Design of a Drip Irrigation System for 80 Acres of Almonds in Arbuckle, California

This senior project discusses the detailed steps and calculations involved with the design of a dual line buried drip irrigation system. The system is specifically for an 80 acre orchard of almonds in Arbuckle, California. The new design distribution uniformity of the design in 0.92

Changing the direction of environmental investment in Australia: Learnings from implementing INFFER

Investment in natural resource management (NRM) by regional organisations in Australia has been widely criticised for failing to achieve substantial environmental outcomes. The Investment Framework for Environmental Resources (INFFER) is a tool for developing and prioritising projects to address environmental issues such as water quality, biodiversity decline, environmental pest impacts and land degradation. INFFER is an asset-based, targeted, and outcome-focussed approach to environmental investment, and as such is a very different and more rigorous approach to prioritising possible environmental projects than used previously by most catchment management organisations (CMOs) in Australia. From 2008 to 2010 INFFER has been trialled with CMOs. Evaluation and benchmarking data obtained at 2-day INFFER training sessions with seven CMOs in three eastern Australia states are reported. Before commencing to use INFFER, CMO staff are generally confident about the current decision-making processes for environmental investment used within their organisation. In some cases, this initial perception challenges their acceptance of a new approach to investment decisionmaking. Key issues when implementing INFFER include concerns about changing the direction of CMO investment, concerns about compatibility with funder requirements, and various issues associated with specific aspects of the Framework. Perceived complexity of INFFER, existing institutional arrangements, and the legacy of past institutional arrangements remain serious barriers to the adoption of methods to improve environmental outcomes from NRM investment. Despite these difficulties INFFER is being used by a number of CMOs. However, it is likely that widespread adoption of INFFER, or indeed any other transparent and robust process, will only occur with greater requirement from governments for environmental decision making by regional NRM bodies that is more focused on outcomes and cost-effectiveness.NRM investment planning, NRM investment prioritisation, regional catchment management organisations, NRM policy, environmental planning, environmental prioritisation, environmental policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q50, Q58,

Low Luminosity Companions to White Dwarfs

This paper presents results of a near-infrared imaging survey for low mass stellar and substellar companions to white dwarfs. A wide field proper motion survey of 261 white dwarfs was capable of directly detecting companions at orbital separations between $\sim100$ and 5000 AU with masses as low as 0.05 $M_{\odot}$, while a deep near field search of 86 white dwarfs was capable of directly detecting companions at separations between $\sim50$ and 1100 AU with masses as low as 0.02 $M_{\odot}$. Additionally, all white dwarf targets were examined for near-infrared excess emission, a technique capable of detecting companions at arbitrarily close separations down to masses of 0.05 $M_{\odot}$. No brown dwarf candidates were detected, which implies a brown dwarf companion fraction of $<0.5$% for white dwarfs. In contrast, the stellar companion fraction of white dwarfs as measured by this survey is 22%, uncorrected for bias. Moreover, most of the known and suspected stellar companions to white dwarfs are low mass stars whose masses are only slightly greater than the masses of brown dwarfs. Twenty previously unknown stellar companions were detected, five of which are confirmed or likely white dwarfs themselves, while fifteen are confirmed or likely low mass stars. Similar to the distribution of cool field dwarfs as a function of spectral type, the number of cool unevolved dwarf companions peaks at mid-M type. Based on the present work, relative to this peak, field L dwarfs appear to be roughly 2-3 times more abundant than companion L dwarfs. Additionally, there is no evidence that the initial companion masses have been altered by post main sequence binary interactions.Comment: 149 pages, 59 figures, 11 tables, accepted to ApJ Supplement

Gearing effects of the patella (knee extensor muscle sesamoid) of the helmeted guineafowl during terrestrial locomotion

Human patellae (kneecaps) are thought to act as gears, altering the mechanical advantage of knee extensor muscles during running. Similar sesamoids have evolved in the knee extensor tendon independently in birds, but it is unknown if these also affect the mechanical advantage of knee extensors. Here, we examine the mechanics of the patellofemoral joint in the helmeted guineafowl Numida meleagris using a method based on muscle and tendon moment arms taken about the patella's rotation centre around the distal femur. Moment arms were estimated from a computer model representing hindlimb anatomy, using hip, knee and patellar kinematics acquired via marker‐based biplanar fluoroscopy from a subject running at 1.6 ms−1 on a treadmill. Our results support the inference that the patella of Numida does alter knee extensor leverage during running, but with a mechanical advantage generally greater than that seen in humans, implying relatively greater extension force but relatively lesser extension velocity

Development and commissioning of a chemiluminescence imaging system for an optically-accessible high-pressure generic swirl burner

A chemiluminescence imaging system has been commissioned at Cardiff University’s Gas Turbine Research Centre. OH* and CH* chemiluminescence measurements were initially made on swirl-stabilised methane flames to find the optimal settings of intensifier gate timing, gain, and UV lens f-stop. Measurements with gate widths down to 100 μs have been achieved on methane flames with thermal powers up to 100 kW, pressures up to 3 bara, and global equivalence ratios of 0.6 to 1.2. OH* and CH* chemiluminescence intensities are found to vary with each parameter and yield sufficient spatial information to confirm visual evidence of stable flame operation as well as both lean and rich stability limits. Additionally, the OH*/CH* chemiluminescence intensity ratio is used for evaluation of the local equivalence ratio within the flame. Further OH* and CH* chemiluminescence measurements were made on BOS gas (65% CO, 34% N2, 1% H2) flames at comparable conditions to the CH4 flames to investigate the change in intensities, with marked variation identified between the two fuel blends. In addition to developing measurement capability, image processing and deconvolution techniques have also been integrated into the chemiluminescence system, extending the fundamental combustion research capabilities of the Gas Turbine Research Centre

Language-eloquent cortex mapping in paediatric epilepsy surgery

Objectives: Estimating risk of language decline is warranted in paediatric epilepsy surgery but there is limited knowledge of the validity of language mapping techniques in this context. This paper’s main aims were to (1) evaluate the state of the evidence investigating the predictive validity of any language mapping technique used in epilepsy surgery and (2) provide a synthesis of available evidence to inform future research and practice. Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, APA PsychNET, and Web of Science (up to October 2020) was conducted. Records of cohort studies that reported mapping techniques and surgical outcomes in paediatric epilepsy were identified. Quality appraisal was undertaken with QUADAS-2 and OCEBM evidence levels. Relationships between mapping techniques and post-operative language outcome were synthesised across studies. Results: Six studies met criteria for inclusion. These studies examined diffusion weighted imaging, electrocortical stimulation and the Wada test. The quality of five records was assessed as ‘unclear’ due to the lack of reporting of post-operative outcome methods and one was classified as ‘low’ quality. Diffusion weighted image mapping was found to have a strong relationship with language outcome across three studies. Electrocortical stimulation also demonstrated robust predictive outcome in one record but with high failure rates (48%) in another. Wada had variable success depending on reference standard thresholding. Significance: There is great need for further investigation of language mapping techniques in predicting post-operative outcome in paediatric epilepsy surgery. Preliminary evidence demonstrates promising value of diffusion weighted imaging and electrocortical stimulation techniques within paediatric practice; however, further work needs to be undertaken to [11] support adoption of techniques into routine practice. Future research should specifically improve reporting of outcome methodologies. Other common mapping techniques should be investigated due to the successful translation of DWI and ESM into paediatric populations from adult practic

Competence self-perceptions

This chapter discusses the different operationalizations of competence self-perceptions and the implications for advancing theory, research, and practice