American Indian Education Opportunities Program

Activities of the American Indian Educational Opportunities Program (AIEOP) at Hampton University for this reporting period included the establishment of a student chapter of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES), a move to new office space, hosting events on campus for visiting students from the American Indian Education Program of Oxon Hill, Maryland and Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York, collaboration with the Multicultural Leadership Team at NASA Langley Research Center for a Native American elder to serve as a speaker, participation in Native American conferences and other events, and continuing efforts to recruit and retain American Indian students

Proposed methodology for evaluation of automatic controller of boom sections and spray

Na aplicação de produtos fitossanitários, a utilização de equipamentos que controlam automaticamente as seções da barra e a pulverização já é realidade; entretanto, ainda não há resultados que demonstrem a sua eficácia. Por esse motivo, este trabalho teve por finalidade desenvolver uma metodologia para a avaliação de um equipamento que controla automaticamente as seções e a pulverização. Avaliou-se um controlador automático de seções e pulverização de mercado, e, para tanto, foram utilizados três níveis de acurácia do sinal de GPS (algoritmo interno, SBAS e RTK), três ângulos para a simulação de entrada e saída da barra de pulverização em relação à borda do talhão (0; 45 e 60º ) e três velocidades de trabalho (1,66; 5,00 e 8,33 m s-1). A metodologia proposta possibilitou a determinação dos tempos e distâncias de abertura e fechamento das seções. Os coeficientes de variação para os tempos e distâncias de abertura e fechamento das seções indicaram uma variação considerável. Houve interações significativas em função do tipo de sinal de GPS. A configuração recomendada pelo fabricante e adotada para a avaliação do controlador automático de seções e pulverização não atende a todas as situações simuladas.In the application of pesticides, the use of equipment that automatically controls the sections of the boom and the spray is already reality. However, there are no results to show its effectiveness. Therefore, this work was to develop a methodology for the evaluation of equipments which automatically controls the boom sections and the spraying pattern. A commercial automatic controller of boom spraying sections was evaluated using three levels of GPS accuracy (internal algorithm, SBAS and RTK), three angles for the simulation of entry and exit of the spray bar on field edges (0, 45 and 60 º ) and three forward speeds (1.66, 5.00 and 8.33 m s-1). The proposed methodology allowed the determination of opening and closing times of the electric valves. The coefficients of variation indicated a considerable variation. There were significant interactions depending on the type of GPS signal used. The manufacturer recommended configuration, used for the evaluation of the automatic boom sections and spraying controller, does not attended all the simulated situations

TERREMOTI NELL’OMBRA: UN EVENTO CALABRESE NASCOSTO DAL GRANDE TERREMOTO DEL 1915

L’occorrenza di un terremoto distruttivo ha numerose implicazioni, sia di tipo fisico (modifica del campo di stress tettonico) che di tipo storico culturale. Nella storia sismica italiana l’occorrenza di forti terremoti ha generato spesso un aumento dell’attenzione verso questo fenomeno, ed è direttamente correlabile con alcune iniziative che hanno costituito la stessa tradizione storico-sismologica italiana, quali - ad esempio - la redazioni di importanti compilazioni sismologiche, (Giannozzo Manetti e Marcello Bonito, rispettivamente dopo i terremoti del 1456 e del 1688), o la nascita del servizio geodinamico italiano (all’indomani del terremoto ligure del 1887). Tuttavia i terremoti distruttivi hanno anche un effetto di ‘oscuramento’ nella tradizione storica di eventi meno forti, prossimi nello spazio (ma non necessariamente) e soprattutto nel tempo. Diversi casi storici sono stati segnalati da lavori recenti (Camassi e Castelli, 2005), e molti altri sono probabilmente ancora da ‘scoprire’. Nel presente lavoro si illustra un caso di questo genere, che ha la particolarità di verificarsi in tempi molto recenti, immediatamente a ridosso del grande terremoto della Marsica del 1915. Il terremoto colpisce la Calabria Settentrionale, a nord-ovest di Cosenza, e pur non modificando in modo significativo il quadro di conoscenze sulla sismicità dell’area, relativamente ‘ricco’, rappresenta comunque un caso significativo e uno spunto di riflessione importante sul tema della completezza storica delle informazioni sismologiche

Molecular characterization of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’ strains in outbreaks of apple proliferation in north eastern Italy, Hungary, and Serbia

During 2005-2008 apple plants of different varieties showing proliferation symptoms were observed in diverse areas of north eastern Italy, Hungary and Serbia. PCR/RFLP analyses showed that all the samples were infected with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’. In the 16S plus spacer region two phytoplasma profiles (P-I and P-II) were distinguished. P-I profile was detected in reference strains AP, AT1, AT2, in samples from Serbia, and in the majority of samples from Trentino; the P-II profile was prevalent in samples from Veneto; both profiles were identified in samples from Hungary, in some cases together in single samples. The analyses of rpl22-s3 genes allow the identification, in all the samples showing a P-I profile, the presence of phytoplasmas belonging to rpX-A subgroup, while in the samples showing a P-II profile it was possible to distinguish the other three reported rpX subgroups. In the majority of samples from the Veneto region phytoplasmas belonging to rpX-D subgroup were identified, while rpX-B and rpX-C subgroups were identified only in a few samples from Trentino and Veneto regions, respectively. Further RFLP analyses on AP13/AP10 amplicons differentiate among strains belonging to the rpX-A subgroup: the samples from Serbia show AP profiles, while those from Trentino show AT-2 profiles. In the samples from Hungary the presence of AT1, AT2, and AP profiles was identified.Keywords: Apple, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’, phytoplasma strains, PCR/RFLP analyses, epidemiolog

Electrophoretic co-deposition of Mn1.5Co1.5O4, Fe2O3 and CuO: Unravelling the effect of simultaneous addition of Cu and Fe on the microstructural, thermo-mechanical and corrosion properties of in-situ modified spinel coatings for solid oxide cell interconnects

A systematic microstructural, thermo-mechanical and electrical characterization of simultaneous Fe–Cu doped Mn–Co spinel coatings processed by electrophoretic co-deposition on Crofer 22 APU is here reported and discussed. An innovative approach for the simultaneous electrophoretic deposition of three spinel precursors is designed, conceived and optimised, with the aim of outlining time- and energy-saving spinel modification routes. The effect of different levels of Cu and Fe co-doping is observed on the stability of the modified Mn–Co spinel phase, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), the corrosion resistance and on the densification behaviour of the obtained coatings. Cu determines an increase of CTE, while Fe has the opposite behavior. The synergic effect of the simultaneous Fe and Cu co-doping results in an improved densification and the stabilization of the MnCo2O4 cubic phase. The most interesting results in terms of corrosion resistance are obtained for the Mn1.28Co1.28Fe0.15Cu0.29O4 spinel

Recent advances on spinel-based protective coatings for solid oxide cell metallic interconnects produced by electrophoretic deposition

The application of ceramic protective coatings to the metallic interconnects in solid oxide cells (SOCs) is a viable and effective method to limit interconnect degradation issues. This featured letter provides a critical overview of the main outcomes of current research on the use of the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique to produce protective coatings for SOC metallic interconnects, specifically focusing on different approaches to stabilise spinel-based suspensions, as well as the possible sintering procedures. The protective properties of EPD coatings are reviewed and discussed in terms of oxidation kinetics and area specific resistance evaluation