Remote sensing of changes in morphology and physiology of trees under stress Annual progress report

Remote sensing of morphological and physiological changes in trees under stres

Remote sensing of changes in morphology and physiology of trees under stress

Measurements on foliage samples collected from several drought and salt treated plants revealed that leaf thickness decreased with increasing severity of the drought treatment and increased with increasing severity of treatment with NaCl, but remained essentially unaffected by treatment with CaCl2. Airborne data collected by multispectral scanner indicated that false color images provide selective enhancement of a diseased area. Comparison of simulated and actual aerial color and color IR photography revealed that the color renditions of the MSS simulations agreed closely with those of the actual photography

Remote sensing applications in forestry - Remote sensing of changes in morphology and physiology of trees under stress Annual progress report

Remote sensing of changes in morphology and physiology of trees under stres

Nutritional Consequences of Food Insecurity in a Rural New York State County

This study of women with children in a rural county of upstate New York examined the relationships of food insecurity and income with two nutritional consequences (adiposity and fruit and vegetables consumption), and assessed whether disordered eating patterns is a mediator for the effects of food insecurity and income on these nutritional consequences. Each of 193 respondents was interviewed twice in her home. Data were collected on household food stores, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, methods of obtaining food, food program participation, household expenditures, food intake, the Radimer/Cornell hunger and food insecurity items, height, weight, frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption, and disordered eating patterns. Regression analysis was used to analyze the relationships of body mass index and an obesity classification with height, income, education, single parenthood, employment, food insecurity, disordered eating, and frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. Regression analysis was also used to examine the relationships of disordered eating and frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption with the other variables. Lower income and unemployment were related to higher adiposity. The effects of income on adiposity were not mediated through disordered eating patterns or through fruit and vegetable consumption. Food insecurity was related to adiposity, and part of this effect of food insecurity was mediated through disordered eating. This mediating effect of disordered eating partially explained why those experiencing the least severe food insecurity were more likely to be overweight than those who were food secure, but those experiencing the most severe food insecurity were less likely to be overweight than those who were food secure. Food insecurity was related to lower fruit and vegetable consumption, but this did not translate into effects on adiposity.

Summary of CPAS Gen II Parachute Analysis

The Orion spacecraft is currently under development by NASA and Lockheed Martin. Like Apollo, Orion will use a series of parachutes to slow its descent and splashdown safely. The Orion parachute system, known as the CEV Parachute Assembly System (CPAS), is being designed by NASA, the Engineering and Science Contract Group (ESCG), and Airborne Systems. The first generation (Gen I) of CPAS testing consisted of thirteen tests and was executed in the 2007-2008 timeframe. The Gen I tests provided an initial understanding of the CPAS parachutes. Knowledge gained from Gen I testing was used to plan the second generation of testing (Gen II). Gen II consisted of six tests: three singleparachute tests, designated as Main Development Tests, and three Cluster Development Tests. Gen II required a more thorough investigation into parachute performance than Gen I. Higher fidelity instrumentation, enhanced analysis methods and tools, and advanced test techniques were developed. The results of the Gen II test series are being incorporated into the CPAS design. Further testing and refinement of the design and model of parachute performance will occur during the upcoming third generation of testing (Gen III). This paper will provide an overview of the developments in CPAS analysis following the end of Gen I, including descriptions of new tools and techniques as well as overviews of the Gen II tests

A Leptin-regulated Circuit Controls Glucose Mobilization During Noxious Stimuli

Adipocytes secrete the hormone leptin to signal the sufficiency of energy stores. Reductions in circulating leptin concentrations reflect a negative energy balance, which augments sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation in response to metabolically demanding emergencies. This process ensures adequate glucose mobilization despite low energy stores. We report that leptin receptor–expressing neurons (LepRb neurons) in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), the largest population of LepRb neurons in the brain stem, mediate this process. Application of noxious stimuli, which often signal the need to mobilize glucose to support an appropriate response, activated PAG LepRb neurons, which project to and activate parabrachial nucleus (PBN) neurons that control SNS activation and glucose mobilization. Furthermore, activating PAG LepRb neurons increased SNS activity and blood glucose concentrations, while ablating LepRb in PAG neurons augmented glucose mobilization in response to noxious stimuli. Thus, decreased leptin action on PAG LepRb neurons augments the autonomic response to noxious stimuli, ensuring sufficient glucose mobilization during periods of acute demand in the face of diminished energy stores

Simulating New Drop Test Vehicles and Test Techniques for the Orion CEV Parachute Assembly System

The Crew Exploration Vehicle Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) project is engaged in a multi-year design and test campaign to qualify a parachute recovery system for human use on the Orion Spacecraft. Test and simulation techniques have evolved concurrently to keep up with the demands of a challenging and complex system. The primary simulations used for preflight predictions and post-test data reconstructions are Decelerator System Simulation (DSS), Decelerator System Simulation Application (DSSA), and Drop Test Vehicle Simulation (DTV-SIM). The goal of this paper is to provide a roadmap to future programs on the test technique challenges and obstacles involved in executing a large-scale, multi-year parachute test program. A focus on flight simulation modeling and correlation to test techniques executed to obtain parachute performance parameters are presented

Large constraint length high speed viterbi decoder based on a modular hierarchial decomposition of the deBruijn graph

A method of formulating and packaging decision-making elements into a long constraint length Viterbi decoder which involves formulating the decision-making processors as individual Viterbi butterfly processors that are interconnected in a deBruijn graph configuration. A fully distributed architecture, which achieves high decoding speeds, is made feasible by novel wiring and partitioning of the state diagram. This partitioning defines universal modules, which can be used to build any size decoder, such that a large number of wires is contained inside each module, and a small number of wires is needed to connect modules. The total system is modular and hierarchical, and it implements a large proportion of the required wiring internally within modules and may include some external wiring to fully complete the deBruijn graph. pg,14

EC62-219 Nebraska Swine Production Report

This 1962 Nebraska Swine Production Report was developed by the Animal Husbandry Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Authors from the departments of Animal Husbandry, Agricultural Economics Veterinary Science, Agricultural Engineering contributed to this publication. It covers the following areas: breeding, feeding, economics, disease control, mechanization, housing and equipment

Reducing vortex density in superconductors using the ratchet effect

A serious obstacle that impedes the application of low and high temperature superconductor (SC) devices is the presence of trapped flux. Flux lines or vortices are induced by fields as small as the Earth's magnetic field. Once present, vortices dissipate energy and generate internal noise, limiting the operation of numerous superconducting devices. Methods used to overcome this difficulty include the pinning of vortices by the incorporation of impurities and defects, the construction of flux dams, slots and holes and magnetic shields which block the penetration of new flux lines in the bulk of the SC or reduce the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the superconducting device. Naturally, the most desirable would be to remove the vortices from the bulk of the SC. There is no known phenomenon, however, that could form the basis for such a process. Here we show that the application of an ac current to a SC that is patterned with an asymmetric pinning potential can induce vortex motion whose direction is determined only by the asymmetry of the pattern. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is the so called ratchet effect, and its working principle applies to both low and high temperature SCs. As a first step here we demonstrate that with an appropriate choice of the pinning potential the ratchet effect can be used to remove vortices from low temperature SCs in the parameter range required for various applications.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Nature (in press