Effects of Changes in Surface Water Regime and/or Land Use on the Vertical Distribution of Water Available for Wetland Vegetation: Dynamic Model of the Zone of Aeration (Part 1 of Completion Report for Project A-023-ARK)

A mathematical model by Green, simulating one-dimensional vertical ground-water movement in unsaturated soils of the prairie region of Kansas, has been adapted for use in a wetlands environment typified by the wetlands forest of Eastern Arkansas. The model consists of two second-order, non-linear, partial differential equations and an algorithm for their numerical solution. The original model was extended to include functions for seasonal changes in transpiration and for drainage of excess precipitation. Before the addition of the two functions, the model reliability was limited to one growth season

Effects of Changes in Surface Water Regime and/or Land Use on the Vertical Distribution of Water Available for Wetland Vegetation: Dynamic Model of the Zone of Aeration (Appendix to Part 1 of Completion Report for Project A-023-ARK)

Appendix to Part 1 of Completion Report for Project A-023-AR

Antibodies to acetylcholine receptor in parous women with myasthenia: evidence for immunization by fetal antigen

The weakness in myasthenia gravis (MG) is mediated by autoantibodies against adult muscle acetylcholine receptors (AChR) at the neuromuscular junction; most of these antibodies also bind to fetal AChR, which is present in the thymus. In rare cases, babies of mothers with MG, or even of asymptomatic mothers, develop a severe developmental condition, arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, caused by antibodies that inhibit the ion channel function of the fetal AChR while not affecting the adult AChR. Here we show that these fetal AChR inhibitory antibodies are significantly more common in females sampled after pregnancy than in those who present before pregnancy, suggesting that they may be induced by the fetus. Moreover, we were able to clone high-affinity combinatorial Fab antibodies from thymic cells of two mothers with MG who had babies with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. These Fabs were highly specific for fetal AChR and did not bind the main immunogenic region that is common to fetal and adult AChR. The Fabs show strong biases to VH3 heavy chains and to a single Vk1 light chain in one mother. Nevertheless, they each show extensive intraclonal diversification from a highly mutated consensus sequence, consistent with antigen-driven selection in successive steps. Collectively, our results suggest that, in some cases of MG, initial immunization against fetal AChR is followed by diversification and expansion of B cells in the thymus; maternal autoimmunity will result if the immune response spreads to the main immunogenic region and other epitopes common to fetal and adult AChR

Portable Environmental Data Logger and Sensor

An instrumentation and recording package and several transducers were constructed and used to collect data on the environmental parameters thought to affect wetland vegetation growth and reproduction. These parameters were temperature, humidity, wind velocity, depth of water table, and amount of surface water. The data were collected four times a day and recorded on a magnetic cassette tape that could record for as long as 90 days. The tapes were read and the data were converted to engineering units by a microcomputer-based instrument constructed for that purpose

Effects of Changes in Surface Water Regime and/or Land Use on the Vertical Distribution of Water Available for Wetland Vegetation: Portable Environmental Data Logger and Sensors (Part II of Completion Report for Project A-023-ARK)

An instrumentation and recording package and several transducers were constructed and used to collect data on the environmental parameters thought to affect wetland vegetation growth and reproduction. These parameters were temperature, humidity, wind velocity, depth of water table, and amount of surface water. The data were collected four times a day and recorded on a magnetic cassette tape that could record for as long as 90 days. The tapes were read and the data were converted to engineering units by a microcomputer-based instrument constructed for that purpose

Dynamic Model of the Zone of Aeration

A mathematical model by Green (1), simulating one-dimensional vertical ground-water movement in unsaturated soils of the prairie region of Kansas, has been adapted for use in a wetlands environment typified by the wetlands forest of Eastern Arkansas. The model consists of two second-order, non-linear, partial differential equations and an algorithm for their numerical solution. The original model was extended to include functions for seasonal changes in transpiration and for drainage of excess precipitation. Before the addition of the two functions, the model reliability was limited to one growth season. With the mathematical model presented in this work it is possible to study interactions between hydrologic changes and the long term vegetative changes. The model potentially is a versatile management tool which could be used to help predict the environmental impact of proposed flood control projects

