Feasibility study for a secondary Na/S battery

The feasibility of a moderate temperature Na battery was studied. This battery is to operate at a temperature in the range of 100-150 C. Two kinds of cathode were investigated: (1) a soluble S cathode consisting of a solution of Na2Sn in an organic solvent and (2) an insoluble S cathode consisting of a transition metal dichalcogenide in contact with a Na(+)ion conducting electrolyte. Four amide solvents, dimethyl acetamide, diethyl acetamide, N-methyl acetamide and acetamide, were investigated as possible solvents for the soluble S cathode. Results of stability and electrochemical studies using these solvents are presented. The dialkyl substituted amides were found to be superior. Although the alcohol 1,3-cyclohexanediol was found to be stable in the presence of Na2Sn at 130 C, its Na2Sn solutions did not appear to have suitable electrochemical properties

Study of the general mechanism of stress corrosion of aluminum alloys and development of techniques for its detection Quarterly report, 1 Dec. 1967 - 29 Feb. 1968

Stress corrosion of aluminum alloys and techniques for its detectio

Study of the general mechanism of stress corrosion of aluminum alloys and development of techniques for its detection Annual summary report, 2 Jun. 1967 - 1 Jun. 1968

Stress corrosion cracking of high strength aluminum alloys investigated by electrochemical, mechanical, and electron microscopic technique

The effect of enclosure type on the behavior and heart rate of captive coyotes

The potential for captivity to elicit changes in animal behavior and physiology is well known. Recent research on captive populations has examined the effect of feeding protocols, enclosure types, and enrichment programs on indices of stress and displays of species-typical behaviors. We investigated the impact of enclosure type upon captive coyotes (Canis latrans) by examining differences in coyote behavior and heart rate, among 3.3m2 kennels (K), 65.5m2 small pens (S), and 1000m2 large pens (L). Time budgets and repertoire of species-specific behaviors were compared among each enclosure type and to a sample of wild (W) coyotes. Baseline heart rates and heart rate (HR) responses to food delivery and fecal collection (measured as mean heart rate and latency of heart rate to return to baseline) were also compared among treatments. We found that behavioral budgeting, but not repertoire, differed significantly among enclosure types. Relative to small and large pen enclosures, coyotes maintained in kennels exhibited the greatest amount of stereotypic behavior (P \u3c 0.0001). Coyotes kept in large pens were most similar to wild coyotes in the percentage of time they spent performing exploratory (K: 2.7%; S: 4.9%; L: 8.5%; W: 12.0%) and stand and scan (K: 8.0%; S: 16.4%; L: 22.0%; W: 22.3%) behaviors. Heart rate analysis showed that baseline heart rates and heart rate responses to food delivery did not differ significantly among enclosure types. Mean heart rate responses to fecal collection were significantly higher for kennel coyotes than for those maintained in large pens (P = 0.04). Similarly, latency to return to baseline was significantly higher in kennels than in small and large pens (P = 0.001). These results suggest that enclosure type does influence coyote behavior and heart rate responses to some human activities

The cost of monitoring in time-based prospective memory

Time-based prospective memory (TBPM) involves remembering to perform actions at specific times in the future. Several studies suggest that monetary consequences improve prospective remembering; however, the effect of monetary consequences on strategic time monitoring (i.e., clock-checking behaviour) in TBPM is still unknown. The present study investigated how the monetary costs on clock-checking affected TBPM accuracy and strategic time monitoring. Participants performed an ongoing lexical decision task while carrying out a TBPM task every two minutes. Motivational incentives were manipulated across three experimental conditions: a single-cost condition in which missed TBPM responses led to monetary deductions, a double-cost condition in which both missed responses and time monitoring led to monetary deductions, and a control condition with no monetary deductions. Overall, the findings indicated that monetary costs on clock-checking prompted more parsimonious strategic time monitoring behaviour, which negatively impacted TBPM accuracy. These results emphasize the importance of weighing the motivational aspects involved in strategic monitoring, shedding light on the complex relationship between clock-checking behaviour, its consequences, and TBPM performance.</p

Prospects for Improving Alfalfa Yield Using Genomic- and Phenomic-Based Breeding

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a perennial outcrossing legume that is cultivated as an important forage crop in many parts of the world. Yield is the most important trait for profitable alfalfa production, yet over the last 30 years yield improvement in California has stagnated. Current breeding methods focus on recurrent phenotypic selection; however, alternatives incorporating genomic- and phenomic-based information may enhance genetic gain and help to address the lack of yield improvement. Here we attempt to increase the yield potential of alfalfa using genomic selection (GS) in combination with high throughput phenotyping (HTP). A total of 193 families from two closely related elite populations were sown in the greenhouse and transplanted into mini sward plots at two locations near Davis, CA in May 2020. The trial was managed as a high-input system under full irrigation. Families were genotyped and phenotyped for biomass yield by mechanical harvest and a combination of drone and tower-based remote sensors across 12 harvests, 3 in the establishment year (2020), 7 in the first full year of production (2021) and 2 in 2022. Alfalfa yields ranged from 13-27 tonnes DM/hectare/year with a number of half-sib families outperforming popular cultivars in the first 2 years of production. Biomass volume predicted from the drone-based cameras had a moderate prediction accuracy with an overall R2 of 0.55. Some individual harvests reached accuracies as high as 0.85. Genotyping resulted in a dataset with 6,838 SNPs. Allele frequencies were used to generate a relationship matrix for GS. Narrow-sense heritability for dry matter yield was 0.31 and the predictive ability of the GS model was 0.15

Controlling Silver Nanoparticle Size and Morphology with Photostimulated Synthesis

Photo-induced synthesis and control over the size and shape of colloidal silver nanoparticles is investigated in contrast to photo-stimulated aggregation of small nanoparticles into large fractal-type structures. The feasibility of light-driven nanoengineering which enables manipulation of the sizes and shapes of the isolated nanoparticles is studied by varying the amount and type of the stabilizing agent and the type of optical irradiation.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 11 image