Mapping Weekly Rangeland Vegetation Productivity Using MODIS Algorithms

The great spatial extent of rangelands combined with recent emphasis on rangeland health has prompted a need for more efficient and cost effective management tools. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor of the Earth Observing System (EOS) will offer improved and more timely monitoring of rangeland vegetation, and, unlike any previous satellite sensor, the publicly available MODIS data stream will include estimates of rangeland productivity. These estimations of rangeland productivity can be used regionally for measuring biomass production and will be available every eight-days, with global coverage at 1- km^ resolution. MODIS derived estimates of rangeland productivity combine remote sensing information with daily meteorological data as inputs to a mathematical model of photosynthetic conversion of solar radiation into plant carbohydrates. Vegetation productivity is .a measure of rangeland vegetation vigor and growth capacity, which are important components of rangeland management and health assessment. Using MODIS data, it will be possible to characterize rangeland vegetation seasonality, estimate herbage quantity and, monitor the rates and trends of change in primary production. Consistent, objective and frequent productivity estimates will be available for even the most inaccessible rangelands. Potential applications of weekly and annual productivity estimates are demonstrated on the Shoshone BLM Administrative District and a larger portion of the Interior Northwestern United States. Productivity estimates were derived using Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer data as a surrogate for the MODIS data stream. Shrub and grassland vegetation seasonality for 1991 was characterized. Herbage quantity was estimated from the 1993 shrub and grassland regional net primary production. A 5-year average productivity from 1990 - 1994 and departures from that average were calculated for the years 1991 and 1993. The measures of departure indicated that 1991 was regionally less productive and 1993 more productive than the five year average. Collaboration between rangeland scientists and managers is necessary to realize the potential for EOS-derived vegetation productivity as a management tool. Future research will include field calibration of the productivity algorithms and exploration of new techniques for using EOS-derived productivity measures for rangeland management. Measures of rangeland productivity could become part of an integrated rangeland system analysis. This may permit differentiation between anthropogenic, biotic, and abiotic factors as the primary cause of declining productivity. Other research may include customization of biome properties for selected regions

Parametric Investigation of Combustion and Heat Transfer Characteristics of Oscillating Linear Engine Alternator

An Oscillating Linear Engine Alternator (OLEA) has the potential to overcome the thermal, mechanical, and combustion inadequacies encountered by the conventional slider-crank engines. The linear engines convert the reciprocating piston motion into electricity, thereby eliminating needless crankshaft linkages and rotational motion. As the dead center positions are not explicitly identified unlike crankshaft engines, the linear engine exhibits different stroke and compression ratio every cycle and should manage the unfavorable events like misfire, rapid load changes, and overfueling without the energy storage of a flywheel. Further, the apparatus control and management strategy is difficult for OLEA when compared to conventional engines and depends on the combustion event influencing the translator dynamics. In this research paper, the MATLAB/Simulink numerical model of a single cylinder, mechanical spring assisted, 2-stroke natural gas fueled, spark-ignited OLEA was investigated to enhance the perception of the coupled system. The effect of combustion and heat transfer characteristics on translator dynamics and performance of OLEA were analyzed by using Wiebe form factors, combustion duration, and heat transfer correlations. Variation in the Wiebe form factors revealed interesting insights into the translator dynamics and in-cylinder thermodynamics of a coupled system. High translator velocity, acceleration, and higher heat transfer rate were favored by low combustion duration

The Origin and Universality of the Stellar Initial Mass Function

We review current theories for the origin of the Stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) with particular focus on the extent to which the IMF can be considered universal across various environments. To place the issue in an observational context, we summarize the techniques used to determine the IMF for different stellar populations, the uncertainties affecting the results, and the evidence for systematic departures from universality under extreme circumstances. We next consider theories for the formation of prestellar cores by turbulent fragmentation and the possible impact of various thermal, hydrodynamic and magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities. We address the conversion of prestellar cores into stars and evaluate the roles played by different processes: competitive accretion, dynamical fragmentation, ejection and starvation, filament fragmentation and filamentary accretion flows, disk formation and fragmentation, critical scales imposed by thermodynamics, and magnetic braking. We present explanations for the characteristic shapes of the Present-Day Prestellar Core Mass Function and the IMF and consider what significance can be attached to their apparent similarity. Substantial computational advances have occurred in recent years, and we review the numerical simulations that have been performed to predict the IMF directly and discuss the influence of dynamics, time-dependent phenomena, and initial conditions.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication as a chapter in Protostars and Planets VI, University of Arizona Press (2014), eds. H. Beuther, R. S. Klessen, C. P. Dullemond, Th. Hennin

In-situ measurements of the optical absorption of dioxythiophene-based conjugated polymers

Conjugated polymers can be reversibly doped by electrochemical means. This doping introduces new sub-bandgap optical absorption bands in the polymer while decreasing the bandgap absorption. To study this behavior, we have prepared an electrochemical cell allowing measurements of the optical properties of the polymer. The cell consists of a thin polymer film deposited on gold-coated Mylar behind which is another polymer that serves as a counterelectrode. An infrared transparent window protects the upper polymer from ambient air. By adding a gel electrolyte and making electrical connections to the polymer-on-gold films, one may study electrochromism in a wide spectral range. As the cell voltage (the potential difference between the two electrodes) changes, the doping level of the conjugated polymer films is changed reversibly. Our experiments address electrochromism in poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxy-thiophene) (PEDOT) and poly(3,4-dimethyl-propylene-dioxy-thiophene) (PProDOT-Me$_2$). This closed electrochemical cell allows the study of the doping induced sub-bandgap features (polaronic and bipolaronic modes) in these easily oxidized and highly redox switchable polymers. We also study the changes in cell spectra as a function of polymer thickness and investigate strategies to obtain cleaner spectra, minimizing the contributions of water and gel electrolyte features

