2,311 research outputs found
Aerial applications dispersal systems control requirements study
Performance deficiencies in aerial liquid and dry dispersal systems are identified. Five control system concepts are explored: (1) end of field on/off control; (2) manual control of particle size and application rate from the aircraft; (3) manual control of deposit rate on the field; (4) automatic alarm and shut-off control; and (5) fully automatic control. Operational aspects of the concepts and specifications for improved control configurations are discussed in detail. A research plan to provide the technology needed to develop the proposed improvements is presented along with a flight program to verify the benefits achieved
First report of Pleuroceras pseudoplatani on Acer rubrum, A. griseum, A. saccharinum, A. negundo, A. circinatum and A. macrophyllum in Scotland
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Feasibility of evaluation of the natural history of kidney disease in the general population using electronic healthcare records
Background: Knowledge about the nature of long-term changes in kidney function in the general population is sparse. We aim to identify whether primary care electronic healthcare records capture sufficient information to study the natural history of kidney disease. /
Methods: The National Chronic Kidney Disease Audit database covers âŒ14% of the population of England and Wales. Availability of repeat serum creatinine tests was evaluated by risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and individual changes over time in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were estimated using linear regression. Sensitivity of estimation to method of evaluation of eGFR compared laboratory-reported eGFR and recalculated eGFR (using laboratory-reported creatinine), to uncover any impact of historical creatinine calibration issues on slope estimation. /
Results: Twenty-five per cent of all adults, 92% of diabetics and 96% of those with confirmed CKD had at least three creatinine tests, spanning a median of 5.7âyears, 6.2âyears and 6.1âyears, respectively. Median changes in laboratory-reported eGFR (mL/min/1.73âm2/year) were â1.32 (CKD) and â0.60 (diabetes). Median changes in recalculated eGFR were â0.98 (CKD) and â0.11 (diabetes), underestimating decline. Magnitude of underestimation (and between-patient variation in magnitude) decreased with deteriorating eGFR. For CKD Stages 3, 4 and 5 (at latest eGFR), median slopes were â1.27, â2.49 and -3.87 for laboratory-reported eGFR and â0.89, â2.26 and â3.75 for recalculated eGFR. /
Conclusions: Evaluation of long-term changes in renal function will be possible in those at greatest risk if methods are identified to overcome creatinine calibration problems. Bias will be reduced by focussing on patients with confirmed CKD
Regional Disparities and Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivity: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms
In China, regional disparities are important. We examine the difference in the sensitivity of investment to cash flow between firms in inland regions and those in coastal regions. By using the financial data of Chinese listed firms, we found that firms in inland regions rely more on their internal funds in terms of their investment activities than those in coastal regions and that the sensitivity gap between inland and coastal firms widened in the recent contractionary monetary policy period. This suggests that firms in inland regions are harder to obtain outside funds due to unfavorable social and economic environments for inland firms. Our findings suggest that capital markets in China respond rationally to the potential impact of regional disparities on a firmâs performance
GHRS and ORFEUS-II Observations of the Highly Ionized Interstellar Medium Toward ESO141-055
We present Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph and ORFEUS-II measurements of
Si IV, CIV, N V, and O VI absorption in the interstellar medium of the Galactic
disk and halo toward the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy ESO141-055. The high
ionization absorption is strong, with line strengths consistent with the
spectral signature expected for hot (log T = 5-6) collisionally ionized gas in
either a ``Galactic fountain'' or an inhomogeneous medium containing a mixture
of conductive interfaces and turbulent mixing layers. The total O VI column
density of log N ~ 15 suggests that the scale height of O VI is large (>3 kpc)
in this direction. Comparison of the high ion column densities with
measurements for other sight lines indicates that the highly ionized gas
distribution is patchy. The amount of O VI perpendicular to the Galactic plane
varies by at least a factor of ~4 among the complete halo sight lines thus far
studied. In addition to the high ion absorption, lines of low ionization
species are also present in the spectra. With the possible exception of Ar I,
which may have a lower than expected abundance resulting from partial
photoionization of gas along the sight line, the absorption strengths are
typical of those expected for the warm, neutral interstellar medium. The sight
line intercepts a cold molecular cloud with log N(H2) ~ 19. The cloud has an
identifiable counterpart in IRAS 100-micron emission maps of this region of the
sky. We detect a Ly-alpha absorber associated with ESO141-055 at z = 0.03492.
This study presents an enticing glimpse into the interstellar and intergalactic
absorption patterns that will be observed at high spectral resolution by the
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer.Comment: 24 pages + 8 figures, uses aaspp4.sty. Accepted for publication in
Ap
Mixed-state quasiparticle transport in high-T_c cuprates: localization by magnetic field
Theory of quasiparticle transport in the mixed state of a d-wave
superconductor is developed under the assumption of disordered vortex array. A
novel universal regime is identified at fields above H*= c*H_{c2}(T/T_c)^2,
characterized by a field-independent longitudinal thermal conductivity. It is
argued that this behavior is responsible for the high-field plateau in the
thermal conductivity experimentally observed in cuprates by Krishana, Ong and
co-workers.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX + 1 PostScript figure. Final version to appear in PRL.
Several changes in response to referee comments. For related work and info
visit http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~fran
9.7 um Silicate Features in AGNs: New Insights into Unification Models
We describe observations of 9.7 um silicate features in 97 AGNs, exhibiting a
wide range of AGN types and of X-ray extinction toward the central nuclei. We
find that the strength of the silicate feature correlates with the HI column
density estimated from fitting the X-ray data, such that low HI columns
correspond to silicate emission while high columns correspond to silicate
absorption. The behavior is generally consistent with unification models where
the large diversity in AGN properties is caused by viewing-angle-dependent
obscuration of the nucleus. Radio-loud AGNs and radio-quiet quasars follow
roughly the correlation between HI columns and the strength of the silicate
feature defined by Seyfert galaxies. The agreement among AGN types suggests a
high-level unification with similar characteristics for the structure of the
obscuring material. We demonstrate the implications for unification models
qualitatively with a conceptual disk model. The model includes an inner
accretion disk (< 0.1 pc in radius), a middle disk (0.1-10 pc in radius) with a
dense diffuse component and with embedded denser clouds, and an outer clumpy
disk (10-300 pc in radius).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 14 pages, 5 figures. The on-line
table is available at http://cztsy.as.arizona.edu/~yong/silicate_tab1.pd
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