The composing process of technical writers: A preliminary study

The assumption that technical writers compose as do other writers is tested. The literature on the composing process, not limited to the pure or applied sciences, was reviewed, yielding three areas of general agreement. The composing process (1) consists of several stages, (2) is reflexive, and (3) may be mastered by means of strategies. Data on the ways technical writers compose were collected, and findings were related to the three areas of agreement. Questionnaires and interviews surveying 70 writers were used. The disciplines represented by these writers included civil, chemical, agricultural, geological, mechanical, electrical, and petroleum engineering, chemistry, hydrology, geology, and biology. Those providing consulting services, or performing research. No technical editors or professional writers were surveyed, only technicians, engineers, and researchers whose jobs involved composing reports. Three pedagogical implications are included

The Effects of Climate Change on Seasonal Snowpack and the Hydrology of the Northeastern and Upper Midwest United States

Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. All AMS journals and monograph publications are registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com). Questions about permission to use materials for which AMS holds the copyright can also be directed to the AMS Permissions Officer at [email protected]. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement, available on the AMS website (http://www.ametsoc.org/CopyrightInformation).The potential effects of climate change on the snowpack of the northeastern and upper Midwest United States are assessed using statistically downscaled climate projections from an ensemble of 10 climate models and a macroscale hydrological model. Climate simulations for the region indicate warmer-than-normal temperatures and wetter conditions for the snow season (November–April) during the twenty-first century. However, despite projected increases in seasonal precipitation, statistically significant negative trends in snow water equivalent (SWE) are found for the region. Snow cover is likely to migrate northward in the future as a result of warmer-than-present air temperatures, with higher loss rates in northern latitudes and at high elevation. Decreases in future (2041–95) snow cover in early spring will likely affect the timing of maximum spring peak streamflow, with earlier peaks predicted in more than 80% of the 124 basins studied

Monte Carlo studies of Mott scattering asymmetries from gold foils

We present the results of a series of model Monte Carlo calculations of the scattering of spin-polarized electrons from gold foil targets. Our calculations examine the behavior of the left-right scattering asymmetry A as a function of various parameters conventionally used in extrapolation of the left-right asymmetry to single atom and/or elastic scattering conditions. These parameters include target thickness, scattered count rate, and the maximum energy that an electron can have lost in the target and still be detected. Data are obtained at incident electron energies of 10–120 keV, with detector-subtended half-cone angles of 5°, 10°, and 20°, and gold foils of average thickness varying from 3 to 1000Å. Both elastic and inelastic electron scattering effects have been considered. Comparisons of our results are made with existing measurements and theoretical models. We make recommendations concerning extrapolation algorithms and for future experiments to test the present Mott scattering Monte Carlo model

A micro electromagnetic generator for vibration energy harvesting

Vibration energy harvesting is receiving a considerable amount of interest as a means for powering wireless sensor nodes. This paper presents a small (component volume 0.1 cm3, practical volume 0.15 cm3) electromagnetic generator utilizing discrete components and optimized for a low ambient vibration level based upon real application data. The generator uses four magnets arranged on an etched cantilever with a wound coil located within the moving magnetic field. Magnet size and coil properties were optimized, with the final device producing 46 µW in a resistive load of 4 k? from just 0.59 m s-2 acceleration levels at its resonant frequency of 52 Hz. A voltage of 428 mVrms was obtained from the generator with a 2300 turn coil which has proved sufficient for subsequent rectification and voltage step-up circuitry. The generator delivers 30% of the power supplied from the environment to useful electrical power in the load. This generator compares very favourably with other demonstrated examples in the literature, both in terms of normalized power density and efficiency

Strong damping of phononic heat current by magnetic excitations in SrCu_2(BO_3)_2

Measurements of the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature and magnetic field in the 2D dimer spin system SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$ are presented. In zero magnetic field the thermal conductivity along and perpendicular to the magnetic planes shows a pronounced double-peak structure as a function of temperature. The low-temperature maximum is drastically suppressed with increasing magnetic field. Our quantitative analysis reveals that the heat current is due to phonons and that the double-peak structure arises from pronounced resonant scattering of phonons by magnetic excitations.Comment: a bit more than 4 pages, 2 figures included; minor changes to improve the clarity of the presentatio

The Intricacies of Identifying Equatorial Waves

Equatorial waves (EWs) are synoptic- to planetary-scale propagating disturbances at low latitudes with periods from a few days to several weeks. Here, this term includes Kelvin waves, equatorial Rossby waves, mixed Rossby–gravity waves, and inertio-gravity waves, which are well described by linear wave theory, but it also other tropical disturbances such as easterly waves and the intraseasonal Madden–Julian Oscillation with more complex dynamics. EWs can couple with deep convection, leading to a substantial modulation of clouds and rainfall. EWs are amongst the dynamic features of the troposphere with the longest intrinsic predictability, and models are beginning to forecast them with an exploitable level of skill. Most of the methods developed to identify and objectively isolate EWs in observations and model fields rely on (or at least refer to) the adiabatic, frictionless linearized primitive equations on the sphere or the shallow-water system on the equatorial -plane. Common ingredients to these methods are zonal wave-number–frequency filtering (Fourier or wavelet) and/or projections onto predefined empirical or theoretical dynamical patterns. This paper gives an overview of six different methods to isolate EWs and their structures, discusses the underlying assumptions, evaluates the applicability to different problems, and provides a systematic comparison based on a case study (February 20–May 20, 2009) and a climatological analysis (2001–2018). In addition, the influence of different input fields (e.g., winds, geopotential, outgoing long-wave radiation, rainfall) is investigated. Based on the results, we generally recommend employing a combination of wave-number–frequency filtering and spatial-projection methods (and of different input fields) to check for robustness of the identified signal. In cases of disagreement, one needs to carefully investigate which assumptions made for the individual methods are most probably not fulfilled. This will help in choosing an approach optimally suited to a given problem at hand and avoid misinterpretation of the results

