pp-adic Zeros of Systems of Quadratic Forms

This survey describes work on the number of variables required to ensure that a system of r quadratic forms over the p-adics has a non-trivial common zero

Technology At Work For Television Meteorologists

During the next few minutes, I will take you on a visual tour of the WTVT Television Weather Service at Tampa, Florida. This may seem out of place at this meeting, but our service utilizes a vast array of weather equipment and communications not found in most TV stations. I plan to show you how such unique technology assists the meteorologist in his presentations and aids the viewer in better understanding the atmosphere. The WTVT Weather Service was organized in 1956 with one meteorologist and a couple of teletype circuits. Today, it employs five full-time meteorologists plus an electronic technician. Its office is open from 4:00 a.m. to midnight seven days a week and (3) is responsible for about 55 minutes of weather programming broadcast to Central Florida. (4) The programming includes three daily 10-minute programs which permit detailed analysis of national weather. (5) A great deal of automatic electronic sensing equipment serves as an input to the programs. (6) As an operational private weather service, a good deal of specialized forecasting is done outside of the television programs. (7) This forecasting is done under the name of the Gulf Coast Weather Service and serves various clients throughout the southern United States. Such activities to be successful require (8) a high degree of monitoring and a quick response time, and such attributes are also desirable in weathercasting (9). Therefore, the two services are natural counterparts and utilize the same facilities. Let\u27s look at some of those facilities located in the Weather Central Office and show how these have been customized to provide maximum benefits. These are the main racks conveniently displaying many of the recorders

Looking Back to See Forward: The Use of Historic Repair Records to Inform Preventive Conservation Planning

This thesis examines how historic records of repairs can inform service life estimations and preventive conservation planning for historic structures. After a discussion of service life and preventive conservation, this thesis extracted and analyzed historic mentions of repairs in the record books of the Concord School House in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which span from 1775 to 1987. Repairs to the building’s masonry, carpentry, windows, finishes, and roof assemblies were chosen for investigation. Data collected included the length of time between repairs and the recorded prices of repairs. The prices of repairs were converted into 2013 dollars and used as an indicator of the size of repairs and a means of comparison between repairs in different time periods. Ultimately, this thesis found that data from historic records of repairs was not specific enough to stand alone in estimating service lives of the building systems for use in preventive conservation planning. However, analysis of the historic records identified repair cycles which, when supplemented with conditions assessments, could be used to inform preventive conservation planning and the formation of building reinvestment plans. Investigation of historic repair records also revealed the importance of long-term, consistent care in preserving historic structures, and the need to conceptualize repair plans in terms of centuries rather than human lifespans

High resolution CCD spectra of stars in globular clusters. Part 2: Metals and CNO in M71

Palomar coude CCD spectra of resolution 0.3 and 0.6 has been used to redetermine abundances in five stars of the relatively metal rich globular cluster M71. The (Fe/H) value is restricted to the limits of -0.6 to -1.0. The largest source of uncertainty is a systematic difference in f-values between those derived via the Holweger-Muller (1974) solar model and the Bell et al. (1976) solar model. If we use absolute f-values measured by the Oxford group (Blackwell et al. 1982) we find Fe/H to lie in the range of -0.6 to -0.75, i.e., as given by using the Bell et al. solar model. The relative abundances of the light elements, i.e., Na through Ca and probably including Ti show an average excess relative to iron of 0.4 dex. The effect of this difference on metal indices derived from broad- and narrow- band photometry is discussed. For three stars we find O/H = -0.6 using absolute f-values. For CN an analysis of individual rotational lines of the 2-0 band of the red system yields lines in the (C/H,N/H) plane that are consistent with either an original C/Fe = N/Fe = 0 or a modest increase in N relative to C due to CN burning and mixing. A search for C-13N was not successful and an uncertain lower limit of C-12/C-13 near 10 was obtained

Accelerated curing of superphosphate fertilizer.

Simultaneous drying of curing superphospate is shown to be of definite value in increasing the available P2O5 content. Raw superphosphate heated to 80 degrees C., and analysed after 1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours of curing contained 16.92%, 19.67%, 20.66%, and 20.78% of available P2O5 respectively. For the same periods of time samples cured at room temperature contained 15.28%, 17.1%, 17.7%, and 18.82% of available P2O5. There was a larger amount of P2O5 available after 4 hours heating than after 48 hours at room temperature. This increase represented a 12:1 time-ratio in favor of the heated sample. The increase in available P2O5 was apparently accomplished by drying since little further reaction of acid and rock occurred, as indicated by an essentially constant citrate insoluble content of about 2%. For commercial purposes, it is indicated that drying should be discontinued, or the drying temperature decreased, when the product has a moisture content of approximately 3-4%. This procedure will prevent excessive evaporation of the liquid phase and allow the continued action of the acid on the remaining rock, with a resultant reduction in the insoluble fraction of the rock

Winterkill Potential of Alfalfa Under Different Snow Depths

The presence and amount of insulating winter snow cover are key factors in determining the potential of winter injury of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) In the Midwestern U.S. Four alfalfa varieties of varying fall dormancy ratings were planted in the summers of 1993 and 1994. Snow depths above the crop plots were kept constant at depths of 0, 10, and 20 cm during the subsequent winters with framed mesh covers. Winterkill percentages during the two seasons varied dramatically from 0-100% and were significantly higher for the 0 cm treatment than for 10 or 20 cm treatments. Nitro, a nondormant variety, resulted in almost complete winter-kill while Vernal, a very dormant variety exhibited little or no injury over the two-year test period. In general, first cut alfalfa yields were lower for treatments which had higher winter injury ratings

A compressed cloud in the Vela supernova remnant

To elucidate the nature of the interstellar medium in the vicinity of the Vela supernova remnants (SNR) an extensive study with the International Ultraviolet Explorer of interstellar absorption lines toward 35 stars in the vicinity of the Vela SNR was undertaken. Observations of interstellar absorption, in particular of CI, towards one of these stars, HD 72350 (type B4 III), is of particular interest

A Forage Area of Expertise Team: The Michigan Approach to Applied Research and Extension

Agricultural Experiment Stations and the Cooperative Extension Service have traditionally contributed to the economic, social, human, and environmental capital of the United States. Despite this, both institutions have experienced declining federal budget support and increasing competition for resources (Hamm 1997; Hood & Schutjer 1990; Knutson & Outlaw 1994; Paarlberg 1992). Michigan State University Extension, in partnership with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, implemented self-directed area of expertise (AOE) teams as its major educational development and delivery model. AOE teams grew out of experiences with previous temporary research/Extension teams and quick response professional groups operating within traditional line responsibilities for research and Extension units. An extension forage area of expertise team was organized in 1999 to deliver educational programmes in forage management and conduct applied forage research. Funds were made available directly to the forage team from central extension administration