A national scale inventory of resource provision for biodiversity within domestic gardens

The human population is increasingly disconnected from nature due to urbanisation. To counteract this phenomenon, the UK government has been actively promoting wildlife gardening. However, the extent to which such activities are conducted and the level of resource provision for biodiversity (e.g., food and nesting sites) within domestic gardens remains poorly documented. Here we generate estimates for a selection of key resources provided within gardens at a national scale, using 12 survey datasets gathered across the UK. We estimate that 22.7 million households (87% of homes) have access to a garden. Average garden SiZe is 190 m(2), extrapolating to a total area of 432,924 ha. Although substantial, this coverage is still an order of magnitude less than that of statutory protected areas. Approximately 12.6 million (48%) households provide supplementary food for birds, 7.4 million of which specifically use bird feeders. Similarly, there are a minimum of 4.7 million nest boxes within gardens. These figures equate to one bird feeder for every nine potentially feeder-using birds in the UK, and at least one nest box for every six breeding pairs of cavity nesting birds. Gardens also contain 2.5-3.5 million ponds and 28.7 million trees, which is just under a quarter of all trees occurring outside woodlands. Ongoing urbanisation, characterised by increased housing densities, is inevitable throughout the UK and elsewhere. The important contribution domestic gardens make to the green space infrastructure in residential areas must be acknowledged, as their reduction will impact biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the well-being of the human population

The role of tool geometry in process damped milling

The complex interaction between machining structural systems and the cutting process results in machining instability, so called chatter. In some milling scenarios, process damping is a useful phenomenon that can be exploited to mitigate chatter and hence improve productivity. In the present study, experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of process damped milling considering different tool geometries (edge radius, rake and relief angles and variable helix/pitch). The results clearly indicate that variable helix/pitch angles most significantly increase process damping performance. Additionally, increased cutting edge radius moderately improves process damping performance, while rake and relief angles have a smaller and closely coupled effect

MoonLITE – Technological feasibility of the penetrator concept

Introduction: While the surface missions to the Moon of the 1960s and 1970s achieved a great deal, scientifically a great deal was also left unresolved. The recent plethora of lunar missions (flown or proposed) reflects resurgence in interest in the Moon, not only in its own right, but also as a record of the formation of the Earth-Moon System and the interplanetary environment at 1 AU. Results from orbiter missions have indicated the possible presense of ice within permanently shaded craters at the lunar poles [1] – a situation that, if confirmed, will have profound impacts on lunar exploration

Effect of Charge on the Deposition of Electrostatically Charged Inhalable Aerosol in Lung Model

Inhalable drugs are widely used for treating lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and cystic fibrosis. The aerosol particles in these inhalable drugs may be charged electrostatically. The deposition of these inhaled therapeutic aerosol particles in the different regions of the lung depends on the particle aerodynamic diameter, electrostatic charge distribution, particulate number density, breathing rate, aerodynamics of the lung, ambient temperature, and relative humidity (RH). The primary mechanisms for lung deposition of inhaled particles are impaction, gravitational settling, diffusion, interception, and electrostatic attraction. To simulate lung deposition, electrostatically charged aerosol particles are introduced through a throat section into a glass bead lung model. The E-SPART analyzer was used to measure aerosol deposition as a function of the particle charge and size. Experiments were carried out to determine the increase in deposition efficiency as a function of the net charge-to-mass ratio (Q/M) of aerosol particles. Using a fairly monodisperse aerosol of 5.0 um count median aerodynamic diameter, it was found that the total deposition efficiency increased from 54% to 91% when Q/M increased from 0.5 to 9.67 |muC/g. The data show that enhanced delivery of the therapeutic aerosol in the lung can be achieved by controlling the electrostatic charge on the inhaled aerosol particles