NHEP Support for DES Shellfish Program 2005

For the past three years, Great Bay Coast Watch (GBCW) volunteers have provided the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Shellfish Program with significant assistance in performing tasks necessary in managing shellfish resources for human safety. This report describes a continuation of this mutually beneficial partnership

Foraging Behavior of Swainson\u27s Thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) During Spring Migration through Arkansas

Foraging behavior of Swainson’s Thrushes on spring migration was studied in western Arkansas in the spring of 2013 and 2014. Observations were made in two forested field sites, one of them urban and the other suburban. The former had a significantly higher woody stem area (cm2) than the latter. For each foraging observation, the following three parameters were noted: Foraging Stratum (Ground, Shrub, Sapling, Sub canopy, and Canopy); Foraging Substrate (Ground/Litter, Herb, Foliage, Bark, and Air); and Foraging Maneuver (Glean, Probe, Dive/Glean, Hover, Jump Hover, and Hawking). We tested the hypotheses that these foraging variables differed significantly between the urban and suburban sites, and between the two years. These hypotheses were rejected for all three parameters. The consolidated data from both the sites and years revealed that a significantly higher proportion (67%) of the observations were on the Ground stratum, compared to the Shrub (13.7%) and Sapling strata (13%). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion (66%) of the foraging substrate used was Ground/Litter, followed by Foliage (16.7%) and Bark (15.8%). Gleaning was the most common foraging maneuver used (71.5%), and was significantly higher than Probing (12.3%) and Dive Gleaning (8.4%)

Apollo experience report: Development of guidance targeting techniques for the command module and launch vehicle

The development of the guidance targeting techniques for the Apollo command module and launch vehicle is discussed for four types of maneuvers: (1) translunar injection, (2) translunar midcourse, (3) lunar orbit insertion, and (4) return to earth. The development of real-time targeting programs for these maneuvers and the targeting procedures represented are discussed. The material is intended to convey historically the development of the targeting techniques required to meet the defined target objectives and to illustrate the solutions to problems encountered during that development

Canola rapeseed, rapeseed, tillage.

Canola rapeseed. Assessment of early maturity Stage 2, lines. 89AB5, 89N38, 89EB31. Early maturity triazine resistance. 89AB6, 89N39, 89EB32. Stage 1 early maturity selections, 89AB8. Stage 2 Late maturity, 89MT43. Late maturity triazine resistance, 89MT44. Blackleg race trial, 89MT47. Interstate variety trials, 89MT45, 89ka70

A depolarization and attenuation experiment using the CTS satellite. Volume 1: Experiment description

An experiment for measuring precipitation attenuation and depolarization on the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) 11.7 GHz downlink is described. Attenuation and depolarization of the signal received from the spacecraft is monitored on a 24 hour basis. Data is correlated with ground weather conditions. Theoretical models for millimeter wave propagation through rain are refined for maximum agreement with observed data. Techniques are developed for predicting and mimimizing the effects of rain scatter and depolarization on future satellite communication systems

A 20 Ghz Depolarization Experiment Using the ATS-6 Satellite

A depolarization experiment using the 20 GHz downlink from the ATS-6 satellite was described. The following subjects were covered: (1) an operational summary of the experiment, (2) a description of the equipment used with emphasis on improvements made to the signal processing receiver used with the ATS-5 satellite, (3) data on depolarization and attenuation in one snow storm and two rain storms at 45 deg elevation, (4) data on low angle propagation, (5) conclusions about depolarization on satellite paths, and (6) recommendations for the depolarization portion of the CTS experiment

A Novel Lifecycle Extension Plan for the Efficient Usage of On-Orbit Post-Consumer Assets

