The National Program for Solar Energy

On October 26, 1974, the Solar Energy Research Development and Demonstration Act was signed into law authorizing a vigorous federal program of research development and demonstration to establish solar energy as a viable energy resource. Solar heating and cooling of buildings represents a midterm help in an attempt to be less dependent on oil and natural gas. Many other solar programs are underway in the development of solar energy

Balancing employee needs, project requirements and organisational priorities in team deployment

The 'people and performance' model asserts that performance is a sum of employee ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO). Despite extensive evidence of this people-performance link within manufacturing and many service sectors, studies within the construction industry are limited. Thus, a recent research project set out to explore the team deployment strategies of a large construction company with the view of establishing how a balance could be achieved between organisational strategic priorities, operational project requirements and individual employee needs and preferences. The findings suggested that project priorities often took precedence over the delivery of the strategic intentions of the organisation in meeting employees' individual needs. This approach is not sustainable in the long term because of the negative implications that such a policy had in relation to employee stress and staff turnover. It is suggested that a resourcing structure that takes into account the multiple facets of AMO may provide a more effective approach for balancing organisational strategic priorities, operational project requirements and individual employee needs and preferences more appropriately in the future

Variable Radio Sources in the Galactic Plane

Using three epochs of VLA observations of the Galactic Plane in the first quadrant taken ~15 years apart, we have conducted a search for a population of variable Galactic radio emitters in the flux density range 1-100 mJy at 6 cm. We find 39 variable sources in a total survey area of 23.2 sq deg. Correcting for various selection effects and for the extragalactic variable population of active galactic nuclei, we conclude there are ~1.6 Galactic sources per sq deg which vary by more than 50% on a time scale of years (or shorter). We show that these sources are much more highly variable than extragalactic objects; more than 50% show variability by a factor >2 compared to <10% for extragalactic objects in the same flux density range. We also show that the fraction of variable sources increases toward the Galactic center (another indication that this is a Galactic population), and that the spectral indices of many of these sources are flat or inverted. A small number of the variables are coincident with mid-IR sources and two are coincident with X-ray emitters, but most have no known counterparts at other wavelengths. Intriguingly, one lies at the center of a supernova remnant, while another appears to be a very compact planetary nebula; several are likely to represent activity associated with star formation regions. We discuss the possible source classes which could contribute to the variable cohort and followup observations which could clarify the nature of these sources.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures; to be published in the Astronomical Journal; data available on MAGPIS website at http://third.ucllnl.org/gps

Two distinct halo populations in the solar neighborhood. IV. Lithium abundances

We investigate if there is a difference in the lithium abundances of stars belonging to two halo populations of F and G main-sequence stars previously found to differ in [alpha/Fe] for the metallicity range -1.4 < [Fe/H] < -0.7. Li abundances are derived from the LiI 6707.8 A line measured in high-resolution spectra using MARCS model atmospheres. Furthermore, masses of the stars are determined from the logTeff - logg diagram by interpolating between Yonsei-Yale evolutionary tracks. There is no significant systematic difference in the lithium abundances of high- and low-alpha halo stars. For the large majority of stars with masses 0.7 < M/M_sun < 0.9 and heavy-element mass fractions 0.001 < Z < 0.006, the Li abundance is well fitted by a relation A(Li) = a0 + a1 M + a2 Z + a3 M Z, where a0, a1, a2, and a3 are constants. Extrapolating this relation to Z = 0 leads to a Li abundance close to the primordial value predicted from standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis calculations and the WMAP baryon density. The relation, however, does not apply to stars with [Fe/H] < -1.5. We suggest that metal-rich halo stars were formed with a Li abundance close to the primordial value, and that lithium in their atmospheres has been depleted in time with an approximately linear dependence on stellar mass and Z. The lack of a systematic difference in the Li abundances of high- and low-alpha stars indicates that an environmental effect is not important for the destruction of lithium.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Visualizing tephra deposits and sedimentary processes in the marine environment: The potential of X‐ray microtomography

Localized tephra deposition in marine sequences is the product of many complex primary and secondary depositional processes. These can significantly influence the potential applicability of tephra deposits as isochronous marker horizons and current techniques, used in isolation, may be insufficient to fully unravel these processes. Here we demonstrate the innovative application of X-ray microtomography (µCT) to successfully identify tephra deposits preserved within marine sediments and use these parameters to reconstruct their internal three-dimensional structure. Three-dimensional visualizations and animations of tephra dispersal in the sediment permit a more thorough assessment of postdepositional processes revealing a number of complex microsedimentological features that are not revealed by conventional methods. These features include bioturbation burrows and horizontally discontinuous tephra packages, which have important ramifications for the stratigraphic placement of the isochron in a sedimentary sequence. Our results demonstrate the potential for utilizing rigorous two and three-dimensional microsedimentological analysis of the ichnofabric to enhance and support the use of tephra deposits as isochronous marker horizons and to identify the stratigraphic position that best reflects the primary fallout of ash. The application also provides an exceptional insight into the style and rate of sedimentation processes and permits an assessment of the stratigraphic integrity of a tephra deposit. We discuss the possibility of applying these µCT methods to the identification of cryptotephras within various paleoclimatic sequences and to enhance our understanding of marine sedimentation processes

Patterns of Natural and Human-Caused Mortality Factors of a Rare Forest Carnivore, the Fisher (Pekania pennanti) in California.

