Microgravity research at the University of Mexico: Experiments in payload G-006

The experiments contained in the G-006 payload related to thin film vapor deposition, vacuum variations in a chamber vented to space, solidification of a Zn-Al-Cu alloy, and multiple location temperature monitoring for thermal model validation are described in detail. A discussion of the expected results is presented, together with the methods selected to conduct the postflight analysis, and finally, a overview of the future activities in this field

Evaluation of Fomesafen for Broadleaf Weed Control, In Soybeans (Glycine Max)

The lack of effective broadleaf weed control represents one of the major factors having detrimental effects on growth and yield of soybeans. Broadleaf weeds are a serious threat to soybean growers in the southeastern United States. A broad range of herbicides is being used in an effort to control broadleaf weeds in soybeans, and research is still being conducted to find new herbicides that can best work for this purpose. This study involved the use of one these herbicides. It was fomesafen, 5-[2-chloro-4-trifluromethyl) phenoxy]-N-(methyl-sulfonyl)-2-nitrobenzamide, which controls a broad spectrum of broadleaf weeds in soybeans. The experiment was conducted in the summers of 1987 and 1988. Broadleaf weed control treatments with fomesafen at rates at 0.07, 0.14, 0.28, and 0.35 kg ai/ha in single early postemergence and late postemergence applications were evaluated using the herbicide with a nonionic surfactant at 0.25% and 0.50% of the solution. All treatments were compared with a check which did not receive herbicide application. Among the most common broadleaf weeds found in the area under study during the summer of 1987 were morningglories (Ipomoea spp), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), carpetweed (Moliugo verticillata L.), and prickly sida (Sida spinose L.), For the summer of 1988 the most prevalent broadleaf weeds were morningglories, horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.), horseweed [Conyza canadensis (L.), Cronq.], and prickly sida. The results of the experiment showed no significant differences between early postemergence and late postemergence treatments. There were no significant differences in broadleaf weed control in treatments which received 0.14, 0.28 and 0.35 kg ai/ha of fomesafen for either 1987 or 1988. Poor broadleaf weed control resulted with the application of fomesafen at its lowest rate (0.07 kg ai/ha). No significant differences were found in broadleaf weed control between concentration of 0.25% and 0.50% of the nonionic surfactant added to fomesafen. Statistically significant yield variation did occur among treatments in 1987. No significant differences in yields were found between any of the herbicide treatments in 1988. Soybean yields were significantly higher in 1988 than in 1987

Soybean root rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium graminearum: interactions with biotic and abiotic factors

Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) and Fusarium graminearum (Fg) are important components of the Fusarium root rot complex in soybean. Fo is one of the species most frequently associated with soybean root rot, and Fg isolates that colonize wheat and maize have been found to be highly pathogenic on soybean, in the United States. Fo and Fg cause seed decay, damping-off, crown and root rots and pod blight. The goal of this research was to characterize the biology of Fo and Fg and determine their role as soybean seedling pathogens in the Fusarium root rot complex. The objectives were to: i) assess the phenotypic characteristics of Fo isolates from soybean, including the interaction between Fo isolates and soybean cultivars, growth characteristics in culture, and sensitivity to fungicides, ii) evaluate the effect of pH and temperature on the development of soybean root rot caused by Fo, and iii) determine the impact of soil texture, soil pH and soil water content on seedling disease caused by Fg. For objective 1, pathogenicity of fourteen Fo isolates was evaluated on eleven soybean cultivars in rolled-towel and petri-dish assays. Our study revealed that cultivars differed in susceptibility to Fo, and there were significant isolate ÃÂÃÂ cultivar interactions. These results suggests that the pattern of resistance or susceptibility for each soybean cultivar differs among isolates. In addition, soybean cultivars differed in susceptibility to Fo, illustrating the variability among Fo isolates from soybean and the potential for their management through cultivar selection. Fo isolates also differed in radial growth on PDA. Pyraclostrobin and trifloxystrobin effectively reduced conidial germination, and ipconazole effectively reduced fungal growth, but fludioxonil was ineffective against Fo fungal growth. These results illustrate the variability among Fo isolates from soybean and the potential for their management through cultivar selection or seed treatment. For objective 2, a growth chamber study was performed to assess the effects of pH and temperature on Fo fungal growth and seedling disease. Fo isolates were grown on artificial culture media at four pH levels (4, 5, 6, 7, 8), and incubated at four temperatures (15 20, 25, or 30ᵒC). In a rolled-towel assay, seeds were inoculated with a suspension of a pathogenic or a non-pathogenic Fo isolate. We found that Fo isolates had the greatest radial growth at pH 6 and 25ᵒC, and caused the most severe root rot at pH 6 and 25ᵒC. In addition, a Gaussian model was performed to estimate optimal pH and temperature for fungal growth and disease severity. Optimal conditions estimated using a Gaussian model were pH 6.4 at 27.4 ᵒC for maximal fungal growth, and pH 5.9 at 30ᵒC for maximal root rot severity. These results indicate that optimal pH and temperature conditions for Fo growth are similar to optimal conditions for infection and disease in soybean seedlings, and suggest that Fo may be a more important seedling pathogen when soybeans are planted later, under warm conditions. For objective 3, we tested the effect of four artificial soil textures (sand, loamy sand, sandy loam and loam), two levels of soil pH (6 and 8), and three levels of soil moisture (permanent wilting point, field capacity and saturation) on root rot of soybean caused by Fg. We found a significant interaction between soil moisture and soil texture for root rot. The greatest severity (~70%) was observed at pH 6 and permanent wilting point in sandy loam soils. In contrast, pot saturation resulted in the lowest levels of disease in sandy loam and loam soils (11.6 and 10.8%, respectively). Percentages of reduction on seedling growth parameters relative to the non-inoculated control, such as root length, foliar area, shoot and root dry weights and root tips were significantly higher in sandy loam soils. In contrast, there were no relative growth reductions in sandy soils. Our results suggest root disease caused by Fg increases in water-stressed plants, resulting in detrimental effects on plant development

