Remote measurement of turbidity and chlorophyll through aerial photography

Studies were conducted utilizing six different film and filter combinations to quantitatively detect chlorophyll and turbidity in six farm ponds. The low range of turbidity from 0-35 JTU correlated well with the density readings from the green band of normal color film and the high range above 35 JTU was found to correlate with density readings in the red band of color infrared film. The effect of many of the significant variables can be reduced by using standardized procedures in taking the photography. Attempts to detect chlorophyll were masked by the turbidity. The ponds which were highly turbid also had high chlorophyll concentrations; whereas, the ponds with low turbidity also had low chlorophyll concentrations. This prevented a direct correlation for this parameter. Several suggested approaches are cited for possible future investigations

Exploring a search for long-duration transient gravitational waves associated with magnetar bursts

Soft gamma repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars are thought to be magnetars, neutron stars with strong magnetic fields of order $\mathord{\sim} 10^{13}$--$10^{15} \, \mathrm{gauss}$. These objects emit intermittent bursts of hard X-rays and soft gamma rays. Quasiperiodic oscillations in the X-ray tails of giant flares imply the existence of neutron star oscillation modes which could emit gravitational waves powered by the magnetar's magnetic energy reservoir. We describe a method to search for transient gravitational-wave signals associated with magnetar bursts with durations of 10s to 1000s of seconds. The sensitivity of this method is estimated by adding simulated waveforms to data from the sixth science run of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). We find a search sensitivity in terms of the root sum square strain amplitude of $h_{\mathrm{rss}} = 1.3 \times 10^{-21} \, \mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2}$ for a half sine-Gaussian waveform with a central frequency $f_0 = 150 \, \mathrm{Hz}$ and a characteristic time $\tau = 400 \, \mathrm{s}$. This corresponds to a gravitational wave energy of $E_{\mathrm{GW}} = 4.3 \times 10^{46} \, \mathrm{erg}$, the same order of magnitude as the 2004 giant flare which had an estimated electromagnetic energy of $E_{\mathrm{EM}} = \mathord{\sim} 1.7 \times 10^{46} (d/ 8.7 \, \mathrm{kpc})^2 \, \mathrm{erg}$, where $d$ is the distance to SGR 1806-20. We present an extrapolation of these results to Advanced LIGO, estimating a sensitivity to a gravitational wave energy of $E_{\mathrm{GW}} = 3.2 \times 10^{43} \, \mathrm{erg}$ for a magnetar at a distance of $1.6 \, \mathrm{kpc}$. These results suggest this search method can probe significantly below the energy budgets for magnetar burst emission mechanisms such as crust cracking and hydrodynamic deformation

Quantum phases of bosons in double-well optical lattices

We study the superfluid to Mott insulator transition of bosons in a two-legged ladder optical lattice, of a type accessible in current experiments on double-well optical lattices. The zero-temperature phase diagram is mapped out, with a focus on its dependence upon interchain hopping and the tilt between double wells. We find that the unit-filling Mott phase exhibits a non-monotonic behavior as a function of the tilt parameter, producing a reentrant phase transition between Mott insulator and superfluid phases.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

The Testing of Coniferous Tree Seeds at the School of Forestry, Yale University, 1906-1926

Quality in forest tree seed centers in (a) origin; (b) genuineness; (c) purity; and (d) viability. The purchaser should insist on knowing the origin of the seed and the locality where it was collected. Without seed testing establishments for investigating forest tree seeds by standardized methods under an established technique, nurserymen and foresters will continue to sow seed beds and undertake direct seeding without an adequate knowledge of the origin, genuineness, purity, and viability of the seeds used

Plant evolution:Streptophyte multicellularity, ecology, and the acclimatisation of plants to life on land

Land plants are celebrated as one of the three great instances of complex multicellularity, but new phylogenomic and phenotypic analyses are revealing deep evolutionary roots of multicellularity among algal relatives, prompting questions about the causal basis of this major evolutionary transitio

Kentucky Annual Economic Report 2021

This report is one of the important ways that the Center for Business and Economic Research fulfills its mission to examine various aspects of Kentucky’s economy as directed by the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS 164.738). The analysis and data presented here cover a variety of topics that range from a discussion of Kentucky’s current economic climate to a broad presentation of factors affecting the economy. The report covers numerous dimensions of Kentucky’s economy and COVID-19’s effects are evident across many of these dimensions. The pandemic brought the longest running economic expansion to an abrupt end. By April, Kentucky’s employment declined by 325,100 jobs compared to January. These job losses had wide ranging implications such as widening the racial employment gap; reducing families’ ability to pay for housing; increasing reliance on social programs; and reducing child-care options for working parents. As of October, the state had recovered 67 percent of jobs lost during the first months of the recession, but the recovery remains far from complete. Kentucky’s employment was still down 107,600 jobs, or 5.5 percent, from January

Sensitive protein detection using an optical fibre long period grating sensor anchored with silica core gold shell nanoparticles

Copyright ©2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. This paper was published in the Proceedings of SPIE and is made available with permission of SPIE. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic electronic or print reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.An optical fibre long period grating (LPG), modified with a coating of silica gold (SiO2:Au) core/shell nanoparticles (NPs) deposited using the layer-by-layer (LbL) method, was employed for the development of a bio-sensor. The SiO2:Au NPs were electrostatically assembled onto the LPG with the aid of a poly(hydrochloride ammonium) (PAH) polycation layer. The LPG sensor operates at the phase matching turning point to provide the highest sensitivity. The SiO2:Au NPs were modified with biotin, which was used as a ligand for streptavidin (SV) detection. The sensing mechanism is based on the measurement of the refractive index change induced by the binding of the SV to the biotin. The lowest detected concentration of SV was 19 nM using an LPG modified with a 3 layer (PAH/SiO2:Au) thin film