Quality and productivity drive innovation and improvement at United Technologies Aerospace Operations, Inc.

Quality and innovation are the hallmarks of the national space program. In programs that preceded the Shuttle Program the emphasis was on meeting the risks and technical challenges of space with safety, quality, reliability, and success. At United Technologies Aerospace Operations, Inc. (UTAO), the battle has developed along four primary fronts. These fronts include programs to motivate and reward people, development and construction of optimized processes and facilities, implementation of specifically tailored management systems, and the application of appropriate measurement and control systems. Each of these initiatives is described. However, to put this quality and productivity program in perspective, UTAO and its role in the Shuttle Program are described first

Primary scab control using a "during-infection" spray timing and the effect on fruit quality and yield in organic apple production

Organic apple production in Europe depends to a great extent on the use of copper fungicides for scab control (Venturia inaequalis). The objective of this 6-year study (2003-2008) conducted in Belgium was to determine measures for reducing the use of copper fungicides in organic apple production. The effectiveness of a 'during-infection' spray strategy using wettable sulphur (with or without copper), lime sulphur, potassium bicarbonate, silicon and five natural plant extracts (orange peel, soapbark, tea seed, quinoa seed and grapefruit seed) for controlling primary scab was investigated in a split-plot field experiment. Four apple cultivars that express a gradient of partial scab resistance were included: a high scab-susceptible cultivar (cv. 'Pinova'), a medium scab-susceptible cultivar (cv. 'Pirouette') and two old cultivars expressing low to very low scab susceptibility (cvs. 'Reinette Hernaut' and 'Reinette des Capucins'). Apart from these cultivars, four monogenic Vf scab-resistant cultivars (cvs. 'Initial', 'Topaz', 'Zvatava' and 'JN 20/33/58') were also included in the experimental orchard. In order to reduce the amount of fungicide required, two strategies were used: a specific spray timing involving spraying during the infection processes, before fungal penetration, determined by the RIMpro software warning system, and a tunnel sprayer machine for optimal treatment applications. Depending on the year, a total of 8-12 applications were made annually. Under field conditions that were highly conducive disease, low rates of elemental sulphur (≤ 40 kg.ha-1 per year) combined with low rates of copper (≤ 2.1 kg.ha-1 per year) provided the best scab control and reduced scab severity on the leaves and fruits by 85-100%, depending on the year and cultivar, compared with the untreated control. In most cases, the lime sulphur spray treatment, which used more elemental sulphur but did not use copper, provided a similar level of scab control to the combined wettable sulphur and copper spray treatment. Sulphur, potassium bicarbonate and all plant extracts significantly reduced scab severity on leaves and fruits. In general, the treatments increased the yield of the high and medium scab-susceptible cultivars as well as that of the low and very low scab-susceptible cultivars. Under these experimental conditions, none of the treatments caused phytotoxicity, increased fruit russet or led to undesirable soil and fruit residues at harvest. The potential and limitations of "during-infection" spraying as a protection strategy against apple scab in organic farming are discussed

Estimation of starvation and diet variation of the RNA/DNA ratios in field-caught Sardina pilchardus larvae off the north of Spain

The aim of this study was to analyse the general larval condition, to determine the lncidence of starvation and to investigate the effect of time of day on RNA/DNA ratios among field-caught Sardina pilchardus (L.) larvae. The larvae were collected during 4 research cruises off northern Spain, during March, April, May and June 1992. A highly sensitive fluorometric method for nucleic acid quantification was applied to larvae of S. pilchardus. The means of the RNA/DNA ratio were relat~vely high, so the larvae collected off northern Spain were generally in good condition. Low percentages of starving larvae (RNA/DNA ratio less than 1.3), ranging from 0 to 3.23%, were found over the 4 mo. The RNA/DNA ratios were significantly correlated with zooplankton biomass. Larvae collected at night revealed higher RNA/DNA ratios compared to larvae caught during the day. This seems to indicate that there is some endogenous rhythm in the production of RNA. It would then follow that, if there are die1 changes in RNA concentrations, average RNA Indices can be unrepresentative if there IS any day/night bias in sampling

Management of Gastro-Intestinal Parasite Pressure, Under Grazing in Organic Farms: Development of a Decision Support System Through the Mobilisation of a Participative Research Process

Under grazing, gastro-intestinal parasite management remains a major problem in ruminant production systems, more especially in systems respecting organic farming rules following their obligations (1) to perform grazing as soon as pedo-climatic conditions are adapted and (2) to use anti-parasitic products only in a curative way. Surprisingly, this problem has not been highlighted by the different stakeholders in the food chain from cattle meat production to consumption. This could arise from the lack of a clear and pertinent norm or infestation threshold that would allow differentiation between preventive and curative treatments. Such a norm would indicate to the breeder whether he was permitted to treat his herd or not. The question is how to involve the stakeholders in a participative research process in order to develop a decision support system (DSS) adapted to their needs, when there is, initially, no clear demand for such a system. We present the steps followed to develop such a DSS: (1) stakeholder sensitisation to the question, (2) data recording with farmers and developing the DSS principle, (3) data processing and DSS calibration and validation

Farmers’ management of functional biodiversity goes beyond pest management in organic European apple orchards

