Research program to develop a technology improvement program for closed die forging Final report

Upset forging tests on aluminum and titanium alloys and maraging steel using high temperature die

Hauraki Maori Matauranga for the conservation and harvest of Titi, Pterodroma macroptera gouldi

Hauraki Maori traditional knowledge (which the New Zealand Maori term matauranga) concerning the harvest ofTiti, Grey-faced Petrel, Pterodroma macroptera gouldi (Hutton, 1869), on the islands adjacent to the Coromandel Peninsula was recorded and analysed. The harvest of Titi linked Hauraki individuals to culture, ancestors, individual well-being and tribal identity. It also maintained mana (prestige), kaitiaki (environmental guardian) responsibilities and matauranga systems. Harvest tallies of Titi chicks (and number of birders) declined from 15000 chicks (and 100-150 birders) before 1950, to 1000-1200 chicks (10-20 birders) by the late 1980s, to < 100 chicks (5-10 birders) in 2007. Decline in harvest tallies was not due solely to fewer individuals harvesting because daily catch rates per birder also declined, in some circumstances by as much as 87%, over this time. Traditional resource management strategies for sustaining Titi populations included: selection of chicks in the intermediate stage of growth allowing those in a more advanced state to escape; harvesting chicks towards the end of the adult provisioning period to minimise disturbance; creating breeding space by splitting burrows; annual rotation of harvest around islands to enhance escapement in some years; assigning partial island refuges to enhance escapement; respecting the mana and mauti (life force) of the Titi by not leaving chick remains on the islands and causing abandonment; and designating a rahui (temporary harvest prohibition) on islands to rest colonies from harvest. Indigenous knowledge can provide valuable insights into population dynamics and strategies for managing a species, as well as to prioritise research to safeguard the population, traditional knowledge and cultural well-being of the harvesting community

Indication, from Pioneer 10/11, Galileo, and Ulysses Data, of an Apparent Anomalous, Weak, Long-Range Acceleration

Radio metric data from the Pioneer 10/11, Galileo, and Ulysses spacecraft indicate an apparent anomalous, constant, acceleration acting on the spacecraft with a magnitude $\sim 8.5\times 10^{-8}$ cm/s$^2$, directed towards the Sun. Two independent codes and physical strategies have been used to analyze the data. A number of potential causes have been ruled out. We discuss future kinematic tests and possible origins of the signal.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages and 1 figure. Minor changes for publicatio

A putative serine protease, SpSsp1, from Saprolegnia parasitica is recognised by sera of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Acknowledgements Our work was supported by the BBSRC (BB/C518457/1, BB/G012075/1, BB/J018333/1) (K.L.M., C.J.S., J.S.C., K.S.D., and P.v.W.), the University of Aberdeen (V.L.A., C.J.S., and P.v.W.), MSD Animal Health (J.S.C., K.S.D., and A.H.v.d.B), and The Royal Society (P.v.W.). This work was also supported by a Marie Curie Initial Training Networks with the SAPRO (sustainable approaches to reduce Oomycete (Saprolegnia) infections in aquacultures) grant PITN-GA-2009-238550 (A.H.v.d.B., L.L., C.J.S., P.v.W.). We would like to acknowledge Aberdeen Proteomics for carrying out LC–MS/MS and Laura Grenville-Briggs for valuable discussion and technical help. We are grateful to the Broad Institute (Carsten Russ, Rays Jiang, Brian Haas, and Chad Nusbaum), Brett Tyler (VBI), and P.v.W. for early release of draft supercontigs of the genome sequence of isolate CBS233.65, which helped us identify SpSsp1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Extension and estimation of correlations in Cold Dark Matter models

