Present day partisanship and the legacy of structural inequality has helped fuel the spread of COVID-19 in Native nations

The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on Native nations in the US with COVID-19 rates 350 percent higher among Native Americans compared to whites. In new research Raymond Foxworth, Laura E. Evans, Gabriel R. Sanchez, Cheryl Ellenwood, and Carmela M. Roybal contextualize the history of colonization and policy neglect by federal and state governments to explain the unequal impact of the pandemic. They find that this disparity is related to a lack of basic infrastructure like safe running water, a shortage of health information available in Native languages, and the high rate of non-tribal members visiting tribal lands during the pandemic. State-level partisanship also plays an important role; Republican dominated states were less likely to implement pandemic mitigation policies such as mask mandates, which in turn has put Native American lives in danger

Growth pattern of the middle ear in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica

We studied the mass growth trajectories of middle ear ossicles and tympanic membrane and oval window area in 19 specimens of postnatal ages 30???180 days of the gray short-tailed opossum Monodelphis domestica. We weighed the skull mass and the mass of the three middle ear ossicles with appropriate balances. Using a binocular microscope provided with a grid, we measured the length of malleus and incus, as well as the longest axis and the one perpendicular to it on both the tympanic membrane and the stapes footplate. The size variation was studied with least squares regression analyses between various measurements. The incus and stapes change little in mass after 40 days of postnatal life, while the malleus does, reaching maximum mass at around 100 PND (postnatal days). This modularity in growth trajectory is in contrast with the shared evolutionary origin of malleus and incus from branchial arch 1. The maturation of the middle ??? and as indicated by previous work, that of the inner ear ??? is coupled with the improvement of hearing sensitivity at low and high frequencies after the initial onset of hearing at 29 PND.Peer reviewe

Tattoo Antenna Temporary Transfers Operating On-Skin (TATTOOS)

This paper discusses the development of RFID logo antennas based on the logos of Loughborough University and the University of Kent which can be tattooed directly onto the skin’s surface. Hence, this paper uses aesthetic principles to create functional wearable technology. Simulations of possible designs for the tattoo tags have been carried out to optimize their performance. Prototypes of the tag designs were fabricated and read range measurements with the transfer tattoos on a volunteers arm were carried out to test the performance. Measured Read ranges of approximately 0.5 m have been achieved with the antenna 10 µm from the body

Supernova light-curve fitters and Dark Energy

We show that when a procedure is made to remove the tension between a supernova Ia (SN Ia) data set and observations from BAO and CMB, there might be the case where the same SN Ia set built with two different light-curve fitters behaves as two separate and distinct supernova sets, and the tension found by some authors between supernova sets actually could be due to tension or inconsistency between fitters. We also show that the information of the fitter used in an SN Ia data set could be relevant to determine whether phantom type models are favored or not when such a set is combined with the BAO/CMB joint parameter.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures and 2 tables. Improved version. Accepted in Phys. Lett.

Operating yields and pruning costs in Prosopis alba plantations

La poda forestal es una práctica necesaria para obtener una madera de calidad, libre de nudos y de mayor valor en el mercado. La misma requiere llevarse a cabo en varias etapas utilizando técnicas y herramientas adecuadas. La provincia de Santiago del Estero cuenta con casi 3.000 ha forestadas con algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba), en la cual la mayoría carece de manejo silvícola. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar rendimientos operativos y costos de poda en plantaciones forestales de diferentes edades. La muestra estuvo conformada por 3 productores con parcelas ubicadas en los departamentos Robles y Loreto de la provincia de Santiago del Estero. El trabajo de campo permitió registrar los tiempos operativos de prácticas de poda con diferentes herramientas, como así también estimar los costos. El estudio demuestra que la 1a poda de formación demanda 0,32 min.árbol-1, la 2a poda de conducción requiere 0,81 min.árbol-1y la 3a poda 1,21 min.árbol-1. Asimismo, los rendimientos de poda por hombre resultaron en: 1,25 ha. jornal-1 para la 1.a poda; 0,66 ha. jornal-1 para la 2a poda y 0,25 ha. jornal-1 para la 3a poda. Se concluye que la especie Algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba) requiere de una silvicultura de formación en tiempo y forma para garantizar una buena calidad de madera y reducir costos de ejecución.Forest pruning is a practice necessary to obtain wood of quality, free of knots and of greater value in the market. It should be carried out in several stages using appropriate techniques and tools. The province of Santiago del Estero has almost 3.000 hectares planted with algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba), most of which lack forestry management. The objective of this work is to evaluate the operating yields and pruning costs in forest plantations of different ages. The sample comprised 3 producers with plots located in the Robles and Loreto Departments of the province of Santiago del Estero. The field work allowed to record the operative times of the pruning practices with different tools, as well as to estimate the costs. The study shows that the first formation pruning requires 0.32 min. tree-1 , the second conduction pruning requires 0.81 min. tree-1 and the third pruning 1.21 min.tree- 1 . Likewise, pruning yields per man were: 1.25 ha. journal-1 for the first pruning; 0.66 ha. journal-1 for the second pruning, and 0.25 ha. journal-1 for the 3rd pruning.It is concluded that the species Algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba) requires timely forestry training to guarantee a good quality of wood and reduce execution costs.Fil: García, Jorge Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sarmiento, M.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Cardona, G.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Ugalde, R.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; Argentin

