34,068 research outputs found
Organic slug control using Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a lethal slug parasitic nematode that has been formulated into an effective biological control agent called NemaslugĀ®. We investigated the possibility of using different application methods of P. hermaphrodita to reduce cost and the number of nematodes applied. We also compared P. hermaphrodita with a new slug pellet called FerramolĀ®, which is available for use on organic farms
The Angular Diameter and Fundamental Parameters of Sirius A
The Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) has been used to make a
new determination of the angular diameter of Sirius A. The observations were
made at an effective wavelength of 694.1 nm and the new value for the
limb-darkened angular diameter is 6.048 +/- 0.040mas (+/-0.66%). This new
result is compared with previous measurements and is found to be in excellent
agreement with a conventionally calibrated measurement made with the European
Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at 2.176
microns (but not with a second globally calibrated VLTI measurement). A
weighted mean of the SUSI and first VLTI results gives the limb-darkened
angular diameter of Sirius A as 6.041 +/- 0.017mas (+/-0.28%). Combination with
the Hipparcos parallax gives the radius equal to 1.713 +/- 0.009R_sun. The
bolometric flux has been determined from published photometry and
spectrophotometry and, combined with the angular diameter, yields the emergent
flux at the stellar surface equal to (5.32+/- 0.14)x10^8 Wm^-2 and the
effective temperature equal to 9845 +/- 64 K. The luminosity is 24.7 +/- 0.7
L_sun.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS
A multi-data source surveillance system to detect a bioterrorism attack during the G8 summit in Scotland
In 18 weeks, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) deployed a syndromic surveillance system to early-detect natural or intentional disease outbreaks during the G8 Summit 2005 at Gleneagles, Scotland. The system integrated clinical and non-clinical datasets. Clinical datasets included Accident and Emergency (A and E) syndromes, and General Practice (GPs) codes grouped into syndromes. Non-clinical data included telephone calls to a nurse helpline, laboratory test orders, and hotel staff absenteeism. A cumulative sum-based detection algorithm and a log-linear regression model identified signals in the data. The system had a fax-based track for real-time identification of unusual presentations. Ninety-five signals were triggered by the detection algorithms and four forms were faxed to HPS. Thirteen signals were investigated. The system successfully complemented a traditional surveillance system in identifying a small cluster of gastroenteritis among the police force and triggered interventions to prevent further cases
Kohn Anomalies and Electron-Phonon Interaction in Graphite
We demonstrate that graphite phonon dispersions have two Kohn anomalies at
the Gamma-E_2g and K-A'1 modes. The anomalies are revealed by two sharp kinks.
By an exact analytic derivation, we show that the slope of these kinks is
proportional to the square of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC). Thus, we can
directly measure the EPC from the experimental dispersions. The Gamma-E_2g and
K-A'1 EPCs are particularly large, whilst they are negligible for all the other
modes at Gamma and K.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
The radius and mass of the subgiant star bet Hyi from interferometry and asteroseismology
We have used the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) to measure
the angular diameter of beta Hydri. This star is a nearby G2 subgiant whose
mean density was recently measured with high precision using asteroseismology.
We determine the radius and effective temperature of the star to be
1.814+/-0.017 R_sun (0.9%) and 5872+/-44 K (0.7%) respectively. By combining
this value with the mean density, as estimated from asteroseismology, we make a
direct estimate of the stellar mass. We find a value of 1.07+/-0.03 M_sun
(2.8%), which agrees with published estimates based on fitting in the H-R
diagram, but has much higher precision. These results place valuable
constraints on theoretical models of beta Hyi and its oscillation frequencies.Comment: 3 figures, 3 tables, to appear in MNRAS Letter
Multi-wavelength visibility measurements of the red giant R Doradus
We present visibility measurements of the nearby Mira-like star R Doradus
taken over a wide range of wavelengths (650--990 nm). The observations were
made using MAPPIT (Masked APerture-Plane Interference Telescope), an
interferometer operating at the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. We used a
slit to mask the telescope aperture and prism to disperse the interference
pattern in wavelength. We observed in R Dor strong decreases in visibility
within the TiO absorption bands. The results are in general agreement with
theory but differ in detail, suggesting that further work is needed to refine
the theoretical models.Comment: 8 pages; SPIE Conf. 4006 "Interferometry in Optical Astronomy
Searching for solar-like oscillations in the delta Scuti star rho Puppis
Despite the shallow convective envelopes of delta Scuti pulsators, solar-like
oscillations are theoretically predicted to be excited in those stars as well.
To search for such stochastic oscillations we organised a spectroscopic
multi-site campaign for the bright, metal-rich delta Sct star rho Puppis. We
obtained a total of 2763 high-resolution spectra using four telescopes. We
discuss the reduction and analysis with the iodine cell technique, developed
for searching for low-amplitude radial velocity variations, in the presence of
high-amplitude variability. Furthermore, we have determined the angular
diameter of rho Puppis to be 1.68 \pm 0.03 mas, translating into a radius of
3.52 \pm 0.07Rsun. Using this value, the frequency of maximum power of possible
solar-like oscillations, is expected at ~43 \pm 2 c/d (498 \pm 23 muHz). The
dominant delta Scuti-type pulsation mode of rho Puppis is known to be the
radial fundamental mode which allows us to determine the mean density of the
star, and therefore an expected large frequency separation of 2.73 c/d (31.6
muHz). We conclude that 1) the radial velocity amplitudes of the delta Scuti
pulsations are different for different spectral lines; 2) we can exclude
solar-like oscillations to be present in rho Puppis with an amplitude per
radial mode larger than 0.5 m/s.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure, accepted for MNRA
- ā¦