The Penn State-Torun Centre for Astronomy Planet Search stars. I. Spectroscopic analysis of 348 red giants

We present basic atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg, vt and [Fe/H]) as well as luminosities, masses, radii and absolute radial velocities for 348 stars, presumably giants, from the ~1000 star sample observed within the Penn State-Torun Centre for Astronomy Planet Search with the High Resolution Spectrograph of the 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The stellar parameters are key ingredients in proper interpretation of newly discovered low-mass companions while a systematic study of the complete sample will create a basis for future statistical considerations concerning low-mass companions appearance around evolved low and intermediate-mass stars. The atmospheric parameters were derived using a strictly spectroscopic method based on the LTE analysis of equivalent widths of FeI and FeII lines. With existing photometric data and the Hipparcos parallaxes we estimated stellar masses and ages via evolutionary tracks fitting. The stellar radii were calculated from either estimated masses and the spectroscopic logg or from the spectroscopic Teff and estimated luminosities. The absolute radial velocities were obtained by cross-correlating spectra with a numerical template. We completed the spectroscopic analysis for 332 stars of which 327 were found to be giants. For the remaining 16 stars with incomplete data a simplified analysis was applied. The results show that our sample is composed of stars with Teff = 4055-6239 K, logg = 1.39-4.78 (5 dwarfs were identified), logL/Lo = -1.0-3, M = 0.6-3.4 Mo, R = 0.6-52 Ro. The stars in our sample are generally less metal abundant than the Sun with median [Fe/H] = -0.15. The estimated uncertainties in the atmospheric parameters were found to be comparable to those reached in other studies. However, due to lack of precise parallaxes the stellar luminosities and, in turn, the masses are far less precise, within 0.2 Mo in best cases, and 0.3 Mo on average.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures, 10 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Effect of added zinc in diets with ractopamine hydrochloride on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and ileal mucosal inflammation mRNA expression of finishing pigs

Citation: Paulk, C. B., Burnett, D. D., Tokach, M. D., Nelssen, J. L., Dritz, S. S., Derouchey, J. M., . . . Gonzalez, J. M. (2015). Effect of added zinc in diets with ractopamine hydrochloride on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and ileal mucosal inflammation mRNA expression of finishing pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 93(1), 185-196. doi:10.2527/jas2014-8286Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing the dietary Zn content on growth performance, carcass characteristics, plasma Zn, and ileal mucosal inflammation mRNA expression of finishing pigs fed diets containing ractopamine HCl (RAC; Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN). In Exp. 1, 312 pigs (327 × 1050; PIC, Hendersonville, TN; 94 kg BW) were used in a 27-d study. There were 2 pigs per pen and 26 pens per treatment. Treatments included a corn–soybean meal diet (control; 0.66% standardized ileal digestible [SID] Lys); a diet (0.92% SID Lys) with 10 mg/kg RAC; and the RAC diet plus 50, 100, or 150 mg Zn/kg from ZnO or 50 mg Zn/kg from a Zn AA complex (ZnAA; Availa-Zn; Zinpro, Eden Prairie, MN). All diets also contained 83 mg Zn/kg from ZnSO4 in the trace mineral premix. Pigs fed the RAC diet without added Zn had increased (P < 0.05) ADG, G:F, HCW, carcass yield, and loin weight compared with pigs fed the control diet. Increasing Zn from ZnO in diets containing RAC tended to increase (linear, P = 0.067) G:F and loin weight (quadratic, P = 0.064). Pigs fed diets with 50 mg Zn/kg from ZnAA tended to have increased (P = 0.057) ADG compared with pigs fed the RAC diet. In Exp. 2, 320 pigs (327 × 1050; PIC; 98 kg BW) were used in a 35-d study. There were 2 pigs per pen and 20 pens per treatment. Treatments included a control diet (0.66% SID Lys); a diet (0.92% SID Lys) with 10 mg/ kg RAC; or the RAC diet plus 75, 150, and 225 mg Zn/ kg from ZnO or ZnAA. All diets also contained 55 mg Zn/kg from ZnSO4 from the trace mineral premix. Pigs fed the RAC diet had increased (P < 0.05) ADG, G:F, HCW, loin depth, percentage lean, and liver weight compared with pigs fed the control diet. No Zn level or source effects or level × source interactions were observed for growth performance. A Zn level × source interaction (quadratic, P = 0.007) was observed in liver Zn concentrations. This resulted from liver Zn concentrations plateauing at 150 mg Zn/kg when ZnO was supplemented, while there was a linear increase when using ZnAA. Increasing Zn in diets containing RAC increased (linear, P < 0.05) plasma Zn on d 18 and 32. The expression of IL-1? was increased (P = 0.014) in mucosa of pigs fed the RAC diet compared with those fed the control diet. Expression of IL-1? decreased (linear, P = 0.026) in the mucosa of pigs fed increasing added Zn. In conclusion, adding Zn to diets containing RAC resulted in a trend for improved growth performance of pigs in 1 of 2 experiments. Also, additional Zn increased plasma Zn and reduced IL-1?. © 2015 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved

