Reflexion M\"ossbauer analysis of the in situ oxidation products hydroxycarbonate green rust

The purpose of this study is to determine the nature of the oxidation products of FeII-III hydroxycarbonate FeII4FeIII2(OH)12CO3~3H2O (green rust GR(CO32-)) by using the miniaturised M\"ossbauer spectrometer MIMOS II. Two M\"ossbauer measurements methods are used: method (i) with green rust pastes coated with glycerol and spread into Plexiglas sample holders, and method (ii) with green rust pastes in the same sample holders but introduced into a gas-tight cell with a beryllium window under a continuous nitrogen flow. Method (ii) allows us to follow the continuous deprotonation of GR(CO32-) into the fully ferric deprotonated form FeIII6O4(OH)8CO3~3H2O by adding the correct amount of H2O2, without any further oxidation or degradation of the samples

An analysis method for time ordered data processing of Dark Matter experiments

The analysis of the time ordered data of Dark Matter experiments is becoming more and more challenging with the increase of sensitivity in the ongoing and forthcoming projects. Combined with the well-known level of background events, this leads to a rather high level of pile-up in the data. Ionization, scintillation as well as bolometric signals present common features in their acquisition timeline: low frequency baselines, random gaussian noise, parasitic noise and signal characterized by well-defined peaks. In particular, in the case of long-lasting signals such as bolometric ones, the pile-up of events may lead to an inaccurate reconstruction of the physical signal (misidentification as well as fake events). We present a general method to detect and extract signals in noisy data with a high pile-up rate and qe show that events from few keV to hundreds of keV can be reconstructed in time ordered data presenting a high pile-up rate. This method is based on an iterative detection and fitting procedure combined with prior wavelet-based denoising of the data and baseline subtraction. {We have tested this method on simulated data of the MACHe3 prototype experiment and shown that the iterative fitting procedure allows us to recover the lowest energy events, of the order of a few keV, in the presence of background signals from a few to hundreds of keV. Finally we applied this method to the recent MACHe3 data to successfully measure the spectrum of conversion electrons from Co57 source and also the spectrum of the background cosmic muons

Economics of mixed farming under rotational grazing with low input system

Non-Peer ReviewedThis study was conducted at the Manitoba Zero Tillage Research Farm (MZTRA) located 17.6 kilometres north of Brandon, Manitoba. The objective was to evaluate new farming systems designed to improve economic return, sequester carbon, and reduce inputs, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions of mixed production systems. Yield and net revenue varied across MZTRA landscapes due to spatial and temporal variability of soil fertility and biophysical properties. Relative to studies with conservation tillage in the Canadian Prairies, producers can expect to achieve higher crop yields with most crops under zero tillage. Compared to crop yields reported for conventional tillage (CT) in Thin Black soil zone of Saskatchewan, spring wheat was 11 to 32% higher, winter wheat 41 to 66% higher, pea 27% higher, and flax was comparable. There were no significant differences in total input cost among annual crop rotation. Our results indicated that small-scale mixed crop and livestock operations had higher operating costs, the success of which depended on animal and environmental conditions as well as management. Hay and grazing systems also had higher risk. Among annual crops, although net revenue was higher for canola and peas, risk was also higher due to higher net revenue variation for these two crops. The findings showed that the use of zero tillage with low inputs has the potential to save energy use and improve energy use efficiency. The use of zero tillage provided significant energy savings (compared to CT reported by Zentner et al. (2004)) in on-farm use of fuel and in machine operation and manufacture. The ratio of grain, oilseed and pea yield to emission of CO2 (kg yield per kg CO2 emitted) varied considerably between crops. This ratio was similar for winter wheat and spring wheat, but not for canola and flax. Canola ratios were higher than flax (2.03 compare to 1.92 kg of flax). Peas had a higher ratio (8.47 kg), due to low fertilizer rates. Alfalfa had the highest ratio (17.8 kg yield kg CO2, due to low inputs of fertilizer and pesticides. Overall the crops and rotations studied were highly energy efficient and reduced the calculated contribution of GHGs to the environment especially when legume and N-fixing crops were incorporated

Modelling soil dynamics and the effect of nitrogen levels on potato yield function

Non-Peer ReviewedCrop yield is maximized when optimal levels of nutrients, water, and other inputs are available to the crop and the influence of disease and weeds has been minimized. While each crop has differing responses to nutrient availability, modelling soil dynamics and the effect of nitrogen levels on potato yield is very important. The objective of this study was to model several environmental components of potato yield function including soil characteristics and organic matter content, soil nitrogen, temperature component, moisture component, solum and nitrogen mineralization, nitrogen fertilizer, and nitrogen sufficiency. The interaction of these components with moisture availability and nitrogen sufficiency was shown to impact potato yield

Remembering and knowing: using another's subjective report to make inferences about memory strength and subjective experience

The Remember-Know paradigm is commonly used to examine experiential states during recognition. In this paradigm, whether a Know response is defined as a high-confidence state of certainty or a low-confidence state based on familiarity varies across researchers, and differences in definitions and instructions have been shown to influence participants' responding. Using a novel approach, in three internet-based questionnaires participants were placed in the role of 'memory expert' and classified others' justifications of recognition decisions. Results demonstrated that participants reliably differentiated between others' memory experiences--both in terms of confidence and other inherent differences in the justifications. Furthermore, under certain conditions, manipulations of confidence were found to shift how items were assigned to subjective experience categories (Remember, Know, Familiar, and Guess). Findings are discussed in relation to the relationship between subjective experience and confidence, and the separation of Know and Familiar response categories within the Remember-Know paradigm

Cooling Tests of the NectarCAM camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The NectarCAM is a camera proposed for the medium-sized telescopes in the framework of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next-generation observatory for very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. The cameras are designed to operate in an open environment and their mechanics must provide protection for all their components under the conditions defined for the CTA observatory. In order to operate in a stable environment and ensure the best physics performance, each NectarCAM will be enclosed in a slightly overpressurized, nearly air-tight, camera body, to prevent dust and water from entering. The total power dissipation will be ~7.7 kW for a 1855-pixel camera. The largest fraction is dissipated by the readout electronics in the modules. We present the design and implementation of the cooling system together with the test bench results obtained on the NectarCAM thermal demonstrator.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at arXiv:1508.0589

Interpretation of 2-probe turbulence measurements in an axisymmetric contraction

Simultaneous measurements of the streamwise and radial velocity components at two points, one on and one off the centerline with variable radial separation, were digitally recorded and processed at several stations along a four to one contraction with controlled upstream turbulence conditions. Various statistical quantities are presented including spectra and coherence functions. The integral L sub ux, L sub um, L sub vx, L sub vm were also estimated and their variation along the contraction is examined