Efficacy of a two-ingredient fumigant on Richardson's ground squirrel

In July 1981, efficacy data were obtained on a new two-ingredient gas cartridge by field testing against Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) in a sagebrush-rangeland pasture. The gas cartridge contained 97 g of a sodium nitrate (65%) and charcoal (35%) mixture and upon ignition generated mainly carbon monoxide with a small quantity of carbon dioxide. We live-trapped 53 (24 male and 29 female) ground squirrels, equipped each with a 164 MHz radio transmitter, and then released each at the point of capture. Later we located each ground squirrel and treated its main burrow and all burrows within 3 m by inserting ignited gas cartridges. After treatment the location of each radio-equipped ground squirrel was plotted. Ground squirrels showing no movement were presumed dead; death was confirmed by burrow excavation. Success rate was 84% as 41 of 50 (18 males and 23 females) died (82%) and 8 survived (16%). The radio transmitter on 1 (2%) failed immediately after treatment. Efficacy was estimated at 83.7%, which exceeds the 70% minimum standard established by the EPA. Thirty-eight ground squirrels died in burrows at depths ranging from 7.6 to 132.1 cm (mean = 74.7 ± SE 5.2 cm), and 3 died in nests at depths ranging from 94.0 to 182.9 cm (mean = 133.0 ±SE 26.2 cm). Seven of the eight survivors were retrapped. Factors contributing to survival are discussed, including soil porosity and moisture content, as well as squirrel body weight. Recommendations for further testing are presented

Entropic Inflation

One of the major pillars of modern cosmology theory is a period of accelerating expansion in the early universe. This accelerating expansion, or inflation, must be sustained for at least 30 e--foldings. One mechanism used to drive the acceleration is the addition of a new energy field, called the Inflaton; often this is a scalar field. We propose an alternative mechanism which, like our approach to explain the late-time accelerating universe, uses the entropy and temperature intrinsic to information holographically stored on a surface enclosing the observed space. The acceleration is due in both cases to an emergent entropic force, naturally arising from the information storage on the horizon.Comment: 12 pages; version to appear in IJMP

Timing Control System

A timing control system is disclosed which is particularly useful in connection with simulated mortar shells. Special circuitry is provided to assure that the shell does not over shoot, but rather detonates early in case of an improper condition; this ensures that ground personnel will not be harmed by a delayed detonation. The system responds to an externally applied frequency control code which is configured to avoid any confusion between different control modes. A premature detonation routine is entered in case an improper time-setting signal is entered, or if the shell is launched before completion of the time-setting sequence. Special provisions are also made for very early launch situations and improper detonator connections. An alternate abort mode is provided to discharge the internal power supply without a detonation in a manner that can be externally monitored, thereby providing a mechanism for non-destructive testing. The abort mode also accelerates the timing function for rapid testing

Revising the multipole moments of numerical spacetimes, and its consequences

Identifying the relativistic multipole moments of a spacetime of an astrophysical object that has been constructed numerically is of major interest, both because the multipole moments are intimately related to the internal structure of the object, and because the construction of a suitable analytic metric that mimics a numerical metric should be based on the multipole moments of the latter one, in order to yield a reliable representation. In this note we show that there has been a widespread delusion in the way the multipole moments of a numerical metric are read from the asymptotic expansion of the metric functions. We show how one should read correctly the first few multipole moments (starting from the quadrupole mass-moment), and how these corrected moments improve the efficiency of describing the metric functions with analytic metrics that have already been used in the literature, as well as other consequences of using the correct moments.Comment: article + supplemental materia

Enhancement of the Spin Accumulation at the Interface Between a Spin-Polarized Tunnel Junction and a Semiconductor

We report on spin injection experiments at a Co/Al$_2$O$_3$/GaAs interface with electrical detection. The application of a transverse magnetic field induces a large voltage drop $\Delta V$ at the interface as high as 1.2mV for a current density of 0.34 nA.$\mu m^{-2}$. This represents a dramatic increase of the spin accumulation signal, well above the theoretical predictions for spin injection through a ferromagnet/semiconductor interface. Such an enhancement is consistent with a sequential tunneling process via localized states located in the vicinity of the Al$_2$O$_3$/GaAs interface. For spin-polarized carriers these states act as an accumulation layer where the spin lifetime is large. A model taking into account the spin lifetime and the escape tunneling time for carriers travelling back into the ferromagnetic contact reproduces accurately the experimental results