Review of literature relating to the modeling of soil temperatures based on meteorological factors

Abstracts of 72 papers, journal articles, and other publications are presented. The applicabilities of each is assessed for use in improving winterkill parameters for a winter wheat model

The LOFT (Large Observatory for X-ray Timing) background simulations

The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT) is an innovative medium-class mission selected for an assessment phase in the framework of the ESA M3 Cosmic Vision call. LOFT is intended to answer fundamental questions about the behaviour of matter in the very strong gravitational and magnetic fields around compact objects. With an effective area of ~10 m^2 LOFT will be able to measure very fast variability in the X-ray fluxes and spectra. A good knowledge of the in-orbit background environment is essential to assess the scientific performance of the mission and to optimize the instrument design. The two main contributions to the background are cosmic diffuse X-rays and high energy cosmic rays; also, albedo emission from the Earth is significant. These contributions to the background for both the Large Area Detector and the Wide Field Monitor are discussed, on the basis of extensive Geant-4 simulations of a simplified instrumental mass model.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 8443, Paper No. 8443-209, 201

Scattering of first and second sound waves by quantum vorticity in superfluid Helium

We study the scattering of first and second sound waves by quantum vorticity in superfluid Helium using two-fluid hydrodynamics. The vorticity of the superfluid component and the sound interact because of the nonlinear character of these equations. Explicit expressions for the scattered pressure and temperature are worked out in a first Born approximation, and care is exercised in delimiting the range of validity of the assumptions needed for this approximation to hold. An incident second sound wave will partly convert into first sound, and an incident first sound wave will partly convert into second sound. General considerations show that most incident first sound converts into second sound, but not the other way around. These considerations are validated using a vortex dipole as an explicitely worked out example.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, to appear in Journal of Low Temperature Physic

Treating tobacco addiction. Praxis and barriers amongst Icelandic general practitioners

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenObjective: To assess praxis and identify the most common barriers for engaging in tobacco prevention in general practice in the Nordic countries. Material and methods: All 167 practicing general practitioners in Iceland received a questionnaire at home assessing praxis and barriers for systematic involvement in tobacco prevention. Results: The over all response rate was 77%. Few general practitioners asked patients if they smoked if the patient had no smoking related symptoms. Few supported patients who wanted to stop smoking. However, a big majority agreed that tobacco prevention was a part of their job. The main reasons for not engaging in tobacco prevention was lack of time and the feeling that the time spent may not be worth the effort since few patients quit. A big majority stated that they would prefer to reefer smokers to smoking cessation specialist. Conclusions: Smoking cessation expertise needs to be more accessible to Icelandic patients and doctors.Tilgangur: Að kanna meðferðarvenjur heilsugæslulækna við meðhöndlun á tóbaksfíkn og greina helstu þröskulda (hindranir) sem standa í vegi fyrir því að heilsugæslulæknar á Íslandi sinni tóbaksvörnum. Efniviður og aðferðir: Spurningalisti var sendur heim til allra 167 starfandi heilsugæslulækna á Íslandi vorið 1999. Spurt var um tóbaksvarnastarf, hindranir fyrir að sinna tóbaksvörnum og eigin tóbaksneyslu heilsugæslulækna. Niðurstöður: Svarshlutfall var 77%. Af þeim sem svöruðu reyktu 7% daglega og 14% af og til. Fáir heilsugæslulæknar höfðu það sem reglu að spyrja sjúklinga sín hvort þeir reyktu ef þeir höfðu engin einkenni sem líklegt er að rekja megi til reykinga. Fáir buðu sjúklingum sínum upp á stuðning við að hætta að reykja. Flestir töldu tóbaksvarnir þó vera innan síns verksviðs. Aðalástæðan fyrir að sinna ekki tóbaksvörnum var tímaskortur og sú tilfinning að fáir hætti að reykja þrátt fyrir stuðning. Mikill meirihluti taldi æskilegt að geta vísað reykingamönnum til sérfræðinga í reykbindindi. Ályktanir: Auka þarf aðgengi sjúklinga og heilsugæslulækna að sérfræðingum í reykbindindi

Star-Like Micelles with Star-Like Interactions: A quantitative Evaluation of Structure Factor and Phase Diagram

PEP-PEO block copolymer micelles offer the possibility to investigate phase behaviour and interactions of star polymers (ultra-soft colloids). A star-like architecture is achieved by an extremely asymmetric block ratio (1:20). Micellar functionality f can be smoothly varied by changing solvent composition (interfacial tension). Structure factors obtained by SANS can be quantitatively described in terms of an effective potential developed for star polymers. The experimental phase diagram reproduces to a high level of accuracy the predicted liquid/solid transition. Whereas for intermediate f a bcc phase is observed, for high f the formation of a fcc phase is preempted by glass formation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, PRL in pres

Seeding Effectiveness for Eight Mojave Desert Perennials After a 2005 Wildfire

To assess BLM seeding effectiveness in a mid-elevation burn where pre-burn plant communities were dominated by blackbrush, Joshua trees, and creosote

