Lunar igneous rocks and the nature of the lunar interior

Lunar igneous rocks are interpreted, which can give useful information about mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry as a function of depth in the lunar interior. Terra rocks, though intensely brecciated, reveal, in their chemistry, evidence for a magmatic history. Partial melting of feldspathic lunar crustal material occurred in the interval 4.6 to 3.9 gy. Melting of ilmenite-bearing cumulates at depths near 100 km produced parent magmas for Apollo 11 and 17 titaniferous mare basalts in the interval 3.8 to 3.6 gy. Melting of ilmenite-free olivine pyroxenites at depths greater than 200 km produced low-titanium mare basalts in the interval 3.4 to 3.1 gy. No younger igneous rocks have yet been recognized among the lunar samples and present-day melting seems to be limited to depths greater than 1000 km

Flame detector operable in presence of proton radiation

A detector of ultraviolet radiation for operation in a space vehicle which orbits through high intensity radiation areas is described. Two identical ultraviolet sensor tubes are mounted within a shield which limits to acceptable levels the amount of proton radiation reaching the sensor tubes. The shield has an opening which permits ultraviolet radiation to reach one of the sensing tubes. The shield keeps ultraviolet radiation from reaching the other sensor tube, designated the reference tube. The circuitry of the detector subtracts the output of the reference tube from the output of the sensing tube, and any portion of the output of the sensing tube which is due to proton radiation is offset by the output of the reference tube. A delay circuit in the detector prevents false alarms by keeping statistical variations in the proton radiation sensed by the two sensor tubes from developing an output signal

Patterns of past and recent conversion of indigenous grasslands in the South Island, New Zealand

We used recent satellite imagery to quantify the extent, type, and rate of conversion of remaining indigenous grasslands in the inland eastern South Island of New Zealand in recent years. We describe the pattern of conversion in relation to national classifications of land use capability and land environments, and ecological and administrative districts and regions. We show that although large areas of indigenous grasslands remain, grassland loss has been ongoing. Indigenous grassland was reduced in the study area by 3% (70 200 ha) between 1990 and 2008. Almost two-thirds of post-1990 conversion occurred in threatened environments with less than 30% of indigenous cover remaining, primarily in the Waitaki, Mackenzie and Central Otago administrative districts. This conversion occurred primarily on non-arable land. In the Mackenzie and Waitaki districts the rate of conversion in 2001-2008 was approximately twice that in 1990-2001. Opportunities to protect more of the full range of indigenous grasslands lie with the continuing tenure review process in these districts

The night-sky at the Calar Alto Observatory

We present a characterization of the main properties of the night-sky at the Calar Alto observatory for the time period between 2004 and 2007. We use optical spectrophotometric data, photometric calibrated images taken in moonless observing periods, together with the observing conditions regularly monitored at the observatory, such as atmospheric extinction and seeing. We derive, for the first time, the typical moonless night-sky optical spectrum for the observatory. The spectrum shows a strong contamination by different pollution lines, in particular from Mercury lines, which contribution to the sky-brightness in the different bands is of the order of ~0.09 mag, ~0.16 mag and ~0.10 mag in B, V and R respectively. The zenith-corrected values of the moonless night-sky surface brightness are 22.39, 22.86, 22.01, 21.36 and 19.25 mag arcsec^-2 in U, B, V, R and I, which indicates that Calar Alto is a particularly dark site for optical observations up to the I-band. The fraction of astronomical useful nights at the observatory is ~70%, with a ~30% of photometric nights. The typical extinction at the observatory is k_V~0.15 mag in the Winter season, with little dispersion. In summer the extinction has a wider range of values, although it does not reach the extreme peaks observed at other sites. The median seeing for the last two years (2005-6) was ~0.90", being smaller in the Summer (~0.87") than in the Winter (~0.96"). We conclude in general that after 26 years of operations Calar Alto is still a good astronomical site, being a natural candidate for future large aperture optical telescopes.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publishing in the Publications of Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP

Determination of the Antiferroquadrupolar Order Parameters in UPd3

By combining accurate heat capacity and X-ray resonant scattering results we have resolved the long standing question regarding the nature of the quadrupolar ordered phases in UPd_3. The order parameter of the highest temperature quadrupolar phase has been uniquely determined to be antiphase Q_{zx} in contrast to the previous conjecture of Q_{x^2-y^2} . The azimuthal dependence of the X-ray scattering intensity from the quadrupolar superlattice reflections indicates that the lower temperature phases are described by a superposition of order parameters. The heat capacity features associated with each of the phase transitions characterize their order, which imposes restrictions on the matrix elements of the quadrupolar operators.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Experimental petrology and origin of Fra Mauro rocks and soil

Melting experiments over the pressure range 0 to 20 kilobars were conducted on Apollo 14 igneous rocks 14310 and 14072 and on comprehensive fines 14259. The mineralogy and textures of rocks 14310 and 14072 are presumed to be the result of near-surface crystallization. The chemical compositions of the samples show special relationships to multiply-saturated liquids in the system: anorthite-forsterite-fayalite-silica at low pressure. Partial melting of a lunar crust consisting largely of plagioclase, low calcium pyroxene, and olivine, followed by crystal fractionation at the lunar surface is proposed as a mechanism for the production of the igneous rocks and soil glasses sampled by Apollo 14

Combined association of physical activity and diet with C-reactive protein among smokers

Abstract Background In the general population, both physical activity and dietary behavior are independently associated with less systemic inflammation, with this relationship less examined among smokers. To our knowledge, no study has examined the combined association of both physical activity and dietary behavior on systemic inflammation among daily smokers, which was the purpose of this study. Methods Data from the 2003–2006 NHANES were employed. 810 adult smokers provided C-reactive protein data (CRP; a marker of inflammation), and sufficient physical activity (accelerometry) and dietary data (healthy eating index). Results The fully adjusted model showed that participants meeting physical activity guidelines and eating a healthy diet (β = −0.34, p = 0.03) had lower CRP levels when compared to those not engaging in these health behaviors, but only having one health behavior was not a significant predictor of CRP (β = −0.19, p = 0.14). Conclusions Smokers engaging in regular physical activity while consuming a healthy diet demonstrate lower CRP levels than their counterparts. When taken together, these behaviors may mitigate inflammation associated with various chronic diseases, which is of particular importance as very few smokers successfully quit smoking. </jats:sec

Electric field control of multiferroic domains in Ni3_3V2_2O8_8 imaged by X-ray polarization enhanced topography

The magnetic structure of multiferroic Ni$_3$V$_2$O$_8$ has been investigated using non-resonant X-ray magnetic scattering. Incident circularly polarized X-rays combined with full polarization analysis of the scattered beam is shown to yield high sensitivity to the components of the cycloidal magnetic order, including their relative phases. New information on the magnetic structure in the ferroelectric phase is obtained, where it is found that the magnetic moments on the "cross-tie" sites are quenched relative to those on the "spine" sites. This implies that the onset of ferroelectricity is associated mainly with spine site magnetic order. We also demonstrate that our technique enables the imaging of multiferroic domains through polarization enhanced topography. This approach is used to image the domains as the sample is cycled by an electric field through its hysteresis loop, revealing the gradual switching of domains without nucleation.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure