Picture This: 4-H Press Corps Builds Life Skills

A picture is worth a thousand words! Extension professionals are often looking for the picture that best captures an event and tells its story. Look beneath the surface, though, and a picture is worth much more. Developing a 4-H press corps results in a collection of useful photos but has the added benefit of providing 4-H members with an opportunity to explore an interest, develop workforce skills, and provide a service to the community. Additionally, development of a 4-H press corps has the potential to involve more members in telling the 4-H story. Moreover, the 4-H press corps concept can be adapted to each program\u27s unique needs

Shock tube study of the fuel structure effects on the chemical kinetic mechanisms responsible for soot formation, part 2

Soot formation in oxidation of allene, 1,3-butadiene, vinylacetylene and chlorobenzene and in pyrolysis of ethylene, vinylacetylene, 1-butene, chlorobenzene, acetylen-hydrogen, benzene-acetylene, benzene-butadiene and chlorobenzene-acetylene argon-diluted mixtures was studied behind reflected shock waves. The results are rationalized within the framework of the conceptual models. It is shown that vinylacetylene is much less sooty than allene, which indicates that conjugation by itself is not a sufficient factor for determining the sooting tendency of a molecule. Structural reactivity in the context of the chemical kinetics is the dominant factor in soot formation. Detailed chemical kinetic modeling of soot formation in pyrolysis of acetylene is reported. The main mass growth was found to proceed through a single dominant route composed of conventional radical reactions. The practically irreversible formation reactions of the fused polycyclic aromatics and the overshoot by hydrogen atom over its equilibrium concentration are the g-driving kinetic forces for soot formation

The method of Gaussian weighted trajectories. V. On the 1GB procedure for polyatomic processes

In recent years, many chemical reactions have been studied by means of the quasi-classical trajectory (QCT) method within the Gaussian binning (GB) procedure. The latter consists in "quantizing" the final vibrational actions in Bohr spirit by putting strong emphasis on the trajectories reaching the products with vibrational actions close to integer values. A major drawback of this procedure is that if N is the number of product vibrational modes, the amount of trajectories necessary to converge the calculations is ~ 10^N larger than with the standard QCT method. Applying it to polyatomic processes is thus problematic. In a recent paper, however, Czako and Bowman propose to quantize the total vibrational energy instead of the vibrational actions [G. Czako and J. M. Bowman, J. Chem. Phys., 131, 244302 (2009)], a procedure called 1GB here. The calculations are then only ~ 10 times more time-consuming than with the standard QCT method, allowing thereby for considerable numerical saving. In this paper, we propose some theoretical arguments supporting the 1GB procedure and check its validity on model test cases as well as the prototype four-atom reaction OH+D_2 -> HOD+D

Cooperative program for design, fabrication, and testing of graphite/epoxy composite helicopter shafting

The fabrication of UH-1 helicopter tail rotor drive shafts from graphite/epoxy composite materials is discussed. Procedures for eliminating wrinkles caused by lack of precure compaction are described. The development of the adhesive bond between aluminum end couplings and the composite tube is analyzed. Performance tests to validate the superiority of the composite materials are reported

ESTIMATED COSTS AND RETURNS FOR CATFISH FARMS WITH RECIRCULATING PONDS ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS COAST

Cost, returns, and economies of scale for small, medium and large catfish farms with recirculating ponds are presented for the upper Texas coast. Internal rates of return are 0.150, 0.183 and 0.219, respectively. Total investment is higher than farms with static ponds but investment per unit production capacity is 7 percent to 16 percent lower. Average total cost per pound is between $0.565 and$0.541, (11 percent –20 percent lower than farms using current technology). These results have implications for regional comparative advantage of catfish production as well as incentive for adoption of new technology in conventional ponds.Aquaculture, Catfish, Economics, Off-flavor, Livestock Production/Industries,