Operating yields and pruning costs in Prosopis alba plantations

La poda forestal es una práctica necesaria para obtener una madera de calidad, libre de nudos y de mayor valor en el mercado. La misma requiere llevarse a cabo en varias etapas utilizando técnicas y herramientas adecuadas. La provincia de Santiago del Estero cuenta con casi 3.000 ha forestadas con algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba), en la cual la mayoría carece de manejo silvícola. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar rendimientos operativos y costos de poda en plantaciones forestales de diferentes edades. La muestra estuvo conformada por 3 productores con parcelas ubicadas en los departamentos Robles y Loreto de la provincia de Santiago del Estero. El trabajo de campo permitió registrar los tiempos operativos de prácticas de poda con diferentes herramientas, como así también estimar los costos. El estudio demuestra que la 1a poda de formación demanda 0,32 min.árbol-1, la 2a poda de conducción requiere 0,81 min.árbol-1y la 3a poda 1,21 min.árbol-1. Asimismo, los rendimientos de poda por hombre resultaron en: 1,25 ha. jornal-1 para la 1.a poda; 0,66 ha. jornal-1 para la 2a poda y 0,25 ha. jornal-1 para la 3a poda. Se concluye que la especie Algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba) requiere de una silvicultura de formación en tiempo y forma para garantizar una buena calidad de madera y reducir costos de ejecución.Forest pruning is a practice necessary to obtain wood of quality, free of knots and of greater value in the market. It should be carried out in several stages using appropriate techniques and tools. The province of Santiago del Estero has almost 3.000 hectares planted with algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba), most of which lack forestry management. The objective of this work is to evaluate the operating yields and pruning costs in forest plantations of different ages. The sample comprised 3 producers with plots located in the Robles and Loreto Departments of the province of Santiago del Estero. The field work allowed to record the operative times of the pruning practices with different tools, as well as to estimate the costs. The study shows that the first formation pruning requires 0.32 min. tree-1 , the second conduction pruning requires 0.81 min. tree-1 and the third pruning 1.21 min.tree- 1 . Likewise, pruning yields per man were: 1.25 ha. journal-1 for the first pruning; 0.66 ha. journal-1 for the second pruning, and 0.25 ha. journal-1 for the 3rd pruning.It is concluded that the species Algarrobo blanco (Prosopis alba) requires timely forestry training to guarantee a good quality of wood and reduce execution costs.Fil: García, Jorge Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sarmiento, M.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Cardona, G.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Ugalde, R.. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; Argentin

Expansion of magnetic flux concentrations: a comparison of Hinode SOT d ata and models

