Testing cosmological models and understanding cosmological parameter determinations with metaparameters

Cosmological parameters affect observables in physically distinct ways. For example, the baryon density, omega_b, affects the ionization history and also the pressure of the pre-recombination fluid. To investigate the relative importance of different physical effects to the determination of omega_b, and to test the cosmological model, we artificially split omega_b into two `metaparameters': omega_{be} which controls the ionization history and omega_{bp} which plays the role of omega_b for everything else. In our demonstration of the technique we find omega_b = .0229 +/- .0012 (with no parameter splitting), omega_{bp} = .0238 +/- .0021, omega_{be}= .0150 +/- .0034 and omega_{bp}-omega_{be} = .0088 +/- .0039.Comment: 5 pages, submitted to Ap

Lepidoptera of North America 8. Butterfly research in Boulder County, Colorado 2004-2007

Includes bibliographical references (pages 35-36).May 7, 2008.In 2007, surveys recording the numbers of butterfly species and individuals were performed on a total of 39 survey days in 15 different locations within Boulder County. These surveys were conducted in a variety of habitats, ranging from prairie grasslands to upper montane forests. In addition to extending previous multi-year studies in areas such as Heil Valley, Caribou Ranch, and Cal-Wood Education Center, this year's research included butterfly inventories in an area not previously surveyed by our team, the Variegated Fritillary productive Southeast Buffer prairies managed by Boulder County Parks and Open Space. Specifically, this year's research was conducted to extend the county butterfly database generated in previous years, determining butterfly species' locations and population numbers, flight periods, and host or food plant interactions. Locating rare or uncommon butterfly species for this county was an additional objective of our group. A notable phenomenon this year was the appearance of many migrant species that took advantage of the county's wealth of rich nectar sources resulting from heavy rainfall in April and plentiful groundwater. Three migrant butterfly species not previously reported by our team were observed in 2007, including: Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia), Sleepy Orange (Abaeis nicippe), and Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). The Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta), a county record discovered in 2005 by this research team, was again located in 2007. Two rare skippers - Arogos (Atrytone arogos) and Ottoe (Hesperia ottoe) - remain elusive, providing a compelling reason to continue the search in 2008. Some of the significant trends observed from this year's surveys include an increase in the number of Variegated (Euptoieta claudia) and Aphrodite (Speyeria aphrodite) Fritillaries, as well as Black Swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes), in a variety of locations and habitats; a decrease in the number of Hoary Commas (Polygonia gracilis), Field Crescents (Phyciodes pulchella), and Western Pine Elfins (Callophrys eryphon) in appropriate habitats; and a record high number of butterfly species and individuals reported at the annual Cal-Wood Fourth of July Butterfly Count, along with a record number of human participants in this public educational event.Abstract -- Introduction -- Objectives -- Research methods and locations. Methodology; Habitats; Life zones; GPS coordinates -- Results and discussion. Data for life zones; Fourth of July butterfly count; Cumulative numbers of species; Research hours correlated with numbers of butterfly individuals; Largest cumulative populations 2004-2007; Butterfly migrants; Rare and uncommon species; Species of special concern; General findings of the inventory -- Conclusions -- Recommendations -- References -- Butterfly survey data

Resilience, Decision-making, and Environmental Water Releases

Tensions between delivering water for human uses versus environmental benefits are increasing in many arid and semiarid regions, potentially causing irreversible environmental consequences. The issue of how to balance these competing uses of water is of fundamental importance, especially with projected increases in the variability of water resources due to climate change. In response, a stochastic resilience optimization model is developed to assist decision‐makers to optimally determine water releases from storages for environmental purposes and to measure the resilience of a system for given risk tolerances. The model, with sensitivity analyses, provides a valuable tool for water planners to minimize the risk of irreversible consequences and to optimize for resilience taking into account weather uncertainty, existing environmental conditions, and water storage levels. A calibration of the model to the Murray‐Darling Basin and also the Goulburn‐Broken catchment region in Australia highlights its potential to improve decision‐making at multiple spatial scales and over time.This work is supported by an Australian Research Council grant (LP130100174)

Optimal dynamic water allocation: Irrigation extractions and environmental tradeoffs in the Murray River, Australia

A key challenge in managing semiarid basins, such as in the Murray-Darling in Australia, is to balance the trade-offs between the net benefits of allocating water for irrigated agriculture, and other uses, versus the costs of reduced surface flows for the environment. Typically, water planners do not have the tools to optimally and dynamically allocate water among competing uses. We address this problem by developing a general stochastic, dynamic programming model with four state variables (the drought status, the current weather, weather correlation, and current storage) and two controls (environmental release and irrigation allocation) to optimally allocate water between extractions and in situ uses. The model is calibrated to Australia's Murray River that generates: (1) a robust qualitative result that "pulse" or artificial flood events are an optimal way to deliver environmental flows over and above conveyance of base flows; (2) from 2001 to 2009 a water reallocation that would have given less to irrigated agriculture and more to environmental flows would have generated between half a billion and over 3 billion U.S. dollars in overall economic benefits; and (3) water markets increase optimal environmental releases by reducing the losses associated with reduced water diversions

The State of the Birds 2011 Report on Public Lands and Waters: United States of America

