Melt droplet formation in energetic impacts

Impacts between rocky bodies at velocities exceeding about 15 km/sec are capable of melting or vaporizing both the impacting object and a portion of the target. Geological materials initially shocked to high pressure approach the liquid-vapor phase boundary from the liquid side as they decompress, breaking up into an expanding spray of liquid droplets. A simple theory is presented for estimating the sizes of these droplets as a function of impactor size and velocity. It is shown that these sizes are consistent with observations of microtektites and spherules found in the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary layer, the Acraman impact structure, Archean beds in South Africa and lunar regolith. The model may also apply to the formation of chondrules

Production of impact melt in craters on Venus, Earth, and the moon

Impact craters imaged by Magellan clearly show large amounts of flow-like ejecta whose morphology suggests that the flows comprise low-viscosity material. It was suggested that this material may be either turbidity flows or very fine-grained ejecta, flows of ejecta plus magma, or impact melts. The last of these hypotheses is considered. If these flows are composed of impact melts, there is much more melt relative to the crater volume than is observed on the moon. The ANEOS equation of state program was used for dunite to estimate the shock pressures required for melting, with initial conditions appropriate for Venus, Earth, and the moon. A simple model was then developed, based on the Z-model for excavation flow and on crater scaling relations that allow to estimate the ratio of melt ejecta to total ejecta as a function of crater size on the three bodies

Impact of the Agricultural Sector on the Arkansas Economy in 2001

Agriculture has historically been one of Arkansas’ primary economic sectors. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural production and processing activities unless otherwise specified. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production and value-added processing which generates economic activity in other parts of the economy

Evaluation of Host Immune Response in Diabetic Foot Infection Tissues Using an RNA Sequencing-Based Approach

The normal continuity of skin tissue can be affected by invading pathogens and lead to a series of complicated physiological events. Using an RNA sequencing-based approach, we have captured a metatranscriptomic landscape from diabetic foot infections (DFIs). The hierarchical clustering of the top 2,000 genes showed the expression of four main clusters in DFIs (A, B, C, and D). Clusters A and D were enriched in genes mainly involved in the recruitment of inflammatory cells and immune responses and clusters B and C were enriched in genes related to skin cell development and wound healing processes such as extracellular structure organization and blood vessel development. Differential expression analysis showed more than 500 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between samples with a low number of virulence factors and samples with a high number of virulence factors. Up-regulated and down-regulated genes were mainly involved in adaptive/native immune responses and transport of mature mRNAs, respectively. Our results demonstrated the importance of inflammatory cytokines of adaptive/native immunity in the progression of DFIs and provided a useful groundwork for capturing gene snapshots in DFIs. In addition, we have provided a general introduction to the challenges and opportunities of RNA sequencing technology in the evaluation of DFIs. Pathways identified in this study such as immune chemokines, Rho GTPases, and corresponding effectors might be important therapeutic targets in the management of DFIs

Evaluation of the first pharmacist administered immunisations in Western Australia: a mixed methods study

Objectives This study evaluated the uptake of Western Australian (WA) pharmacist vaccination services, the profiles of consumers being vaccinated and the facilitators and challenges experienced by pharmacy staff in the preparation, implementation and delivery of services. Design Mixed-methods methodology with both quantitative and qualitative data through surveys, pharmacy computer records and immuniser pharmacist interviews. Setting Community pharmacies in WA that provided pharmacist vaccination services between March and October 2015. Participants Immuniser pharmacists from 86 pharmacies completed baseline surveys and 78 completed exit surveys; computer records from 57 pharmacies; 25 immuniser pharmacists were interviewed. Main outcome measures Pharmacy and immuniser pharmacist profiles; pharmacist vaccination services provided and consumer profiles who accessed services. Results 15,621 influenza vaccinations were administered by immuniser pharmacists at 76 WA community pharmacies between March and October 2015. There were no major adverse events, and <1% of consumers experienced minor events which were appropriately managed. Between 12% and 17% of consumers were eligible to receive free influenza vaccinations under the National Immunisation Program but chose to have it at a pharmacy. A high percentage of vaccinations was delivered in rural and regional areas indicating that provision of pharmacist vaccination services facilitated access for rural and remote consumers. Immuniser pharmacists reported feeling confident in providing vaccination services and were of the opinion that services should be expanded to other vaccinations. Pharmacists also reported significant professional satisfaction in providing the service. All participating pharmacies intended to continue providing influenza vaccinations in 2016. Conclusions This initial evaluation of WA pharmacist vaccination services showed that vaccine delivery was safe. Convenience and accessibility were important aspects in usage of services. There is scope to expand pharmacist vaccination services to other vaccines and younger children; however, government funding to pharmacists needs to be considered