Wildlife populations of conservation concern are limited in distribution, population size and persistence by various factors, including mortality. The fisher (Pekania pennanti), a North American mid-sized carnivore whose range in the western Pacific United States has retracted considerably in the past century, was proposed for threatened status protection in late 2014 under the United States Endangered Species Act by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in its West Coast Distinct Population Segment. We investigated mortality in 167 fishers from two genetically and geographically distinct sub-populations in California within this West Coast Distinct Population Segment using a combination of gross necropsy, histology, toxicology and molecular methods. Overall, predation (70%), natural disease (16%), toxicant poisoning (10%) and, less commonly, vehicular strike (2%) and other anthropogenic causes (2%) were causes of mortality observed. We documented both an increase in mortality to (57% increase) and exposure (6%) from pesticides in fishers in just the past three years, highlighting further that toxicants from marijuana cultivation still pose a threat. Additionally, exposure to multiple rodenticides significantly increased the likelihood of mortality from rodenticide poisoning. Poisoning was significantly more common in male than female fishers and was 7 times more likely than disease to kill males. Based on necropsy findings, suspected causes of mortality based on field evidence alone tended to underestimate the frequency of disease-related mortalities. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of mortality causes of fishers and provides essential information to assist in the conservation of this species

Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

In recent years the literature on employee resourcing has consistently advocated the importance of adopting a holistic, strategic approach to employee deployment decision making rather than adopting a reactive needs-based approach. This is particularly problematic in construction where the multi-project environment leads to constantly changing resource requirements and to changing demands over a project's life cycle. This can lead to inappropriate decisions, which fail to meet the longer-term needs of both construction organizations and their employees. A structured and comprehensive understanding of the current project team deployment practices within large construction organizations was developed. Project deployment practices were examined within seven case study contracting firms. The emergent themes that shaped the decision-making processes were grouped into five broad clusters comprising human resource planning, performance/career management, team deployment, employee involvement and training and development. The research confirms that a reactive and ad hoc approach to the function prevails within the firms investigated. This suggests a weak relationship between the deployment process and human resource planning, team deployment, performance management, employee involvement and training and development activities. It is suggested that strategic HR-business partnering could engender more transparent and productive relationships in this crucial area

Assembly of the type II secretion system such as found in Vibrio cholerae depends on the novel Pilotin AspS

The Type II Secretion System (T2SS) is a molecular machine that drives the secretion of fully-folded protein substrates across the bacterial outer membrane. A key element in the machinery is the secretin: an integral, multimeric outer membrane protein that forms the secretion pore. We show that three distinct forms of T2SSs can be distinguished based on the sequence characteristics of their secretin pores. Detailed comparative analysis of two of these, the Klebsiella-type and Vibrio-type, showed them to be further distinguished by the pilotin that mediates their transport and assembly into the outer membrane. We have determined the crystal structure of the novel pilotin AspS from Vibrio cholerae, demonstrating convergent evolution wherein AspS is functionally equivalent and yet structurally unrelated to the pilotins found in Klebsiella and other bacteria. AspS binds to a specific targeting sequence in the Vibrio-type secretins, enhances the kinetics of secretin assembly, and homologs of AspS are found in all species of Vibrio as well those few strains of Escherichia and Shigella that have acquired a Vibrio-type T2SS

Common variants in FOXP1 are associated with generalized vitiligo

In a recent genome-wide association study of generalized vitiligo, we identified ten confirmed susceptibility loci. By testing additional loci that showed suggestive association in the genome-wide study, using two replication cohorts of European descent, we observed replicated association of generalized vitiligo with variants at 3p13 encompassing FOXP1 (rs17008723, combined P = 1.04 × 10−8) and with variants at 6q27 encompassing CCR6 (rs6902119, combined P = 3.94 × 10−7)

The effect of lifelong learning on men's wages

This paper develops a model of earnings and applies this to an examination of the effect of lifelong learning on men’s wages. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, a variant of the mover–stayer model is developed in which hourly wages are either taken from a stationary distribution (movers) or closely related to the hourly wage one year earlier (stayers). Mover–stayer status is not observed, and we therefore model wages using an endogenous switching regression, estimated by maximum likelihood. Methodologically, the results support the mover–stayer characterisation since the restrictions required for the simpler specifications popular in the literature are rejected. Substantively, simulation of the estimated model shows some statistically significant effects from acquiring qualifications of a higher level than those previously held, but not from acquiring qualifications of the same level