Foreword Public Lands and Waters Are Essential for Birds Each year, the State of the Birds report provides important scientific data to a broad audience with a call to action to improve the conservation status of birds and the environment. This year’s report brings attention to the tremendous promise of public lands and waters for conserving America’s wildlife and habitats. The United States has a long history of conservation on public lands. More than one-third of U.S. lands and all of our oceans are publicly owned, including some of our nation’s most spectacular natural areas. These habitats support more than 1,000 bird species, one-third of which are endangered, threatened, or of conservation concern. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln established Yosemite as the first park set aside by the federal government specifically for public use and preservation. As environmental exploitation continued across unprotected lands, the Passenger Pigeon, once the world’s most abundant bird, was driven to extinction in the wild by the turn of the century. Recognizing that this loss meant “mankind was just so much poorer,” President Theodore Roosevelt championed the irreplaceable value of birds and other wildlife, and set aside 80 million acres for public land conservation, including the first National Wildlife Refuge in 1903. Today, more than 850 million acres of land and 3.5 million square miles of ocean are publicly owned, including more than 245 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management, 6,000 State Park units, 1,600 Marine Protected Areas, 550 National Wildlife Refuges, 350 military installations, 150 National Forests, and nearly 400 National Park Service units. These areas support our native bird species, many of which are declining, as described in the 2009 and 2010 State of the Birds reports. This year’s report provides the nation’s first assessment of the distribution of birds on public lands and helps public agencies identify which species have significant potential for conservation in each habitat. This assessment used high-performance computing techniques to analyze a massive data set on bird distribution from citizen-science participants across the U.S. (eBird), along with the first comprehensive database of public land ownership (Protected Areas Database of the U.S.). The state of our birds is a measurable indicator of how well we are doing as stewards of our environment. The signal is clear. Greater conservation efforts on public lands and waters are needed to realize the vision of a nation sustained economically and spiritually by abundant natural resources and spectacular wildlife. President Obama’s new initiative, “America’s Great Outdoors,” recognizes that throughout our nation’s history, conservation actions have been grounded in the premise that our natural heritage belongs to the people, and that its protection is shared by all Americans. The call to action for bird conservation in this report goes hand in hand with “America’s Great Outdoors,” which empowers all Americans to share in the responsibility to conserve, restore, and provide better access to our lands and waters in order to leave a healthy, vibrant outdoor legacy for generations yet to come

Concert recording 2013-11-09a

[Track 01]. Beautiful love / Victor Young -- [Track 02]. All the things you are / Jerome Kern -- [Track 03]. Ornithology / Charlie Parker -- [Track 04]. How insensitive (Insensatez) / Antonio Carlos Jobim -- [Track 05]. Misty / Errol Garner -- [Track 06]. Tico tico / Zequinha de Abreu -- [Track 07]. Bernie\u27s tune / Bernie Miller -- [Track 08]. Sweet Georgia Brown / Ben Bernie ; Maceo Pinkard ; Kenneth Casey -- [Track 09]. Dark eyes / Traditional Gypsy jazz song

HUMAN CELLS FOR PROSTATE CANCER VACCINE THERAPY - THE IMPACT OF CENTRIFUGATION UPON KEY PRODUCT QUALITY ATTRIBUTES

Centrifugation is a unit operation used within a wide range of bioprocesses, including the production of a whole cell cancer vaccine to treat Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer (HRPC) which has been tested in Phase II clinical trials. To quantify the effect of centrifugation-related stresses upon a whole cell vaccine population, a design of experiments (DOE) based investigation at micro-scale was implemented. Qualification of the cells may be by membrane integrity and by surface marker density as well as cytokines released and retained during bioprocessing. These and possibly other factors combine to affect the biopotency of the cells and their clinical efficacy. A range of processing factors that included relative centrifugal force, spin time and ambient cell holding time prior to processing were investigated, and their impact upon an array of cell quality attributes measured. A screening study indicated that both relative centrifugal force (RCF) and spin time were statistically significant factors with regards to the loss of cell membrane integrity. A range of two or more factor interactions were also suggested as having a significant negative impact upon the key cell quality attribute of membrane integrity, illustrating the power of multi-factorial experimental design. Data also indicated that loss of cell size was as the result of an increase within all three processing parameters, resulting in the emergence of a smaller, membrane-compromised cell population. Cell surface phenotype analysis by quantitative flow cytometry suggested no significant change in the surface staining profile for the range of product quality surface markers tested. The findings should allow for the creation of a design space for associated centrifugation operations, allowing an optimum processing window to be established. A UK Technology Strategy Board funded program in collaboration with LGC, Nottingham Trent University (bioinformation centre) and formerly with Onyvax

30% Efficient InGaP/GaAs/GaSb Cell-Interconnected-Circuits For Line-Focus Concentrator Arrays

In 1989, Fraas and Avery demonstrated a world-record 31% efficient AM0 GaAs/GaSb tandem solar cell. This record efficiency still holds today. However, the GaAs/GaSb mechanical-stacked cell was designed to work with concentrated sunlight and at that time, the space community had no experience with concentrated sunlight solar arrays

High-birefringence nematic liquid crystal for broadband THz applications

Liquid crystals (LCs) have been studied extensively in the visible range for their dielectric tunability, and the characterisation in the terahertz (THz) range has gained increasing interest due to the need for active THz modulation and switching devices. In this paper, we use THz time-domain spectroscopy to measure the frequency-dependent birefringence and the absorption coefficient of a number of commercial and non-commercial nematic LCs, including E7, BL037, MDA-98-1602, LCMS-107, GT3-23001 and 1825, over a range of bias voltages at room temperature. Furthermore, several basic components of LC mixture are analysed to establish their contributions to birefringence and theoretical model is used to fit the absorption spectra. The large tunability and low loss measured for a range of samples show that the LCs are useful tunable dielectrics for compact, efficient and broadband THz devices.The authors would like to thank the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the support through the Platform Grant for Liquid Crystal Photonics (EP/F00897X/1).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Taylor & Francis via https://doi.org/10.1080/02678292.2016.115373