Context: The expansion of network magnetic fields with height is a fundamental property of flux tube models. A rapid expansion is required to form a magnetic canopy. Aims: We characterize the observed expansion properties of magnetic network elements and compare them with the thin flux tube and sheet approximations, as well as with magnetoconvection simulations. Methods: We used data from the Hinode SOT NFI NaD1 channel and spectropolarimeter to study the appearance of magnetic flux concentrations seen in circular polarization as a function of position on the solar disk. We compared the observations with synthetic observables from models based on the thin flux tube approximation and magnetoconvection simulations with two different upper boundary conditions for the magnetic field (potential and vertical). Results: The observed circular polarization signal of magnetic flux concentrations changes from unipolar at disk center to bipolar near the limb, which implies an expanding magnetic field. The observed expansion agrees with expansion properties derived from the thin flux sheet and tube approximations. Magnetoconvection simulations with a potential field as the upper boundary condition for the magnetic field also produce bipolar features near the limb while a simulation with a vertical field boundary condition does not. Conclusions: The near-limb apparent bipolar magnetic features seen in high-resolution Hinode observations can be interpreted using a simple flux sheet or tube model. This lends further support to the idea that magnetic features with vastly varying sizes have similar relative expansion rates. The numerical simulations presented here are less useful in interpreting the expansion since the diagnostics we are interested in are strongly influenced by the choice of the upper boundary condition for the magnetic field in the purely photospheric simulations.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

Updated land use and land cover information improves biomass burning emission estimates

Biomass burning (BB) emissions negatively impact the biosphere and human lives. Orbital remote sensing and modelling are used to estimate BB emissions on regional to global scales, but these estimates are subject to errors related to the parameters, data, and methods available. For example, emission factors (mass emitted by species during BB per mass of dry matter burned) are based on land use and land cover (LULC) classifications that vary considerably across products. In this work, we evaluate how BB emissions vary in the PREP-CHEM-SRC emission estimator tool (version 1.8.3) when it is run with original LULC data from MDC12Q1 (collection 5.1) and newer LULC data from MapBiomas (collection 6.0). We compare the results using both datasets in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes during the 2002–2020 time series. A major reallocation of emissions occurs within Brazil when using the MapBiomas product, with emissions decreasing by 788 Gg (−1.91% year−1) in the Amazon and emissions increasing by 371 Gg (2.44% year−1) in the Cerrado. The differences identified are mostly associated with the better capture of the deforestation process in the Amazon and forest formations in Northern Cerrado with the MapBiomas product, as emissions in forest-related LULCs decreased by 5260 Gg in the Amazon biome and increased by 1676 Gg in the Cerrado biome. This is an important improvement to PREP-CHEM-SRC, which could be considered the tool to build South America’s official BB emission inventory and to provide a basis for setting emission reduction targets and assessing the effectiveness of mitigation strategies

Bar Evolution Over the Last Eight Billion Years: A Constant Fraction of Strong Bars in GEMS

One third of present-day spirals host optically visible strong bars that drive their dynamical evolution. However, the fundamental question of how bars evolve over cosmological times has yet to be addressed, and even the frequency of bars at intermediate redshifts remains controversial. We investigate the frequency of bars out to z~1.0 drawing on a sample of 1590 galaxies from the GEMS survey, which provides morphologies from HST ACS two-color images, and highly accurate redshifts from the COMBO-17 survey. We identify spiral galaxies using the Sersic index, concentration parameter, and rest-frame color. We characterize bars and disks by fitting ellipses to F606W and F850LP images, taking advantage of the two bands to minimize bandpass shifting. We exclude highly inclined (i>60 deg) galaxies to ensure reliable morphological classifications, and apply completeness cuts of M_v <= -19.3 and -20.6. More than 40% of the bars that we detect have semi major axes a<0.5" and would be easily missed in earlier surveys without the small PSF of ACS. The bars that we can reliably detect are fairly strong (with ellipticities e>=0.4) and have a in the range ~1.2-13 kpc. We find that the optical fraction of such strong bars remains at ~(30% +- 6%) from the present-day out to look-back times of 2-6 Gyr (z~0.2-0.7) and 6-8 Gyr (z~0.7-1.0); it certainly shows no sign of a drastic decline at z>0.7. Our findings of a large and similar bar fraction at these three epochs favor scenarios in which cold gravitationally unstable disks are already in place by z~1, and where on average bars have a long lifetime (well above 2 Gyr). The distributions of structural bar properties in the two slices are, however, not statistically identical and therefore allow for the possibility that the bar strengths and sizes may evolve over time.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, to appear in Nov 2004 issue. Minor revisions,updated reference