Miniature atomic magnetometer integrated with flux concentrators

High permeability magnetic flux concentrators are used to enhance the sensitivity of an atomic magnetometer operating in the spin-exchange relaxation-free regime. The magnetometer uses a millimeter scale 87Rb vapor cell and either mu-metal or Mn–Zn ferrite flux concentrators. The measured sensitivity gives excellent agreement with calculations of thermal noise from the concentrator material. The mu-metal concentrators allow a sensitivity of 50 fT Hz−1/2, limited by thermal current magnetic noise. The ferrite concentrators are limited by thermal magnetization noise at low frequencies, and reach a sensitivity of 10 fT Hz−1/2 for frequencies above 125 Hz

Force reconstruction from tapping mode force microscopy experiments

Fast, accurate, and robust nanomechanical measurements are intensely studied in materials science, applied physics, and molecular biology. Amplitude modulation force microscopy (tapping mode) is the most established nanoscale characterization technique of surfaces for air and liquid environments. However, its quantitative capabilities lag behind its high spatial resolution and robustness. We develop a general method to transform the observables into quantitative force measurements. The force reconstruction algorithm has been deduced on the assumption that the observables (amplitude and phase shift) are slowly varying functions of the tip–surface separation. The accuracy and applicability of the method is validated by numerical simulations and experiments. The method is valid for liquid and air environments, small and large free amplitudes, compliant and rigid materials, and conservative and non-conservative forces.This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy (MINECO) through grant CSD2010–00024 and the European Research Council ERC-AdG-340177 (3DNanoMech)

Machine and social intelligent peer-assessment systems for assessing large student populations in massive open online education

The motivation of the European Etoile project is to create high quality free open education in complex systems science, including quality assured certification. Universities and colleges around the world are increasingly using online platforms to offer courses open to the public. Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs give millions of people access to lectures delivered by prestigious universities. However, although some of these courses provide certification of attendance and completion, most do not provide any academic or professional recognition since this would imply a rigorous and complete evaluation of the student’s achievements. Since the number of students enrolled may exceed tens of thousands, it is impractical for a lecturer (or group of lecturers) to evaluate all students using conventional hand marking. Thus in order to be scalable, assessment must be automated. The state-of-the-art in automated assessment includes various methods and computerised tools including multiple choice questions, and intelligent marking techniques (involving complex semantic analysis). However, none of these completely cover the requirements needed for the implementation of an assessment system able to cope with very large populations of students and also able to guarantee the quality of evaluation required for higher education. The goal of this research is to propose, implement and evaluate a computer mediated social interaction system which can be applied to massive online learning communities. This must be a scalable system able to assess fairly and accurately student coursework and examinations. We call this approach “machine and socially intelligent peer assessment”. This paper describes our system and illustrates its application. Our approach combines the concepts of peer assessment and reputation systems to provide an independent computerised system which determines the degree and type of interaction between student peers based on a reputation score which emerges from the marking behaviour of each student and the interaction with other individuals of the community. A simulation experiment will be reported showing how reputation-based social structure can evolve in our peer marking system. A pilot experiment using a population of ninety 16-year old high school students in Colombia measured the marking accuracy of our system by comparing the statistical differences between the scores resulting from teacher marking (the ‘gold standard’), peer assessment using average scores, and our intelligent reputation-based peer assessment. This addresses the research question: to what extent does the proposed approach improve peer marking in terms of marking accuracy and fairness? We report the first results of this experiment, summarise the lessons learned, and describe further work