Initial infection processes by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides on avocado fruit

Infection of avocado fruit by Colletotrichum gloeospioroides was studied using light and transmission electron microscopy. In unripe fruit C gloeosporoides produced an appressorium and an infection peg which ceased growth in the cuticle. In field-inoculated avocado fruit sampled up to 4 d after inoculation, most infection pegs had penetrated the fruit cuticle to a depth of less than 1.5 mum. In fruit inoculated after harvest, however, the majority of infection pegs had grown down to the subcuticular region of the fruit peel within 48 h of inoculation. There was no further development of these infection pegs until the climacteric rise in respiration when fruit produced amounts of CO2 in excess of 50 ml CO2 kg-1 h-1. When the fungus resumed growth, infection pegs enlarged either within the walls or within the lumen of epidermal cells. Subsequent intracellular and intercellular development of the fungus resulted in the rapid degradation of cell wall and membrane structural integrity, although cells were not killed in advance of invasion during these early stages of colonization

Computer aided detection of transient inflation events at Alaskan volcanoes using GPS measurements from 2005–2015

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Analysis of transient deformation events in time series data observed via networks of continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) ground stations provide insight into the magmatic and tectonic processes that drive volcanic activity. Typical analyses of spatial positions originating from each station require careful tuning of algorithmic parameters and selection of time and spatial regions of interest to observe possible transient events. This iterative, manual process is tedious when attempting to make new discoveries and does not easily scale with the number of stations. Addressing this challenge, we introduce a novel approach based on a computer-aided discovery system that facilitates the discovery of such potential transient events. The advantages of this approach are demonstrated by actual detections of transient deformation events at volcanoes selected from the Alaska Volcano Observatory database using data recorded by GPS stations from the Plate Boundary Observatory network. Our technique successfully reproduces the analysis of a transient signal detected in the first half of 2008 at Akutan volcano and is also directly applicable to 3 additional volcanoes in Alaska, with the new detection of 2 previously unnoticed inflation events: in early 2011 at Westdahl and in early 2013 at Shishaldin. This study also discusses the benefits of our computer-aided discovery approach for volcanology in general. Advantages include the rapid analysis on multi-scale resolutions of transient deformation events at a large number of sites of interest and the capability to enhance reusability and reproducibility in volcano studies

Reduction of Helicopter BVI Noise Using Active Flow Control; The Case Of Vortex Street Interactions

A novel technique regarding the reduction of helicopter blade-vortex interaction noise is proposed. The proposed technique is based on the idea of injecting air at the leading edge of the blade to alter the vortex characteristics (strength and core size). The numerical investigations are performed using the large-eddy simulation (LES) approach. The simulations were performed for a Reynolds number, Re = 1.3 x 106, based on the NACA0012 airfoil chord and free-stream velocity. The present study shows that by injecting air at the leading edge of the blade, the influence of blade-vortex interaction on the aerodynamic coefficients and aeroacoustic noise is significantly reduced. © 2012 by Marcel Ilie