High-resolution investigations of Transverse Aeolian Ridges on Mars

Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs) are the most pervasive aeolian feature on Mars. Their small size requires high-resolution data for thorough analyses. We have utilized Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) and High Resolution Image Stereo Experiment (HiRISE) images, along with MRO Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spectroscopic data to study TARs in detail. TAR deposits, along with related dark dune material and layered terrains, have been mapped in six study areas in order to identify sediment pathways and determine whether TARs are sourced locally or from global wind-borne materials. TAR morphology and orientation were mapped in grids within each study area; the results show that TARs are probably locally sourced. We constructed four HiRISE Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) to measure TAR heights, widths, spacing, areas, symmetry, and to calculate sediment volumes. Results show that TARs have average heights of ∼1.5 m, are very symmetrical, and are similar in form to terrestrial megaripples. Orthorectified HiRISE images taken 3 years apart were analyzed for TAR movement and none was found. Superposed craters on equatorial TARs give ages of ∼2 Ma, suggesting that these are relatively ancient and generally inactive aeolian deposits. CRISM data were analyzed over TAR deposits, dark dune material, and light-toned terrains. Although the surfaces were somewhat obscured by dust cover, the results did not show any remarkable difference between TARs and other deposits. We conclude that TARs may be sourced from local materials and form in a similar way to terrestrial megaripples

The efficiency of star formation in clustered and distributed regions

We investigate the formation of both clustered and distributed populations of young stars in a single molecular cloud. We present a numerical simulation of a 10,000 solar mass elongated, turbulent, molecular cloud and the formation of over 2500 stars. The stars form both in stellar clusters and in a distributed mode which is determined by the local gravitational binding of the cloud. A density gradient along the major axis of the cloud produces bound regions that form stellar clusters and unbound regions that form a more distributed population. The initial mass function also depends on the local gravitational binding of the cloud with bound regions forming full IMFs whereas in the unbound, distributed regions the stellar masses cluster around the local Jeans mass and lack both the high-mass and the low-mass stars. The overall efficiency of star formation is ~ 15 % in the cloud when the calculation is terminated, but varies from less than 1 % in the the regions of distributed star formation to ~ 40 % in regions containing large stellar clusters. Considering that large scale surveys are likely to catch clouds at all evolutionary stages, estimates of the (time-averaged) star formation efficiency for the giant molecular cloud reported here is only ~ 4 %. This would lead to the erroneous conclusion of 'slow' star formation when in fact it is occurring on a dynamical timescale.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, MNRAS in pres

Virus prevalence and genetic diversity across a wild bumblebee community

Viruses are key population regulators, but we have limited knowledge of the diversity and ecology of viruses. This is even the case in wild host populations that provide ecosystem services, where small fitness effects may have major ecological impacts in aggregate. One such group of hosts are the bumblebees, which have a major role in the pollination of food crops and have suffered population declines and range contractions in recent decades. In this study, we investigate the diversity of four recently discovered bumblebee viruses (Mayfield virus 1, Mayfield virus 2, River Liunaeg virus and Loch Morlich virus), and two previously known viruses that infect both wild bumblebees and managed honeybees (Acute bee paralysis virus and Slow bee paralysis virus) from isolates in Scotland. We investigate the ecological and environmental factors that determine viral presence and absence. We show that the recently discovered bumblebee viruses were more genetically diverse than the viruses shared with honeybees. Coinfection is potentially important in shaping prevalence: we found a strong positive association between River Liunaeg virus and Loch Morlich virus presence after controlling for host species, location and other relevant ecological variables. We tested for a relationship between environmental variables (temperature, UV radiation, wind speed and prevalence), but as we had few sampling sites, and thus low power for site-level analyses, we could not conclude anything regarding these variables. We also describe the relationship between the bumblebee communities at our sampling sites. This study represents a first step in the description of predictors of bumblebee infection in the wild

Pharmacovigilance in hospice/palliative care: rapid report of net clinical effect of metoclopramide

Background: Understanding the performance of prescribed medications in day-to-day practice is important to minimize harm, maximize clinical benefits, and, eventually, better target the people who are most likely to benefit, especially in hospice/palliative care where there may be limited time to optimize prescribing. Metoclopramide, a benzamide prokinetic antiemetic, is widely used for a number of indications including nausea, vomiting, hiccups, and reflux. It has recently had a new ‘‘black box’’ warning issued by the Food and Drug Administration in relation to tardive dyskinesia to limit use to 12 weeks. Methods: A consecutive cohort of patients from 12 participating centers in two countries who were having metoclopramide initiated had data collected at three time points—baseline, 2 days (clinical benefit), and day 7 (clinical harm). Additionally, harms could be recorded at any time. Results: Of the 53 people included in the cohort, 23 (43%) reported benefit at 48 hours, but only 18 (34%) of these people were still using it one week after commencing it. For the other 5, the medication was ceased due to harms. The most frequent harms were akathisia (n = 4), headache (n = 4), and abdominal pain (n = 4). Nine people (17%) had no clinical benefit and experienced harms. Conclusion: Overall, one in three people gained net clinical benefit at one week. Limiting effects include sideeffects that need to be sought actively in clinical care