Cheese whey as a soil conditioner

Whey is the liquid by-product of cheese and cottage cheese manufacture from milk. Each kg of cheese produced results in the production of about 9 kg of whey. In 1993, the U.S. cheese and cottage cheese industry produced approximately 23 x 10^6 m^3 (6 x 10^9 gal) of whey (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 1994). Most of this is used directly as livestock feed or concentrated or dehydrated and used in human food and animal feed manufacture. Depending on the locality and economic factors, 20 to 100% of the whey produced is applied for beneficial effects on soils, or is land applied as a disposal procedure

Cheese whey as an amendment to disturbed lands: Effects on soil hydraulic properties

Whey, the liquid byproduct of cheese production, can improve minesoils by increasing the aggregate stability of soils high in sodium or susceptible to erosion. Whey effects on soil hydraulic properties, however, are not known. In this experiment, we determined whey effects on infiltration rates (at water potentials of -30 mm or less) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivities of surface soil horizons after a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growing season. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replications of four liquid whey application treatments, totaling either 0, 202, 404, or 808 Mg/ha (control, low, medium, and high, respectively). In Fall 1992 near Kimberly, ID, a field of Portneuf silt loam (Durixerollic Calciorthid) was leveled, subsoiled, then roller-harrowed twice. After planting Malcolm wheat on September 15, we furrowed all plots and then constructed a berm around each. At 3-week intervals beginning on May 19, 1993, either zero, one, two, or four flood applications of 202 Mg/ha of whey were made to each plot, without subsequent tillage. After August wheat harvest, a tension infiltrometer was used to measure vadose zone, unsaturated flow characteristics in the bottom of undisturbed furrows, where most whey had infiltrated. Infiltration rates at potentials of -60 and -150 mm decreased linearly as whey applications increased from 202 to 808 Mg/ha. At a potential of -60 mm, hydraulic conductivity increased but then decreased with whey additions. In short, soil hydraulic properties were little affected by surface whey additions of 404 Mg/ha or less

Enhanced Learnability of Flight Techniques Through the Introduction of Targeted Observation Flights with Ab-Initio through Advanced Flight Training Candidates

Flight training paradigms exist to provide a framework for instructors to relay both technical and applied knowledge to students in the most efficient way possible. Traditional methods imply the use of pre/post flight briefings coincident with flight in either an actual or simulated environments. The demonstration of maneuvers may be accomplished by the instructor followed by the student or solely by the student. In this phase, aeronautical knowledge, procedural knowledge, and performance metrics are usually assessed. With regard to enhanced learnability, the study of effectiveness becomes critical to the application of new methods that could significantly lower the amount of flight time required to meet objectives or performance criteria for a given lesson. As industry continues to evolve with the use of automation, efficient pathways from initial to advanced flight training must be assessed in order to ensure students are receiving the most out of each activity. The direct observation of flights as an in-flight observer may improve performance and enhance the learnability of certain aspects of flight training, therefore reducing the number of flight hours necessary to achieve flight training landmarks. An experiential assessment of this technique will provide insight into the use of observation flights and how they may be correlated to improvement in student retention and performance

Predicting treatment outcome for incompetent defendants

This studv examined the ~rediction of outcome in a sample of defendants hospitalized i o r treatment of incompetency. Defendants' demog;aphic characteristics and scores on 18 scales of the Computer-Assisted Determination of Competency to Proceed instrument (CADCOMP) were used to predict competency restoration and length of stay (LOS). During the period of study, almost 90 percent of the defendants were restored to competency after a mean stay of over 280 days. Demographic characteristics were unrelated to outcome. Several CADCOMP scales, including two scales measuring psycholegal ability and one measuring psychopathology, were correlated with both outcome criteria. Discriminant analysis using the CADCOMP scales accurately classified 76.7 percent of the defendants into short and long stay groups. Although promising, the findings are nevertheless consistent with prior research in suggesting that examiners should exercise caution in providing feedback to the courts concerning competency restoration and the period of time needed for treatment

Tensile Fracture of Welded Polymer Interfaces: Miscibility, Entanglements and Crazing

Large-scale molecular simulations are performed to investigate tensile failure of polymer interfaces as a function of welding time $t$. Changes in the tensile stress, mode of failure and interfacial fracture energy $G_I$ are correlated to changes in the interfacial entanglements as determined from Primitive Path Analysis. Bulk polymers fail through craze formation, followed by craze breakdown through chain scission. At small $t$ welded interfaces are not strong enough to support craze formation and fail at small strains through chain pullout at the interface. Once chains have formed an average of about one entanglement across the interface, a stable craze is formed throughout the sample. The failure stress of the craze rises with welding time and the mode of craze breakdown changes from chain pullout to chain scission as the interface approaches bulk strength. The interfacial fracture energy $G_I$ is calculated by coupling the simulation results to a continuum fracture mechanics model. As in experiment, $G_I$ increases as $t^{1/2}$ before saturating at the average bulk fracture energy $G_b$. As in previous simulations of shear strength, saturation coincides with the recovery of the bulk entanglement density. Before saturation, $G_I$ is proportional to the areal density of interfacial entanglements. Immiscibiltiy limits interdiffusion and thus suppresses entanglements at the interface. Even small degrees of immisciblity reduce interfacial entanglements enough that failure occurs by chain pullout and $G_I \ll G_b$