We discuss the large scale properties of standard cold dark matter cosmological models characterizing the main features of the power-spectrum, of the two-point correlation function and of the mass variance. Both the real-space statistics have a very well defined behavior on large enough scales, where their amplitudes become smaller than unity. The correlation function, in the range 0<\xi(r)<1, is characterized by a typical length-scale r_c, at which \xi(r_c)=0, which is fixed by the physics of the early universe: beyond this scale it becomes negative, going to zero with a tail proportional to -(r^{-4}). These anti-correlations represent thus an important observational challenge to verify models in real space. The same length scale r_c characterizes the behavior of the mass variance which decays, for r>r_c, as r^{-4}, the fastest decay for any mass distribution. The length-scale r_c defines the maximum extension of (positively correlated) structures in these models. These are the features expected for the dark matter field: galaxies, which represent a biased field, however may have differences with respect to these behaviors, which we analyze. We then discuss the detectability of these real space features by considering several estimators of the two-point correlation function. By making tests on numerical simulations we emphasize the important role of finite size effects which should always be controlled for careful measurements.Comment: 18 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Double Phase Transitions in Magnetized Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensation

It is investigated theoretically that magnetized Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) with the internal (spin) degrees of freedom exhibits a rich variety of phase transitions, depending on the sign of the interaction in the spin channel. In the antiferromagnetic interaction case there exist always double BEC transitions from single component BEC to multiple component BEC. In the ferromagnetic case BEC becomes always unstable at a lower temperature, leading to a phase separation. The detailed phase diagram for the temperature vs the polarization, the spatial spin structure, the distribution of non-condensates and the excitation spectrum are examined for the harmonically trapped systems.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Genome size variation in the pine fusiform rust pathogen Cronartium quercuum f.sp. fusiforme as determined by flow cytometry

The genome size of the pine fusiform rust pathogen Cronartium quercuum f.sp. fusiforme (Cqf) was determined by flow cytometric analysis of propidium iodide-stained, intact haploid pycniospores with haploid spores of two genetically well characterized fungal species, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici, as size standards. The Cqf haploid genome was estimated at ~90 Mb, similar to other Pucciniales species for which reference genome sequences are available. Twenty-three Cqf pycniospore samples were compared that comprised three samples obtained from naturally occurring pine galls and 20 samples obtained after artificial inoculation with parental isolates and their progeny. Significant variation in genome size (>10% of mean) was detected among unrelated as well as sibling Cqf samples. The unexpected plasticity in Cqf genome size observed among sibling samples is likely to be driven by meiosis between parental genomes that differ in size.This research was supported in part by Cooperative Agreement 09-CA-11330126-058 between the USDA-Forest Service Southern Research Station (Southern Institute of Forest Genetics) and the University of Florida

Scientific Rationale and Requirements for a Global Seismic Network on Mars

Following a brief overview of the mission concepts for a Mars Global Network Mission as of the time of the workshop, we present the principal scientific objectives to be achieved by a Mars seismic network. We review the lessons for extraterrestrial seismology gained from experience to date on the Moon and on Mars. An important unknown on Mars is the expected rate of seismicity, but theoretical expectations and extrapolation from lunar experience both support the view that seismicity rates, wave propagation characteristics, and signal-to-noise ratios are favorable to the collection of a scientifically rich dataset during the multiyear operation of a global seismic experiment. We discuss how particular types of seismic waves will provide the most useful information to address each of the scientific objectives, and this discussion provides the basis for a strategy for station siting. Finally, we define the necessary technical requirements for the seismic stations

Order Parameter at the Boundary of a Trapped Bose Gas

Through a suitable expansion of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation near the classical turning point, we obtain an explicit solution for the order parameter at the boundary of a trapped Bose gas interacting with repulsive forces. The kinetic energy of the system, in terms of the classical radius $R$ and of the harmonic oscillator length $a_{_{HO}}$, follows the law $E_{kin}/N \propto R^{-2} [\log (R/a_{_{HO}}) + \hbox{const.}]$, approaching, for large $R$, the results obtained by solving numerically the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. The occurrence of a Josephson-type current in the presence of a double trap potential is finally discussed.Comment: 11 pages, REVTEX, 4 figures (uuencoded-gzipped-tar file) also available at http://anubis.science.unitn.it/~dalfovo/papers/papers.htm