Atmospheric extinction coefficients in the Ic\mathrm{I_c} band for several major international observatories: Results from the BiSON telescopes, 1984 to 2016

Over 30 years of solar data have been acquired by the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON), an international network of telescopes used to study oscillations of the Sun. Five of the six BiSON telescopes are located at major observatories. The observational sites are, in order of increasing longitude: Mount Wilson (Hale) Observatory (MWO), California, USA; Las Campanas Observatory (LCO), Chile; Observatorio del Teide, Iza\~{n}a, Tenerife, Canary Islands; the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), Sutherland, South Africa; Carnarvon, Western Australia; and the Paul Wild Observatory, Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia. The BiSON data may be used to measure atmospheric extinction coefficients in the $\mathrm{I_c}$ band (approximately 700-900 nm), and presented here are the derived atmospheric extinction coefficients from each site over the years 1984 to 2016.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables. Accepted by Astronomical Journal: 2017 July 2

Stellar granulation as seen in disk-integrated intensity. II. Theoretical scaling relations compared with observations

A large set of stars observed by CoRoT and Kepler shows clear evidence for the presence of a stellar background, which is interpreted to arise from surface convection, i.e., granulation. These observations show that the characteristic time-scale (tau_eff) and the root-mean-square (rms) brightness fluctuations (sigma) associated with the granulation scale as a function of the peak frequency (nu_max) of the solar-like oscillations. We aim at providing a theoretical background to the observed scaling relations based on a model developed in the companion paper. We computed for each 3D model the theoretical power density spectrum (PDS) associated with the granulation as seen in disk-integrated intensity on the basis of the theoretical model. For each PDS we derived tau_eff and sigma and compared these theoretical values with the theoretical scaling relations derived from the theoretical model and the Kepler measurements. We derive theoretical scaling relations for tau_eff and sigma, which show the same dependence on nu_max as the observed scaling relations. In addition, we show that these quantities also scale as a function of the turbulent Mach number (Ma) estimated at the photosphere. The theoretical scaling relations for tau_eff and sigma match the observations well on a global scale. Our modelling provides additional theoretical support for the observed variations of sigma and tau_eff with nu_m max. It also highlights the important role of Ma in controlling the properties of the stellar granulation. However, the observations made with Kepler on a wide variety of stars cannot confirm the dependence of our scaling relations on Ma. Measurements of the granulation background and detections of solar-like oscillations in a statistically sufficient number of cool dwarf stars will be required for confirming the dependence of the theoretical scaling relations with Ma.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures,accepted for publication in A&

Wind Blade Manufacturing for the Cal Poly Wind Power Club

The Cal Poly Wind Power Club is entering the 2021 Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) in June. Last year, three senior project teams were assigned to collaborate and assist the club with the pitching mechanism, the rotor balancing, and the manufacturing process. As the manufacturing team, the goal of our project was to design a manufacturing process for the bladegeometry given. The manufacturing process was required to meet the team’s expectations and CWC’s performance requirements to place highly in the competition taking place in June 2021.These expectations included creating a manufacturing process that is repeatable and reliable for future competitions. The manufactured blades had to be dimensionally accurate up to less than one percent error between each of the three blades. The blades also needed to be as light as possible to be efficient, thus the blades needed to be less than half a pound each. The manufactured blades also needed to be as smooth as 0.25 microns to ensure aerodynamic performance is not compromised. Our finalized process met the requirements for almost all these requirements. The dimensional accuracy of the blades is less than one percent error between the blades, however, some additional changes will be needed for future blades which be explained later in the report. The finalized blades far surpass the goals given by the WPC, only weighing 1/8 of a pound each compared to the half pound goal. Lastly the surface roughness of the blades did not meet the 0.25-micron requirement, however, we believe that the final design reaches a smoothness that will be acceptable for the competition. Solutions to make the blades smoother are also given in the report if the WPC believes the finalized blades do not meet their requirements

Early Post-Fire Recovery on a Heavily Visited Mojave Desert Burn: Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas, Nevada

Wildfire has become widespread in southwestern USA deserts. In a record 2005 fire season in the Mojave Desert, for example, more than 385,000 hectares burned (Brooks and Matchett 2006). This burned area is approximately 3% of the entire Mojave Desert. Fueled in large part by exotic annual grasses, these fires burned desert ecosystems thought to have only burned infrequently historically. Burns now occupy significant portions of desert landscapes, posing prominent management challenges. Improving our understanding of plant recovery on desert burns is important for evaluating future fire hazard, whether natural revegetation will meet management objectives, and for planning active revegetation if this becomes a management goal. Desert burns may afford an opportunity for intervention in the grass-fire cycle immediately following a burn if exotic grass competition is temporarily reduced while available nutrients liberated by the fire increase. However, post-fire recovery of plant communities is not a well understood process in desert ecosystems