Episodic Occurrence of Favourable Weather Constrains Recovery of a Cold Desert Shrubland After Fire

Key to the long-term resilience of dryland ecosystems is the recovery of foundation plant species following disturbance. In ecosystems with high interannual weather variability, understanding the influence of short-term environmental conditions on establishment of foundation species is essential for identifying vulnerable landscapes and developing restoration strategies. We asked how annual environmental conditions affect post-fire establishment of Artemisia tridentata, a shrub species that dominates landscapes across much of the western United States, and evaluated the influence of episodic establishment on population recovery. We collected A. tridentata stem samples from 33 plots in 12 prescribed fire sites that burned 8–11 years before sampling. We determined individual establishment years using annual growth rings. We measured seasonal soil environmental conditions at the study sites and asked if these conditions predicted annual establishment density. We then evaluated whether establishment patterns could be predicted by site-level climate or dominant subspecies. Finally, we tested the effect of the magnitude and frequency of post-fire establishment episodes on long-term population recovery. Annual post-fire recruitment of A. tridentata was driven by the episodic availability of spring soil moisture. Annual establishment was highest with wetter spring soils (relative influence [RI] = 19.4%) and later seasonal dry-down (RI = 11.8%) in the year of establishment. Establishment density declined greatly 4 to 5 years after fire (RI = 17.1%). Post-fire establishment patterns were poorly predicted by site-level mean climate (marginal R2 ≤ 0.18) and dominant subspecies (marginal R2 ≤ 0.43). Population recovery reflected the magnitude, but not the frequency, of early post-fire establishment pulses. Post-fire A. tridentata density and cover (measured 8–11 years after fire) were more strongly related to the magnitude of the largest establishment pulse than to establishment frequency, suggesting that population recovery may occur with a single favourable establishment year. Synthesis and applications. This study demonstrates the importance of episodic periods of favourable weather for long-term plant population recovery following disturbance. Management strategies that increase opportunities for seed availability to coincide with favourable weather conditions, such as retaining unburned patches or repeated seeding treatments, can improve restoration outcomes in high-priority areas

Subcellular localization of Mitf in monocytic cells

Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in regulating the development of several cell lineages. The subcellular localization of Mitf is dynamic and is associated with its transcription activity. In this study, we examined factors that affect its subcellular localization in cells derived from the monocytic lineage since Mitf is present abundantly in these cells. We identified a domain encoded by Mitf exon 1B1b to be important for Mitf to commute between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Deletion of this domain disrupts the shuttling of Mitf to the cytoplasm and results in its retention in the nucleus. M-CSF and RANKL both induce nuclear translocation of Mitf. We showed that Mitf nuclear transport is greatly influenced by ratio of M-CSF/Mitf protein expression. In addition, cell attachment to a solid surface also is needed for the nuclear transport of Mitf

Electromechanical finite element modelling for dynamic analysis of a cantilevered piezoelectric energy harvester with tip mass offset under base excitations

A new electromechanical finite element modelling of a vibration power harvester and its validation with experimental studies are presented in this paper. The new contributions for modelling the electromechanical finite element piezoelectric unimorph beam with tip mass offset under base excitation encompass five major solution techniques. These include the electromechanical discretization, kinematic equations, coupled field equations, Lagrangian electromechanical dynamic equations, and orthonormalised global matrix and scalar forms of electromechanical finite element dynamic equations. Such techniques have not been rigorously modelled previously by other researchers. There are also benefits to presenting the numerical techniques proposed in this paper. First, the proposed numerical techniques can be used for Q1 applications in many different geometrical models, including MEMS power harvesting devices. Second, applying tip mass offset located after the end of the piezoelectric beam length can result in a very practical design, which avoids direct contact with piezoelectric material because of its brittle nature.Since the surfaces of actual piezoelectric material are covered evenly with thin conducting electrodes for generating single voltage, we introduce the new electromechanical discretization, consisting of the mechanical and electrical discretised elements. Moreover, the reduced electromechanical finite element dynamic equations can be further formulated to obtain the series form of new multimode electromechanical frequency response functions (FRFs) of the displacement, velocity, voltage, current, and power, including optimal power harvesting. The normalized numerical strain node and eigenmode shapes are also further formulated using numerical discretization. Finally, the parametric numerical case studies of the piezoelectric unimorph beam under a resistive shunt circuit show good agreement with the experimental studies