Osprey Nest Abundance, Distribution, and Productivity in Casco Bay

With support from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP), and in collaboration with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) initiated efforts to collect a 3-year (2011-2013) baseline on Osprey nest abundance, distribution, and productivity in Casco Bay. This survey effort represents the first comprehensive inventory ever to be conducted on Ospreys in Casco Bay, and it will enable evaluations of long-term population trends by comparing to existing datasets held by the MDIFW. Findings from the 2011 season are summarized in a full report submitted to CBEP (DeSorbo et al.2013). Here, we provide a brief summary of the results of the Osprey survey conducted in 2012 (year two). The purpose of this report is to provide a brief summary of preliminary findings from the 2012 season. An in-depth comparison to 2011 findings and a more extensive analysis of the factors contributing to overall patterns observed will be the subject of future reports

Osprey Nest Abundance, Distribution, and Productivity in Casco Bay

Ospreys are one of the most well-established ecological bioindicator species because their nest distribution and productivity reflect patterns and changes in the foodweb that supports them. Osprey tissues (eggs, blood, feathers) reflect contaminants in aquatic ecosystems and as a result, they are regularly sampled throughout their range to monitor geographic and temporal contaminant patterns

Experimental study of the correlation length of critical-current fluctuations in the presence of surface disorder: Probing vortex long-range interactions

We report on critical currents and voltage noise measurements in Niobium strips in the superconducting state, in the presence of a bulk vortex lattice ($B < B_{C2}$) and in the surface superconducting state ($B_{c2}< B < B_{C3}$). For homogeneous surfaces, the correlation length of the current fluctuations can be associated with the electromagnetic skin depth of vortex superficial instabilities. The modification of the surface state by means of low energy irradiation induces a strong modification of the critical current and of the noise. The appearance of a corner frequency in the spectral domain can be linked with the low wave-vectors of the artificial corrugation. Since this latter occurs only for $B < B_{C2}$, we propose that the long-range interactions allow the correlation length to extend up to values imposed by the surface topography.Comment: accepted for publication in PR

Child-mediated health communication: A conceptual framework for increasing stroke literacy in hard to reach populations

Effectively engaging economically-disadvantaged ethnic minority communities for promoting health has proved to be challenging for a variety of reasons, including factors related to healthcare access, literacy, inadequate or ineffective cultural appropriateness of materials, and the relatively low priority for health due to competing demands related to economic hardship. We have developed a framework of Child-Mediated Health Communication (CMHC), which focuses on children as channels for carrying out health promotion interventions to parents and other caregivers. CMHC is an innovative, alternative strategy for engaging this underserved population, where traditional methods of health promotion have not been successful. We discuss the theoretical foundation, development, and effectiveness of a CMHC framework in our stroke preparedness communication intervention, Hip Hop Stroke

Anomalous Sliding Friction and Peak Effect near the Flux Lattice Melting Transition

Recent experiments have revealed a giant "peak effect" in ultrapure high $T_c$ superconductors. Moreover, the new data show that the peak effect coincides exactly with the melting transition of the underlying flux lattice. In this work, we show using dynamical scaling arguments that the friction due to the pinning centers acting on the flux lattice develops a singularity near a continuous phase transition and can diverge for many systems. The magnitude of the nonlinear sliding friction of the flux lattice scales with this atomistic friction. Thus, the nonlinear conductance should diverge for a true continuous transition in the flux lattice or peak at a weakly first order transition or for systems of finite size.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Thermodynamics of Nonstoichiometric Nickel Tellurides. I. Heat Capacity and Thermodynamic Functions of the δ Phase from 5 to 350°K

Heat capacities of the nickel tellurides were measured at compositions NiTe1.1 and NiTe2.0 (near limits of homogeneity of the δ phase) and at one intermediate composition, NiTe1.5, from 5 to 350°K. Heat capacity values and entropy and enthalpy increments are tabulated. No evidence of order‐disorder transitions, or thermal anomalies, or of contributions to the thermal properties from the anisotropy or phonon scattering by the holes in the structure on approaching the composition NiTe2 was observed. Although simple additivity of the heat capacities of the constituent elements failed to represent that of the solution compositions adequately, a Kopp‐Neumann treatment in terms of the limiting compositions of the δ phase gives good agreement with the experimental heat capacity and entropy of NiTe1.5 and hence is useful in interpolating to other intermediate compositions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70090/2/JCPSA6-28-3-497-1.pd

Experiments in vortex avalanches

Avalanche dynamics is found in many phenomena spanning from earthquakes to the evolution of species. It can be also found in vortex matter when a type II superconductor is externally driven, for example, by increasing the magnetic field. Vortex avalanches associated with thermal instabilities can be an undesirable effect for applications, but "dynamically driven" avalanches emerging from the competition between intervortex interactions and quenched disorder constitute an interesting scenario to test theoretical ideas related with non-equilibrium dynamics. However, differently from the equilibrium phases of vortex matter in type II superconductors, the study of the corresponding dynamical phases - in which avalanches can play a role - is still in its infancy. In this paper we critically review relevant experiments performed in the last decade or so, emphasizing the ability of different experimental techniques to establish the nature and statistical properties of the observed avalanche behavior.Comment: To be published in Reviews of Modern Physics April 2004. 17 page

Effect of Crystallographic Texture on Magnetic Characteristics of Cobalt Nanowires

Cobalt nanowires with controlled diameters have been synthesized using electrochemical deposition in etched ion-track polycarbonate membranes. Structural characterization of these nanowires with diameter 70, 90, 120 nm and length 30 μm was performed by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. The as-prepared wires show uniform diameter along the whole length and X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that [002] texture of these wires become more pronounced as diameter is reduced. Magnetic characterization of the nanowires shows a clear difference of squareness and coercivity between parallel and perpendicular orientations of the wires with respect to the applied field direction. In case of parallel applied field, the coercivity has been found to be decreasing with increasing diameter of the wires while in perpendicular case; the coercivity observes lower values for larger diameter. The results are explained by taking into account the magnetocrystalline and shape anisotropies with respect to the applied field and domain transformation mechanism when single domain limit is surpassed

Infrared Emission from Interstellar Dust. I. Stochastic Heating of Small Grains

We present a method for calculating the infrared emission from a population of dust grains heated by starlight, including very small grains for which stochastic heating by starlight photons results in high temperature transients. Because state-to-state transition rates are generally unavailable for complex molecules, we consider model PAH, graphitic, and silicate grains with realistic vibrational mode spectra and realistic radiative properties. The vibrational density of states is used in a statistical-mechanical description of the emission process. Unlike previous treatments, our approach fully incorporates multiphoton heating effects, important for large grains or strong radiation fields. We discuss how the "temperature" of the grain is related to its vibrational energy. By comparing with an "exact" statistical calculation of the emission process, we determine the conditions under which the "thermal" and the "continuous cooling" approximations can be used to calculate the emission spectrum. We present results for the infrared emission spectra of PAH grains of various sizes heated by starlight. We show how the relative strengths of the 6.2, 7.7, and 11.3um features depend on grain size, starlight spectrum and intensity, and grain charging conditions. We show results for grains in the "cold neutral medium", "warm ionized medium", and representative conditions in photodissociation regions. Our model results are compared to observed ratios of emission features for reflection nebulae and photodissociation regions, the Milky Way, normal spiral galaxies, and starburst galaxies.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. 42 pages, 18 figures, Late