Asteroid mining is a highly-discussed emerging area in outer space commercialization. Significant research has gone into the feasibility of asteroid mining, specifically into the retrieval of asteroids and the technical challenges of resource extraction. Less research has focused on the end-of-life of the asteroid. There are two primary end-of-life scenarios for the asteroid: abandonment or deorbit. These scenarios are technologically challenging and potentially risky for the owners of the asteroid. This paper presents a third option for the asteroid asset after mining operations conclude by lengthening the profitable lifespan of the asteroid. Additionally, the plan takes advantage the caverns and depressions in the surface of the asteroid, a byproduct of the resource extraction process. The solution proposed is to use the asteroid as a storage container on orbit for delicate payloads or as a “garbage can in space,” which would hold the remains of defunct space objects. The mass of the asteroid would provide objects stored within passive shielding from the dangers of the space environment. Additional discussion on the major technical and legal challenges that this solution would face, and how stakeholders could potentially address them. This paper presents a third option for the asteroid asset after mining operations conclude. This plan would lengthen the profitable lifespan of the asteroid, thereby avoiding deorbiting the asteroid or abandoning it as space debris. Additionally, the plan takes advantage the caverns and depressions in the surface of the asteroid, a byproduct of the resource extraction process. The solution we propose is to use the asteroid as a storage container on orbit for delicate payloads or as a “garbage can in space,” which would hold the remains of defunct space objects until the time they could be more safely deorbited. The mass of the asteroid would provide objects stored within passive shielding from the dangers of the space environment, namely space debris and radiation. This proposal also discusses some of the major technical and legal challenges that this solution would face, and how stakeholders could potentially address them. More research is required to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that this proposal faces, which can be conducted during the long-term development of commercial asteroid mining technologies

Hindlimb function in the alligator: integrating movements, motor patterns, ground reaction forces and bone strain of terrestrial locomotion

Alligator hindlimbs show high torsional loads during terrestrial locomotion, in sharp contrast to the bending or axial compressive loads that predominate in animals that use parasagittal limb movements. The present study integrates new data on hindlimb muscle function with previously obtained data on hindlimb kinematics, motor patterns, ground reaction forces and bone strain in order to (1) assess mechanisms underlying limb bone torsion during non-parasagittal locomotion in alligators and (2) improve understanding of hindlimb dynamics during terrestrial locomotion. Three dynamic stance phase periods were recognized: limb-loading, support-and-propulsion, and limb-unloading phases. Shear stresses due to torsion were maximized during the limb-loading phase, during which the ground reaction force (GRF) and caudofemoralis (CFL) muscles generated opposing moments about the femur. Hindlimb retraction during the subsequent stance-and-propulsion phase involves substantial medial rotation of the femur, powered largely by coordinated action of the GRF and CFL. Several muscles that actively shorten to flex and extend limb joints during stance phase in sprawling and erect quadrupeds act in isometric or even eccentric contraction in alligators, stabilizing the knee and ankle during the support-and-propulsion phase. Motor patterns in alligators reveal the presence of local and temporal segregation of muscle functions during locomotion with muscles that lie side by side dedicated to performing different functions and only one of 16 muscles showing clear bursts of activity during both stance and swing phases. Data from alligators add to other recent discoveries that homologous muscles across quadrupeds often do not move joints the same way as is commonly assumed. Although alligators are commonly considered models for early semi-erect tetrapod locomotion, many aspects of hindlimb kinematics, muscle activity patterns, and femoral loading patterns in alligators appear to be derived in alligators rather than reflecting an ancestral semi-erect condition

Genomic islands of divergence in the Yellow Tang and the Brushtail Tang Surgeonfishes.

The current ease of obtaining thousands of molecular markers challenges the notion that full phylogenetic concordance, as proposed by phylogenetic species concepts, is a requirement for defining species delimitations. Indeed, the presence of genomic islands of divergence, which may be the cause, or in some cases the consequence, of speciation, precludes concordance. Here, we explore this issue using thousands of RAD markers on two sister species of surgeonfishes (Teleostei: Acanthuridae), Zebrasoma flavescens and Z. scopas, and several populations within each species. Species are readily distinguished based on their colors (solid yellow and solid brown, respectively), yet populations and species are neither distinguishable using mitochondrial markers (cytochrome c oxidase 1), nor using 5193 SNPs (pairwise Φst = 0.034). In contrast, when using outlier loci, some of them presumably under selection, species delimitations, and strong population structure follow recognized taxonomic positions (pairwise Φst = 0.326). Species and population delimitation differences based on neutral and selected markers are likely due to local adaptation, thus being consistent with the idea that these genomic islands of divergence arose as a consequence of isolation. These findings, which are not unique, raise the question of a potentially important pathway of divergence based on local adaptation that is only evident when looking at thousands of loci