Effects of Light Regime and Season of Clipping on the Growthof Cherrybark Oak, White Oak, Persimmon, and Sweetgum Sprouts

A mixture of cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.), white oak (Q. alba L.), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana L.), and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) seedlings was grown in shadehouses to simulate light conditions beneath a canopy. After the first growing season, two release treatments were implemented (released and not released), and treatments were conducted during two seasons (winter and spring). All seedlings were clipped at 2.5 em from the groundline in height when treatments were imposed. Survival of persimmon and sweetgum was 100% following clipping. There appeared to be a weak seasonal effect on oak survival, especially for white oak; survival was 100% for winter clipping and 93% for spring clipping. The oaks were considerably smaller in height, diameter, and above-ground biomass than their competitors, and the competitors also produced more stems per rootstock than the oaks. Cherrybark oak was more productive than white oak especially in the released treatment. The oaks tended to have a higher percentage of their total biomass in foliage when compared with their competitors. Stem wood density of the oaks was considerably greater than that of their competitors. Leaf characteristics of all species were very responsive to the treatments; specific leaf area was consistently greater for the no-release treatment for all species. Results of this study suggest that for oak sprouts to grow faster than their competitors they must begin with an initial size advantage

Check-Cases for Verification of 6-Degree-of-Freedom Flight Vehicle Simulations

This NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) assessment was established to develop a set of time histories for the flight behavior of increasingly complex example aerospacecraft that could be used to partially validate various simulation frameworks. The assessment was conducted by representatives from several NASA Centers and an open-source simulation project. This document contains details on models, implementation, and results

Check-Cases for Verification of 6-Degree-of-Freedom Flight Vehicle Simulations

The rise of innovative unmanned aeronautical systems and the emergence of commercial space activities have resulted in a number of relatively new aerospace organizations that are designing innovative systems and solutions. These organizations use a variety of commercial off-the-shelf and in-house-developed simulation and analysis tools including 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) flight simulation tools. The increased affordability of computing capability has made highfidelity flight simulation practical for all participants. Verification of the tools' equations-of-motion and environment models (e.g., atmosphere, gravitation, and geodesy) is desirable to assure accuracy of results. However, aside from simple textbook examples, minimal verification data exists in open literature for 6-DOF flight simulation problems. This assessment compared multiple solution trajectories to a set of verification check-cases that covered atmospheric and exo-atmospheric (i.e., orbital) flight. Each scenario consisted of predefined flight vehicles, initial conditions, and maneuvers. These scenarios were implemented and executed in a variety of analytical and real-time simulation tools. This tool-set included simulation tools in a variety of programming languages based on modified flat-Earth, round- Earth, and rotating oblate spheroidal Earth geodesy and gravitation models, and independently derived equations-of-motion and propagation techniques. The resulting simulated parameter trajectories were compared by over-plotting and difference-plotting to yield a family of solutions. In total, seven simulation tools were exercised

High definition systems in Japan

The successful implementation of a strategy to produce high-definition systems within the Japanese economy will favorably affect the fundamental competitiveness of Japan relative to the rest of the world. The development of an infrastructure necessary to support high-definition products and systems in that country involves major commitments of engineering resources, plants and equipment, educational programs and funding. The results of these efforts appear to affect virtually every aspect of the Japanese industrial complex. The results of assessments of the current progress of Japan toward the development of high-definition products and systems are presented. The assessments are based on the findings of a panel of U.S. experts made up of individuals from U.S. academia and industry, and derived from a study of the Japanese literature combined with visits to the primary relevant industrial laboratories and development agencies in Japan. Specific coverage includes an evaluation of progress in R&D for high-definition television (HDTV) displays that are evolving in Japan; high-definition standards and equipment development; Japanese intentions for the use of HDTV; economic evaluation of Japan's public policy initiatives in support of high-definition systems; management analysis of Japan's strategy of leverage with respect to high-definition products and systems

Effects of copper sulfate and zinc oxide on weanling pig growth and plasma mineral levels