Insightful D-branes

We study a simple model of a black hole in AdS and obtain a holographic description of the region inside the horizon. A key role is played by the dynamics of the scalar fields in the dual gauge theory. This leads to a proposal for a dual description of D-branes falling through the horizon of any AdS black hole. The proposal uses a field-dependent time reparameterization in the field theory. We relate this reparametrization to various gauge invariances of the theory. Finally, we speculate on information loss and the black hole singularity in this context.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures. v2: typos fixed, references and acknowledgements added, a few small changes in the tex

Spontaneous DNA damage to the nuclear genome promotes senescence,redox imbalance and aging

Accumulation of senescent cells over time contributes to aging and age-related diseases. However, what drives senescence in vivo is not clear. Here we used a genetic approach to determine if spontaneous nuclear DNA damage is sufficient to initiate senescence in mammals. Ercc1-/Δ mice with reduced expression of ERCC1-XPF endonuclease have impaired capacity to repair the nuclear genome. Ercc1-/Δ mice accumulated spontaneous, oxidative DNA damage more rapidly than wild-type (WT) mice. As a consequence, senescent cells accumulated more rapidly in Ercc1-/Δ mice compared to repair-competent animals. However, the levels of DNA damage and senescent cells in Ercc1-/Δ mice never exceeded that observed in old WT mice. Surprisingly, levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were increased in tissues of Ercc1-/Δ mice to an extent identical to naturally-aged WT mice. Increased enzymatic production of ROS and decreased antioxidants contributed to the elevation in oxidative stress in both Ercc1-/Δ and aged WT mice. Chronic treatment of Ercc1-/Δ mice with the mitochondrial-targeted radical scavenger XJB-5–131 attenuated oxidative DNA damage, senescence and age-related pathology. Our findings indicate that nuclear genotoxic stress arises, at least in part, due to mitochondrial-derived ROS, and this spontaneous DNA damage is sufficient to drive increased levels of ROS, cellular senescence, and the consequent age-related physiological decline

Spontaneous DNA damage to the nuclear genome promotes senescence, T redox imbalance and aging

Accumulation of senescent cells over time contributes to aging and age-related diseases. However, what drives senescence in vivo is not clear. Here we used a genetic approach to determine if spontaneous nuclear DNA damage is sufficient to initiate senescence in mammals. Ercc1-/Δ mice with reduced expression of ERCC1-XPF endonuclease have impaired capacity to repair the nuclear genome. Ercc1-/Δ mice accumulated spontaneous, oxidative DNA damage more rapidly than wild-type (WT) mice. As a consequence, senescent cells accumulated more rapidly in Ercc1-/Δ mice compared to repair-competent animals. However, the levels of DNA damage and senescent cells in Ercc1-/Δ mice never exceeded that observed in old WT mice. Surprisingly, levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were increased in tissues of Ercc1-/Δ mice to an extent identical to naturally-aged WT mice. Increased enzymatic production of ROS and decreased antioxidants contributed to the elevation in oxidative stress in both Ercc1-/Δ and aged WT mice. Chronic treatment of Ercc1-/Δ mice with the mitochondrial-targeted radical scavenger XJB-5–131 attenuated oxidative DNA damage, senescence and age-related pathology. Our findings indicate that nuclear genotoxic stress arises, at least in part, due to mitochondrial-derived ROS, and this spontaneous DNA damage is sufficient to drive increased levels of ROS, cellular senescence, and the consequent age-related physiological decline

Trapping \u3ci\u3ePhyllophaga \u3c/i\u3espp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) in the United States and Canada using sex attractants.

The sex pheromone of the scarab beetle, Phyllophaga anxia, is a blend of the methyl esters of two amino acids, L-valine and L-isoleucine. A field trapping study was conducted, deploying different blends of the two compounds at 59 locations in the United States and Canada. More than 57,000 males of 61 Phyllophaga species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) were captured and identified. Three major findings included: (1) widespread use of the two compounds [of the 147 Phyllophaga (sensu stricto) species found in the United States and Canada, males of nearly 40% were captured]; (2) in most species intraspecific male response to the pheromone blends was stable between years and over geography; and (3) an unusual pheromone polymorphism was described from P. anxia. Populations at some locations were captured with L-valine methyl ester alone, whereas populations at other locations were captured with L-isoleucine methyl ester alone. At additional locations, the L-valine methyl ester-responding populations and the L-isoleucine methyl ester-responding populations were both present, producing a bimodal capture curve. In southeastern Massachusetts and in Rhode Island, in the United States, P. anxia males were captured with blends of L-valine methyl ester and L-isoleucine methyl ester

The British Army, information management and the First World War revolution in military affairs

Information Management (IM) – the systematic ordering, processing and channelling of information within organisations – forms a critical component of modern military command and control systems. As a subject of scholarly enquiry, however, the history of military IM has been relatively poorly served. Employing new and under-utilised archival sources, this article takes the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of the First World War as its case study and assesses the extent to which its IM system contributed to the emergence of the modern battlefield in 1918. It argues that the demands of fighting a modern war resulted in a general, but not universal, improvement in the BEF’s IM techniques, which in turn laid the groundwork, albeit in embryonic form, for the IM systems of modern armies. KEY WORDS: British Army, Information Management, First World War, Revolution in Military Affairs, Adaptatio