing species have distinct per capita effects on growth of dominant target species. In contrast, we found moderate support for a model that assumed functional equivalence of competitors on survival

The Influence of Particle Concentration and Bulk Characteristics on Polarized Oceanographic Lidar Measurements

Oceanographic lidar measurements of the linear depolarization ratio, δ, contain information on the bulk characteristics of marine particles that could improve our ability to study ocean biogeochemistry. However, a scarcity of information on the polarized light-scattering properties of marine particles and the lack of a framework for separating single and multiple scattering effects on δ have hindered the development of polarization-based retrievals of bulk particle properties. To address these knowledge gaps, we made single scattering measurements of δ for several compositionally and morphologically distinct marine particle assemblages. We then used a bio-optical model to explore the influence of multiple scattering and particle characteristics on lidar measurements of δ made during an expedition to sample a mesoscale coccolithophore bloom. Laboratory measurements of linear depolarization revealed a complex dependency on particle shape, size, and composition that were consistent with scattering simulations for idealized nonspherical particles. Model results suggested that the variability in δ measured during the field expedition was driven predominantly by shifts in particle concentration rather than their bulk characteristics. However, model estimates of δ improved when calcite particles were represented by a distinct particle class, highlighting the influence of bulk particle properties on δ. To advance polarized lidar retrievals of bulk particle properties and to constrain the uncertainty in satellite lidar retrievals of particulate backscattering, these results point to the need for future efforts to characterize the variability of particulate depolarization in the ocean and to quantify the sensitivity of operational ocean lidar systems to multiple scattering