Impact of the Agricultural Sector on the Arkansas Economy

Agriculture historically has been one of the primary sectors of the Arkansas economy. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries production and processing activities unless otherwise specified. Not only does agriculture contribute to the economy through direct agricultural production and added value processing, it also plays an important role through the economy’s other sectors. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Affairs and the State of Arkansas, the economic impact of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the latest year available, 1999. Gross State Product (GSP) information for Arkansas was compared with that of other states in the southeastern U.S. to give a measure of the relative importance of agriculture in Arkansas compared with other states. The total impact of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on added value, employment, and wage income was estimated by employing the Impact Analysis for Planning System (IMPLAN). Economic impacts of agricultural production and processing were estimated for agriculture as a whole and also separately for the crop sector, the livestock sector, and the forestry sector

Composite Polarons in Ferromagnetic Narrow-band Metallic Manganese Oxides

A new mechanism is proposed to explain the colossal magnetoresistance and related phenomena. Moving electrons accompanied by Jahn-Teller phonon and spin-wave clouds may form composite polarons in ferromagnetic narrow-band manganites. The ground-state and finite-temperature properties of such composite polarons are studied in the present paper. By using a variational method, it is shown that the energy of the system at zero temperature decreases with the formation of composite polaron; the energy spectrum and effective mass of the composite polaron at finite temperature is found to be strongly renormalized by the temperature and the magnetic field. It is suggested that the composite polaron contribute significantly to the transport and the thermodynamic properties in ferromagnetic narrow-band metallic manganese oxides.Comment: Latex, no figur

Rearing goat kids away from their dams 2. Understanding farmers’ views on changing management practices

Improving animal welfare is an important aim of livestock industries and is dependent on human management. Understanding attitudes to change and perceived barriers is therefore a key consideration for welfare scientists. A survey that aimed to investigate farmers’ attitudes towards changing goat kid-rearing practices was distributed. Likert scales examined willingness to change and the importance of factors in decision-making alongside open-text responses for further explanation. A total of 242 farmers (United States of America (USA) 72; United Kingdom (UK) 71; Australia 33; Canada 23; New Zealand 20; European Union 14; Other 9) rearing goat kids away from their dams responded. All respondents rated from one (highly unwilling) to seven (highly willing), how willing they would be to supply three enrichment types. Willingness to provide enrichments differed (χ2(2) = 190.114, P < 0.001), with farmers most likely to provide climbing or loose items rather than swinging items. The most common reasons cited for unwillingness to provide enrichment were related to safety (101 responses/76.5%). Those currently abruptly weaning were asked how willing they would be to use gradual weaning methods. Those abruptly weaning from ad libitum milk systems (n = 47) showed no difference in willingness to change to different gradual weaning methods; the median (Interquartile Range (IQR)) for the willingness to change to removing teats was 2 (1–4), reducing milk temperature 3 (1–5) and diluting milk 2 (1–5), with most concerns relating to feasibility. Those abruptly weaning from bottle feeding (n = 18) also showed no difference in willingness to change to gradual weaning methods. Median (IQR) score for willingness to change to reduced number of bottle feeds was 4 (1–7), reducing milk quantity 3 (1–6.25), and diluting milk 1 (1–5), respectively. Health concerns were the most common reason for not being willing to change. All 242 respondents were asked to rate how important different factors are when deciding to implement a new management practice. There was a significant difference in importance between factors (χ2(2) = 34.779, P < 0.001). Median (IQR) importance of the factors was labour/time 5 (4–7), cost 5 (4–7), evidence beneficial to welfare 6 (5–7), evidence beneficial to health 6 (5–7), and evidence beneficial to growth 6 (4–7). To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine goat farmers’ attitudes towards changing management practices and could help ensure that future research addresses farmer concerns and therefore has the best opportunity to be implemented on-farm