A total of 216 weanling pigs (PIC TR4 × 1050, initially 13.6 lb and 21 d of age) were used in a 42-d growth trial to compare the effects of supplemental zinc and copper and changing mineral regimens on growth performance and plasma mineral levels. The 6 dietary treatments included a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with main effects of added copper from copper sulfate (0 or 125 ppm) and added zinc from zinc oxide (0 or 3,000 ppm from d 0 to 14 and 0 or 2,000 ppm from d 14 to 42). For the final 2 treatments, either zinc oxide alone or the combinations of zinc and copper were fed from d 0 to 14, with copper sulfate fed from d 14 to 42. There were 6 pens per treatment with 6 pigs per pen. All diets were supplemented with an additional 165 ppm zinc and 16.5 ppm copper from the trace mineral premix. Plasma was collected from 2 pigs per pen on d 14 and 42. From d 0 to 14, ADG, ADFI, and F/G were improved (P < 0.04) with the addition of dietary zinc. Copper supplementation also tended to increase (P < 0.07) ADFI from d 0 to 14. From d 14 to 42, added copper increased (P < 0.003) ADG and ADFI. Over the entire trial, continuous supplemental zinc increased (P < 0.03) ADG and tended to increase (P < 0.09) ADFI. Dietary copper also increased (P < 0.004) ADG and ADFI when fed from d 0 to 42. The most advantageous values for ADG and ADFI were seen in the treatment containing high levels of zinc from d 0 to 14 and high copper levels from d 14 to 42. The addition of either zinc or copper increased (P < 0.02) feed cost per pound of gain. However, income over feed cost was improved (P < 0.006) with the addition of copper, with the greatest value obtained when high zinc was fed from d 0 to 14 and high copper was fed from d 14 to 42. Plasma zinc levels were increased (P < 0.001) with zinc supplementation on d 14. These results indicate the optimal mineral regimen was supplementing zinc oxide from d 0 to 14 and copper sulfate from d 14 to 42

Simulation of Surface Ozone Pollution in the Central Gulf Coast Region Using WRF/Chem Model: Sensitivity to PBL and Land Surface Physics

The fully coupled WRF/Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry) model is used to simulate air quality in the Mississippi Gulf coastal region at a high resolution (4 km) for a moderately severe summer ozone episode between 18 CST 7 and 18 CST 10 June 2006. The model sensitivity is studied for meteorological and gaseous criteria pollutants (O3, NO2) using three Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) and four land surface model (LSM) schemes and comparison of model results with monitoring station observations. Results indicated that a few combinations of PBL and LSMs could reasonably produce realistic meteorological fields and that the combination of Yonsei University (YSU) PBL and NOAH LSM provides best predictions for winds, temperature, humidity and mixed layer depth in the study region for the period of study. The diurnal range in ozone concentration is better estimated by the YSU PBL in association with either 5-layer or NOAH land surface model. The model seems to underestimate the ozone concentrations in the study domain because of underestimation of temperatures and overestimation of winds. The underestimation of NO2 by model suggests the necessity of examining the emission data in respect of its accurate representation at model resolution. Quantitative analysis for most monitoring stations indicates that the combination of YSU PBL with NOAH LSM provides the best results for various chemical species with minimum BIAS, RMSE, and high correlation values

A Close Companion Search Around L Dwarfs Using Aperture Masking Interferometry and Palomar Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics

We present a close companion search around 16 known early L dwarfs using aperture masking interferometry with Palomar laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO). The use of aperture masking allows the detection of close binaries, corresponding to projected physical separations of 0.6-10.0 AU for the targets of our survey. This survey achieved median contrast limits of ΔK ~ 2.3 for separations between 1.2λ/D-4λ/D and ΔK ~ 1.4 at 2/3λ/D. We present four candidate binaries detected with moderate-to-high confidence (90%-98%). Two have projected physical separations less than 1.5 AU. This may indicate that tight-separation binaries contribute more significantly to the binary fraction than currently assumed, consistent with spectroscopic and photometric overluminosity studies. Ten targets of this survey have previously been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope as part of companion searches. We use the increased resolution of aperture masking to search for close or dim companions that would be obscured by full aperture imaging, finding two candidate binaries. This survey is the first application of aperture masking with LGS AO at Palomar. Several new techniques for the analysis of aperture masking data in the low signal-to-noise regime are explored

Vertical integration and firm boundaries : the evidence

Since Ronald H. Coase's (1937) seminal paper, a rich set of theories has been developed that deal with firm boundaries in vertical or input–output structures. In the last twenty-five years, empirical evidence that can shed light on those theories also has been accumulating. We review the findings of empirical studies that have addressed two main interrelated questions: First, what types of transactions are best brought within the firm and, second, what are the consequences of vertical integration decisions for economic outcomes such as prices, quantities, investment, and profits. Throughout, we highlight areas of potential cross-fertilization and promising areas for future work

MADNESS: A Multiresolution, Adaptive Numerical Environment for Scientific Simulation

MADNESS (multiresolution adaptive numerical environment for scientific simulation) is a high-level software environment for solving integral and differential equations in many dimensions that uses adaptive and fast harmonic analysis methods with guaranteed precision based on multiresolution analysis and separated representations. Underpinning the numerical capabilities is a powerful petascale parallel programming environment that aims to increase both programmer productivity and code scalability. This paper describes the features and capabilities of MADNESS and briefly discusses some current applications in chemistry and several areas of physics