Supporting functional biodiversity (FB), which provides natural pest regulation, is an environmentally sound and promising approach to reduce pesticide use in perennial cultures such as apple, especially in organic farming. However, little is known about farmers’ practices and motivations to implement techniques that favor FB, especially whether or not they really expect anything from FB in terms of pest regulation. In fact, FB-supporting techniques (FB-techniques) are massively questioned by practitioners due to inadequate information about their effectiveness. An interview survey was performed in eight European countries(i) to describe farmers’ practices and identify promising FB-techniques: (ii) to better understand their perceptions of and values associated with FB; and (iii) to identify potential drivers of (non-)adoption. Fifty-five advisors and 125 orchard managers with various degrees of experience and convictions about FB were interviewed and a total of 24 different FB-techniques which can be assigned to three different categories (ecological infrastructures, farming practices and redesign techniques) were described. Some were well-established measures (e.g., hedges and bird houses), while others were more marginal and more recent (e.g., animal introduction and compost). On average, farmers combined more than four techniques that had been implemented over a period of 13 years, especially during their establishment or conversion period. In general, it was difficult for farmers to evaluate the effectiveness of individual FB-techniques on pest regulation. They considered FB-techniques as a whole, targeting multiple species, and valued multiple ecosystem services in addition to pest regulation. The techniques implemented and their associated values differed among farmers who adopted various approaches towards FB. Three different approaches were defined: passive, active and integrated. Their appraisal of FB is even more complex because it may change with time and experience. These findings provide empirical evidence that the practical implementation of promising techniques remains a challenge, considering the diversity of situations and evaluation criteria. Increased cooperation between researchers, farmers and advisors should more effectively target research, advisory support and communication to meet farmers’ needs and perceptions

Comparison of organic and conventional dairy farm economic and environmental performances throughout North West Europe

From an environmental point of view, organic farming (OF) systems have been identified as beneficial thanks to a system allowing fewer losses of nitrogen (N) per ha and lower green house gases (GHG) emissions per ha and per ton of milk (TM). From an economic point of view, milk coming from these OF systems is sold at a higher prize. However, incomes provided by both systems are similar (for similar amount of milk produced). This may be explained by higher input costs per unit of product for OF systems and by more incomes coming from sold crops for conventional farming (CF) systems. Therefore, on the one hand CF systems may improve their environmental performances by reducing the amount of inputs brought into the system, for example through a better forage and fertilisation management. On the other hand, the valorisation of milk through a differentiated production or market (price premium due to a label and/or on-farm transformation and/or sale) may bring them higher incomes. OF system may increase their incomes by selling one cash crop destined for human consumption and by finding the good balance between intensivity and extensivity in order to better valorise the inputs brought into the system

RZ Piscium Hosts a Compact and Highly Perturbed Debris Disk

RZ Piscium (RZ Psc) is well-known in the variable star field because of its numerous, irregular optical dips in the past five decades, but the nature of the system is heavily debated in the literature. We present multiyear infrared monitoring data from Spitzer and WISE to track the activities of the inner debris production, revealing stochastic infrared variability as short as weekly timescales that is consistent with destroying a 90-km-size asteroid every year. ALMA 1.3 mm data combined with spectral energy distribution modeling show that the disk is compact ($\sim$0.1--13 au radially) and lacks cold gas. The disk is found to be highly inclined and has a significant vertical scale height. These observations confirm that RZ Psc hosts a close to edge-on, highly perturbed debris disk possibly due to migration of recently formed giant planets which might be triggered by the low-mass companion RZ Psc B if the planets formed well beyond the snowlines.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Developing fencing policies in dryland ecosystems

The daily energy requirements of animals are determined by a combination of physical and physiological factors, but food availability may challenge the capacity to meet nutritional needs. Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are an interesting model for investigating this topic because they are folivore-frugivores that adjust their diet and activities to seasonal variation in fruit availability. Observations of one habituated group of western gorillas in Bai-Hokou, Central African Republic (December 2004-December 2005) were used to examine seasonal variation in diet quality and nutritional intake. We tested if during the high fruit season the food consumed by western gorillas was higher in quality (higher in energy, sugar, fat but lower in fibre and antifeedants) than during the low fruit season. Food consumed during the high fruit season was higher in digestible energy, but not any other macronutrients. Second, we investigated whether the gorillas increased their daily intake of carbohydrates, metabolizable energy (KCal/g OM), or other nutrients during the high fruit season. Intake of dry matter, fibers, fat, protein and the majority of minerals and phenols decreased with increased frugivory and there was some indication of seasonal variation in intake of energy (KCal/g OM), tannins, protein/fiber ratio, and iron. Intake of non-structural carbohydrates and sugars was not influenced by fruit availability. Gorillas are probably able to extract large quantities of energy via fermentation since they rely on proteinaceous leaves during the low fruit season. Macronutrients and micronutrients, but not digestible energy, may be limited for them during times of low fruit availability because they are hind-gut fermenters. We discuss the advantages of seasonal frugivores having large dietary breath and flexibility, significant characteristics to consider in the conservation strategies of endangered species

On the nature of the Be star HR 7409 (7 Vul)

HR 7409 (7 Vul) is a newly identified Be star possibly part of the Gould Belt and is the massive component of a 69-day spectroscopic binary. The binary parameters and properties of the Be star measured using high-dispersion spectra obtained at Ondrejov Observatory and at Rozhen Observatory imply the presence of a low mass companion (~ 0.5-0.8 M_sun). If the pair is relatively young (<50-80 Myr), then the companion is a K V star, but, following another, older evolutionary scenario, the companion is a horizontal-branch star or possibly a white dwarf star. In the latter scenario, a past episode of mass transfer from an evolved star onto a less massive dwarf star would be responsible for the peculiar nature of the present-day, fast-rotating Be star.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA