Flutter clearance flight tests of an OV-10A airplane modified for wake vortex flight experiments

The envelope expansion, flight flutter tests of a modified OV-10A aircraft are described. For the wake vortex research program, the airplane was modified to incorporate three forward-extending instrumentation booms, one extending forward from each wing tip and one from the right side of the fuselage. The booms were instrumented with sensors to measure the velocity and direction of local air flow. The flutter test results show that the modified OV-10A aircraft is free from flutter at speeds up to 330 KEAS at 5000 feet altitude

Foliar Fungicides in Seed Corn Production

Since 1982, we have conducted a program to determine the fungicides that may be effective for controlling foliar diseases in inbred and hybrid com. For the past seven years we have limited our research to only inbreds or sister line hybrids. In 1990, we started a cooperative program with seed companies and have conducted our research in commercial seed production fields in five greatly different years in terms of weather patterns. Thirty experiments have been established in seed production fields and 25 fields have been harvested for yield. Five experiments were abandoned because of herbicide injury interactions (2,4-D) with the fungicides, excessive Stewarts disease (a bacterial disease that can not be controlled with fungicides and was devastating), or drought

Pinning of spiral fluxons by giant screw dislocations in YBa_2Cu_3O_7 single crystals: Josephson analog of the fishtail effect

By using a highly sensitive homemade AC magnetic susceptibility technique, the magnetic flux penetration has been measured in YBa_2Cu_3O_7 single crystals with giant screw dislocations (having the structure of the Archimedean spirals) exhibiting a=3 spiral turnings, the pitch b=18.7 microns and the step height c=1.2nm (the last parameter is responsible for creation of extended weak-link structure around the giant defects). The magnetic field applied parallel to the surface enters winding around the weak-link regions of the screw in the form of the so-called spiral Josephson fluxons characterized by the temperature dependent pitch b_f(T). For a given temperature, a stabilization of the fluxon structure occurs when b_f(T) matches b (meaning an optimal pinning by the screw dislocations) and manifests itself as a pronounced low-field peak in the dependence of the susceptibility on magnetic field (applied normally to the surface) in the form resembling the high-field (Abrikosov) fishtail effect.Comment: see also http://www.jetpletters.ac.ru/ps/1886/article_28701.shtm

Uncovering a Novel Stone in 27 Patients: Calcium Tartrate Tetrahydrate

Objective To further analyze calcium tartrate tetrahydrate stones after a recent case report described this novel stone. Prior to this, there was only one previously reported occurrence of this stone in a human. This unusual stone composition is not tested for routinely. True prevalence and possible causes of this stone are unknown. Materials/Methods During the previous case report, micro-CT and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to identify a calcium tartrate tetrahydrate stone. This information was applied to urinary stones with previously unidentified compositions in the Mayo Metals laboratory database between 2010 and March 2018. Two additional stones were identified at our institution. Three patients had medical records available for analysis. Results Between 2010 and March 2018, 35 calcium tartrate stones in 25 patients were identified in the Mayo database as well as 2 at our institution (37 stones in 27 patients). Thirty stones were pure calcium tartrate with the remainder having elements of more common stones. The average age was 46.3 (±14.7) with a slightly higher incidence in females (17 vs 10). Of the 3 medical records investigated, all 3 were males (average age 48.7), and each reported consumption of an energy supplement (Spark) routinely. Conclusion The true prevalence of this relatively unknown stone remains unclear and additional investigation is warranted. We believe all stone laboratories should have access to the IR spectra for calcium tartrate tetrahydrate. Attention should be paid to possible causes of this stone, particularly with relation to oral supplements, to aid with future prevention and treatment

Using the MitoB method to assess levels of reactive oxygen species in ecological studies of oxidative stress

In recent years evolutionary ecologists have become increasingly interested in the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the life-histories of animals. ROS levels have mostly been inferred indirectly due to the limitations of estimating ROS from in vitro methods. However, measuring ROS (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2) content in vivo is now possible using the MitoB probe. Here, we extend and refine the MitoB method to make it suitable for ecological studies of oxidative stress using the brown trout Salmo trutta as model. The MitoB method allows an evaluation of H2O2 levels in living organisms over a timescale from hours to days. The method is flexible with regard to the duration of exposure and initial concentration of the MitoB probe, and there is no transfer of the MitoB probe between fish. H2O2 levels were consistent across subsamples of the same liver but differed between muscle subsamples and between tissues of the same animal. The MitoB method provides a convenient method for measuring ROS levels in living animals over a significant period of time. Given its wide range of possible applications, it opens the opportunity to study the role of ROS in mediating life history trade-offs in ecological settings

Re-framing the climate change debate in the livestock sector: mitigation and adaptation options

Livestock play a key role in the climate change debate. As with crop-based agriculture, the sector is both a net greenhouse gas emitter and vulnerable to climate change. At the same time, it is an essential food source for millions of people worldwide, with other functions apart from food security such as savings and insurance. By comparison with crop-based agriculture, the interactions of livestock and climate change have been much less studied. The debate around livestock is confusing due to the coexistence of multiple livestock farming systems with differing functions for humans, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles and different characteristics and boundary issues in their measurement, which are often pooled together. Consequently, the diversity of livestock farming systems and their functions to human systems are poorly represented and the role of the livestock sector in the climate change debate has not been adequately addressed. In this article, building upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC 5AR) findings, we review recent literature on livestock and climate change so as better to include this diversity in the adaptation and mitigation debate around livestock systems. For comparative purposes we use the same categories of managerial, technical, behavioral and policy-related action to organize both mitigation and adaptation options. We conclude that different livestock systems provide different functions to different human systems and require different strategies, so they cannot readily be pooled together. We also observe that, for the different livestock systems, several win-win strategies exist that effectively tackle both mitigation and adaptation options as well as food security

Empirical Modelling of Stem Cambium Heating Caused by Prescribed Burning in Mediterranean Pine Forest

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: The data used in the current study can be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Little is known about the interactions between the variables involved in the post-fire response of Mediterranean pine species to prescribed burning (PB). Thus, it is essential to develop an empirical model in order to assess the influence of tree and stand attributes, burn season, and fire severity on the probability of stem cambium damage occurring. Prescribed burnings were conducted in different seasons and areas covering a wide climatic and ecological range. Potential explanatory variables were measured. A random effects hurdle model framework was used to evaluate the temperature duration above 60 °C as a proxy for stem cambium damage at tree scale. The results showed significant differences in cambium damage between the PB seasons. Pinus nigra was more resistant than other pine species. Bark thickness was critical for protecting cambium. Volume of crown scorch, percentage of stem scorch, and maximum outer bark temperature were directly related to temperature duration above 60 °C in the cambium. Prescribed burning conducted under tree canopy in Mediterranean pine species generally results in a low level of cambium damage. Empirical models could help managers to predict the effects of PB and thus select the most suitable prescriptions

The Quasar Feedback Survey: characterizing CO excitation in quasar host galaxies

\ua9 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.We present a comprehensive study of the molecular gas properties of 17 Type 2 quasars at z < 0.2 from the Quasar Feedback Survey (L > 1042.1), selected by their high [O iii] luminosities and displaying a large diversity of radio jet properties, but dominated by LIRG-like galaxies. With these data, we are able to investigate the impact of AGN and AGN feedback mechanisms on the global molecular interstellar medium. Using Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment and ALMA ACA observations, we measure the total molecular gas content using the CO(1-0) emission and homogeneously sample the carbon monoxide (CO) spectral line energy distributions, observing CO transitions (Jup = 1, 2, 3, 6, 7). We observe high r21 ratios (r21 = L\u27CO(2-1)/L\u27CO(1-0)) with a median r21 = 1.06, similar to local (U)LIRGs (with r21 ∼1) and higher than normal star-forming galaxies (with r21 ∼0.65). Despite the high r21 values, for the seven targets with the required data, we find low excitation in CO(6-5) & CO(7-6) (r61 and r62 < 0.6 in all but one target), unlike high-redshift quasars in the literature, which are far more luminous and show higher line ratios. The ionized gas traced by [O iii] exhibits systematically higher velocities than the molecular gas traced by CO. We conclude that any effects of quasar feedback (e.g. via outflows and radio jets) do not have a significant instantaneous impact on the global molecular gas content and excitation and we suggest that it only occurs on more localized scales