Quantum Geometry Phenomenology: Angle and Semiclassical States

The phenomenology for the deep spatial geometry of loop quantum gravity is discussed. In the context of a simple model of an atom of space, it is shown how purely combinatorial structures can affect observations. The angle operator is used to develop a model of angular corrections to local, continuum flat-space 3-geometries. The physical effects involve neither breaking of local Lorentz invariance nor Planck scale suppression, but rather reply on only the combinatorics of SU(2) recouping theory. Bhabha scattering is discussed as an example of how the effects might be observationally accessible.Comment: 5 pages, slightly extended version of the contribution to the Loops'11 conference proceeding

The use of cattle ear-tags as patagial markers for large birds-a field assessment on adult and nestling Australian White Ibis

To test the effectiveness of patagial marking with cattle ear-tags for Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca), 105 adults and 58 nestlings were fitted with tags on each wing. Resighting frequency of adults, survival of nestlings, breeding behavior and foraging movements were monitored. The resighting frequency of wing-tagged adults was compared with resightings of 160 adults marked with colored leg-bands. Survival rates of wing-tagged nestlings were compared with an equal sample of 58 nestlings fitted with colored leg-bands. Over six months, 96% of tagged adults were resighted and there was no indication of impaired flight, with foraging movements ranging up to 30 km. Wing-tagged adults were more likely (40%) than color-banded adults (28%) to be detected in a one-off survey three months after marking and 65% of tagged birds were observed nesting. Higher mortality was observed among smaller nestlings (\u3c1100 g) compared with larger nestlings marked with wing tags, but not among those marked with leg bands. Inspection of the wings of two adult and two juvenile birds recaptured 6-8 months after marking indicated only minor feather abrasion, although further study is needed to assess long-term impacts. Because patagially-fitted cattle ear-tags are more visible than colored leg bands, can be fitted quickly with minimal trauma, and seem to have few adverse effects, they appear to be an effective technique for individually marking large adult birds

Why We Have Field Stations: Reflections on the Cultivation of Biologists

For a resident of the state of Nebraska, the Cedar Point Biological Station (CPBS), located in scenic limestone bluffs below Kingsley Dam, an earth-filled artificial mountain that impounds a lake 35 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, is a bargain in American higher education. In three weeks a student can earn four credits of upper-division coursework, get original research experience, and, most importantly—especially in an educational milieu increasingly characterized by electronic content and electronic course management—get his or her hands on some live wild plants and animals in an appropriate ecological context. This encounter with nature is typically the first for our high-performer premed students on academic scholarships, who regularly attend CPBS after their junior year. The life-long impact of such experience includes lost naïveté with respect to living systems, appreciation of the relationship between environment and health, and, for some, a career choice leading to professional science

Nimbus-7 ERB Solar Analysis Tape (ESAT) user's guide

Seven years and five months of Nimbus-7 Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) solar data are available on a single ERB Solar Analysis Tape (ESAT). The period covered is November 16, 1978 through March 31, 1986. The Nimbus-7 satellite performs approximately 14 orbits per day and the ERB solar telescope observes the sun once per orbit as the satellite crosses the southern terminator. The solar data were carefully calibrated and screened. Orbital and daily mean values are given for the total solar irradiance plus other spectral intervals (10 solar channels in all). In addition, selected solar activity indicators are included on the ESAT. The ESAT User's Guide is an update of the previous ESAT User's Guide (NASA TM 86143) and includes more detailed information on the solar data calibration, screening procedures, updated solar data plots, and applications to solar variability. Details of the tape format, including source code to access ESAT, are included

In situ studies of algal biomass in relation to physicochemical characteristics of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma, USA

This is the first in a series of experiments designed to characterize the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge (SPNWR) ecosystem in northwestern Oklahoma and to catalogue its microbial inhabitants. The SPNWR is the remnant of an ancient ocean, encompassing ~65 km(2 )of variably hypersaline flat land, fed by tributaries of the Arkansas River. Relative algal biomass (i.e., chlorophyll concentrations attributed to Chlorophyll-a-containing oxygenic phototrophs) and physical and chemical parameters were monitored at three permanent stations for a one-year period (July 2000 to July 2001) using a nested block design. Salient features of the flats include annual air temperatures that ranged from -10 to 40°C, and similar to other arid/semi-arid environments, 15–20-degree daily swings were common. Shade is absent from the flats system; intense irradiance and high temperatures (air and sediment surface) resulted in low water availability across the SPNWR, with levels of only ca. 15 % at the sediment surface. Moreover, moderate daily winds were constant (ca. 8–12 km h(-1)), sometimes achieving maximum speeds of up to 137 km h(-1). Typical of freshwater systems, orthophosphate (PO(4)(3-)) concentrations were low, ranging from 0.04 to <1 μM; dissolved inorganic nitrogen levels were high, but spatially variable, ranging from ca. 250–600 μM (NO(3)(- )+ NO(2)(-)) and 4–166 μM (NH(4)(+)). Phototroph abundance was likely tied to nutrient availability, with high-nutrient sites exhibiting high Chl-a levels (ca. 1.46 mg m(-2)). Despite these harsh conditions, the phototrophic microbial community was unexpectedly diverse. Preliminary attempts to isolate and identify oxygenic phototrophs from SPNWR water and soil samples yielded 47 species from 20 taxa and 3 divisions. Our data indicate that highly variable, extreme environments might support phototrophic microbial communities characterized by higher species diversity than previously assumed