Nonlinear dynamics of a solid-state laser with injection

We analyze the dynamics of a solid-state laser driven by an injected sinusoidal field. For this type of laser, the cavity round-trip time is much shorter than its fluorescence time, yielding a dimensionless ratio of time scales $\sigma \ll 1$. Analytical criteria are derived for the existence, stability, and bifurcations of phase-locked states. We find three distinct unlocking mechanisms. First, if the dimensionless detuning $\Delta$ and injection strength $k$ are small in the sense that $k = O(\Delta) \ll \sigma^{1/2}$, unlocking occurs by a saddle-node infinite-period bifurcation. This is the classic unlocking mechanism governed by the Adler equation: after unlocking occurs, the phases of the drive and the laser drift apart monotonically. The second mechanism occurs if the detuning and the drive strength are large: $k =O(\Delta) \gg \sigma^{1/2}$. In this regime, unlocking is caused instead by a supercritical Hopf bifurcation, leading first to phase trapping and only then to phase drift as the drive is decreased. The third and most interesting mechanism occurs in the distinguished intermediate regime $k, \Delta = O(\sigma^{1/2})$. Here the system exhibits complicated, but nonchaotic, behavior. Furthermore, as the drive decreases below the unlocking threshold, numerical simulations predict a novel self-similar sequence of bifurcations whose details are not yet understood.Comment: 29 pages in revtex + 8 figs in eps. To appear in Phys. Rev. E (scheduled tentatively for the issue of 1 Oct 98

Reduced dimensionality spin-orbit dynamics of CH3 + HCl reversible arrow CH4 Cl on ab initio surfaces

A reduced dimensionality quantum scattering method is extended to the study of spin-orbit nonadiabatic transitions in the CH3 + HCl reversible arrow CH4 + Cl(P-2(J)) reaction. Three two-dimensional potential energy surfaces are developed by fitting a 29 parameter double-Morse function to CCSD(T)/IB//MP2/cc-pV(T+d)Z-dk ab initio data; interaction between surfaces is described by geometry-dependent spin-orbit coupling functions fit to MCSCF/cc-pV(T+d)Z-dk ab initio data. Spectator modes are treated adiabatically via inclusion of curvilinear projected frequencies. The total scattering wave function is expanded in a vibronic basis set and close-coupled equations are solved via R-matrix propagation. Ground state thermal rate constants for forward and reverse reactions agree well with experiment. Multi-surface reaction probabilities, integral cross sections, and initial-state selected branching ratios all highlight the importance of vibrational energy in mediating nonadiabatic transition. Electronically excited state dynamics are seen to play a small but significant role as consistent with experimental conclusions. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3592732

Texas Beef Industry Database (BEEFSYS)

Last updated: 6/12/200

Communication, Coping, and Connections: Campers’ and Parents’ Perspectives of Self-Efficacy and Benefits of Participation in Deployment Support Camps

Military youth have unique challenges, particularly when a parent is deployed. Camp participation has been linked to multiple positive outcomes, thus camps have become popular as a setting for addressing these youth’s unique needs. With limited existing research on outcomes related to participation, this study explored to what extent participation in OMK camps affected military youth’s self-efficacy for communication, coping, and social skills. Participants responded to an online instrument three months after camp. Both campers and parents reported the largest increase in self-efficacy for communication skills, followed by social skills, and then coping skills. Open-ended responses overwhelmingly supported that developing friendships was one of the greatest benefits of attending a camp. The results are consistent with the literature regarding the importance of connectedness. Recommendations for conducting camps are offered. These finding may also be useful to those working with other special populations in the camp setting

The effect of moving to East Village, the former London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Athletes' Village, on mode of travel (ENABLE London study, a natural experiment)

Background Interventions to encourage active modes of travel (walking, cycling) may improve physical activity levels, but longitudinal evidence is limited and major change in the built environment / travel infrastructure may be needed. East Village (the former London 2012 Olympic Games Athletes Village) has been repurposed on active design principles with improved walkability, open space and public transport and restrictions on residential car parking. We examined the effect of moving to East Village on adult travel patterns. Methods One thousand two hundred seventy-eight adults (16+ years) seeking to move into social, intermediate, and market-rent East Village accommodation were recruited in 2013–2015, and followed up after 2 years. Individual objective measures of physical activity using accelerometry (ActiGraph GT3X+) and geographic location using GPS travel recorders (QStarz) were time-matched and a validated algorithm assigned four travel modes (walking, cycling, motorised vehicle, train). We examined change in time spent in different travel modes, using multilevel linear regresssion models adjusting for sex, age group, ethnicity, housing group (fixed effects) and household (random effect), comparing those who had moved to East Village at follow-up with those who did not. Results Of 877 adults (69%) followed-up, 578 (66%) provided valid accelerometry and GPS data for at least 1 day (≥540 min) at both time points; half had moved to East Village. Despite no overall effects on physical activity levels, sizeable improvements in walkability and access to public transport in East Village resulted in decreased daily vehicle travel (8.3 mins, 95%CI 2.5,14.0), particularly in the intermediate housing group (9.6 mins, 95%CI 2.2,16.9), and increased underground travel (3.9 mins, 95%CI 1.2,6.5), more so in the market-rent group (11.5 mins, 95%CI 4.4,18.6). However, there were no effects on time spent walking or cycling