E-resource Renewal Awareness: Using Google Calendar to Bring Selectors on Board

This poster session provides an example of how Google Calendar can be utilized to facilitate the timely and productive assessment of subscription e-resources. At Columbia University Libraries, we have constructed a program that feeds acquisitions data from our library management system into our shared Google Calendar. For each fund code, a calendar is generated, listing each payment as an event and following that event by reminders that occur at predetermined intervals prior to the next renewal date. By streaming renewal information into a familiar and user-friendly system, we are aiming to promote widespread librarian involvement in the process of timely e-resource assessment. The coding used to feed acquisitions data into Google Calendar was worked out by Nada O'Neal and is available at: https://github.com/nadaoneal/gapps_python_whatever

Assessing Ongoing Electronic Resource Purchases: Linking Tools to Synchronize Staff Workflows

Ongoing electronic resource purchases represent a substantial proportion of collections budgets. Recognizing the necessity of systematic ongoing assessment with full selector engagement, Columbia University Libraries appointed an Electronic Resources Assessment Working Group to promote the inclusion of such resources within our current culture of assessment. This article describes the Working Group’s implementation of an electronic resource renewal reminder system in Google Calendar, a calendar already in use by selectors for daily scheduling. In discussing this particular solution, this article shows how libraries can link existing systems together to move beyond their limitations and integrate them into existing staff workflows

Army Professionalism, the Military Ethic, and Officership in the 21st Century

The authors address what they—and many others—perceived to be a decline in military professionalism in the Army officer corps. The authors first describe the ethical, technical, and political components of military professionalism and then address the causes for the decline. They conclude by proposing a set of principles which, if adhered to, will reinvigorate the vision of the officer corps and motivate the corps to selfless service.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1145/thumbnail.jp

Access, Socioeconomic Environment, and Death from COVID-19 in Nebraska

Our study assesses whether factors related to healthcare access in the first year of the pandemic affect mortality and length of stay (LOS). Our cohort study examined hospitalized patients at Nebraska Medicine between April and October 2020 who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and had a charted sepsis related diagnostic code. Multivariate logistic was used to analyze the odds of mortality and linear regression was used to calculate the parameter estimates of LOS associated with COVID-19 status, age, gender, race/ethnicity, median household income, admission month, and residential distance from definitive care. Among 475 admissions, the odds of mortality is greater among those with older age (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.07) and residence in an area with low median household income (OR: 2.11, 95% CI: 0.52-8.57), however, the relationship between mortality and wealth was not statistically significant. Those with non-COVID-19 sepsis had longer LOS (Parameter Estimate: -5.11, adjusted 95% CI: -7.92 to -2.30). Distance from definitive care had trends toward worse outcomes (Parameter Estimate: 0.164, adjusted 95% CI: -1.39 to 1.97). Physical and social aspects of access to care are linked to poorer COVID-19 outcomes. Non-COVID-19 healthcare outcomes may be negatively impacted in the pandemic. Strategies to advance patient-centered outcomes in vulnerable populations should account for varied aspects (socioeconomic, residential setting, rural populations, racial, and ethnic factors). Indirect impacts of the pandemic on non-COVID-19 health outcomes require further study

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - A resource for COVID-19 research:Antibody testing results, April – June 2021

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a prospective population-based cohort which recruited pregnant women in 1990-1992 and has followed these women, their partners (Generation 0; G0) and their offspring (Generation 1; G1) ever since. The study reacted rapidly and repeatedly to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, deploying multiple online questionnaires and a previous home-based antibody test in October 2020. A second antibody test, in collaboration with ten other longitudinal population studies, was completed by 4,622 ALSPAC participants between April and June 2021. Of 4,241 participants with a valid spike protein antibody test result (8.2% were void), indicating antibody response to either COVID-19 vaccination or natural infection, 3,172 were positive (74.8%). Generational differences were substantial, with 2,463/2,555 G0 participants classified positive (96.4%) compared to 709/1,686 G1 participants (42.1%). Of 4,199 participants with a valid nucleocapsid antibody test result (9.2% were void), suggesting potential and recent natural infection, 493 were positive (11.7%); 248/2,526 G0 participants (9.8%) and 245/1,673 G1 participants (14.6%) tested positive, respectively. We also compare results for this round of testing to that undertaken in October 2020. Future work will combine these test results with additional sources of data to identify participants’ COVID-19 infection and vaccination status. These ALSPAC COVID-19 serology data are being complemented with linkage to health records and Public Health England pillar testing results as they become available, in addition to four previous questionnaire waves and a prior antibody test. Data have been released as an update to the previous COVID-19 datasets. These comprise: 1) a standard dataset containing all participant responses to all four previous questionnaires with key sociodemographic factors; and 2) individual participant-specific release files enabling bespoke research across all areas supported by the study. This data note describes the second ALSPAC antibody test and the data obtained from it