Residual Action of Slow Release Systemic Insecticides on \u3ci\u3eRhopalosiphum Padi\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Aphididae) on Wheat

Slow release formulations of acephate and carbofuran encapsulated in pearl corn­ starch or corn flour granules were applied to the soil at seeding time of potted \u27Caldwell\u27 wheat in the laboratory. Dosages of these insecticides were adjusted to a standard of IO kg/ha of a 10 10 granular formulation of carbofuran. The residual action of these insecticide treatments against Rhopalosiphum padi were compared with those obtained with that of carbofuran 150 at corresponding dosages and foliar sprays of solutions of acephate (25 10 EC) at 0.2 10 and carbofuran (4F) at 1.25 10, applied 12 d after seedling emergence. The residual action of carbofuran 150, which controlled R. padi since seedling emergence, lasted 28.5 d. The slow release granular formulations of carbofuran began to provide control (\u3e 50 10 aphid mortality) on days 13.3 and 17.9 after seeding. They controlled the insect until days 31.6 and 35.5 after seeding. The two corresponding granular formulations of acephate began to provide control on days 15.0 and 17.0 after seeding and con­ trolled the aphids until days 31.5 and 32.8 after seeding. The foliar sprays of acephate and carbofuran provided control for 18.3 and 36.2 d from application, respectively. The slow release granular formulations provided control of R. padi, an important vector of barley yellow dwarf virus, during early. stages of wheat development

Nonlinear projective filtering in a data stream

We introduce a modified algorithm to perform nonlinear filtering of a time series by locally linear phase space projections. Unlike previous implementations, the algorithm can be used not only for a posteriori processing but includes the possibility to perform real time filtering in a data stream. The data base that represents the phase space structure generated by the data is updated dynamically. This also allows filtering of non-stationary signals and dynamic parameter adjustment. We discuss exemplary applications, including the real time extraction of the fetal electrocardiogram from abdominal recordings.Comment: 8 page

Measuring the Higgs Branching Fraction into two Photons at Future Linear \ee Colliders

We examine the prospects for measuring the \gaga branching fraction of a Standard Model-like Higgs boson with a mass of 120 GeV at the future TESLA linear \ee collider, assuming an integrated luminosity of 1 ab$^{-1}$ and center-of-mass energies of 350 GeV and 500 GeV. The Higgs boson is produced in association with a fermion pair via the Higgsstrahlung process \ee $\to ZH$, with $Z \to$ \qq or \nn, or the WW fusion reaction $e^+e^- \to \nu_e \bar{\nu_e} H$. A relative uncertainty on BF(\hgg) of~16% can be achieved in unpolarized \ee collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=~500 GeV, while for $\sqrt{s}$=~350 GeV the expected precision is slightly poorer. With appropriate initial state polarizations $\Delta$BF(\hgg)/BF(\hgg) can be improved to 10%. If this measurement is combined with the expected error for the total Higgs width, a precision of 10% on the \gaga Higgs boson partial width appears feasible.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

A laser gyroscope system to detect the Gravito-Magnetic effect on Earth

Large scale square ring laser gyros with a length of four meters on each side are approaching a sensitivity of 1x10^-11 rad/s/sqrt(Hz). This is about the regime required to measure the gravitomagnetic effect (Lense Thirring) of the Earth. For an ensemble of linearly independent gyros each measurement signal depends upon the orientation of each single axis gyro with respect to the rotational axis of the Earth. Therefore at least 3 gyros are necessary to reconstruct the complete angular orientation of the apparatus. In general, the setup consists of several laser gyroscopes (we would prefer more than 3 for sufficient redundancy), rigidly referenced to each other. Adding more gyros for one plane of observation provides a cross-check against intra-system biases and furthermore has the advantage of improving the signal to noise ratio by the square root of the number of gyros. In this paper we analyze a system of two pairs of identical gyros (twins) with a slightly different orientation with respect to the Earth axis. The twin gyro configuration has several interesting properties. The relative angle can be controlled and provides a useful null measurement. A quadruple twin system could reach a 1% sensitivity after 3:2 years of data, provided each square ring has 6 m length on a side, the system is shot noise limited and there is no source for 1/f- noise.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. 2010 Honourable mention of the Gravity Research Foundation; to be published on J. Mod. Phys.

A 1.82 m^2 ring laser gyroscope for nano-rotational motion sensing

We present a fully active-controlled He-Ne ring laser gyroscope, operating in square cavity 1.35 m in side. The apparatus is designed to provide a very low mechanical and thermal drift of the ring cavity geometry and is conceived to be operative in two different orientations of the laser plane, in order to detect rotations around the vertical or the horizontal direction. Since June 2010 the system is active inside the Virgo interferometer central area with the aim of performing high sensitivity measurements of environmental rotational noise. So far, continuous not attempted operation of the gyroscope has been longer than 30 days. The main characteristics of the laser, the active remote-controlled stabilization systems and the data acquisition techniques are presented. An off-line data processing, supported by a simple model of the sensor, is shown to improve the effective long term stability. A rotational sensitivity at the level of ten nanoradiants per squareroot of Hz below 1 Hz, very close to the required specification for the improvement of the Virgo suspension control system, is demonstrated for the configuration where the laser plane is horizontal

The Dwarf Nova Outbursts of Nova Her 1960 (=V446 Her)

V446 Her is the best example of an old nova which has developed dwarf nova eruptions in the post-nova state. We report on observed properties of the long-term light curve of V446 Her, using photometry over 19 years. Yearly averages of the outburst magnitudes shows a decline of ~0.013 mag/yr, consistent with the decline of other post-novae that do not have dwarf nova outbursts. Previous suggestions of bimodal distributions of the amplitudes and widths of the outbursts are confirmed. The outbursts occur at a mean spacing of 18 days but the range of spacings is large (13-30 days). From simulations of dwarf nova outbursts it has been predicted that the outburst spacing in V446 Her will increase as M-dot from the red dwarf companion slowly falls following the nova; however the large intrinsic scatter in the spacings serves to hide any evidence of this effect. We do find a systematic change in the outburst pattern in which the brighter, wider type of outbursts disappeared after late 2003, and this phenomenon is suggested to be due to falling M-dot following the nova.Comment: To appear at the Astronomical Journal; 7 pages, 1 table, 11 figure

Measures of galaxy dust and gas mass with Herschel photometry and prospects for ALMA

(Abridged) Combining the deepest Herschel extragalactic surveys (PEP, GOODS-H, HerMES), and Monte Carlo mock catalogs, we explore the robustness of dust mass estimates based on modeling of broad band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with two popular approaches: Draine & Li (2007, DL07) and a modified black body (MBB). As long as the observed SED extends to at least 160-200 micron in the rest frame, M(dust) can be recovered with a >3 sigma significance and without the occurrence of systematics. An average offset of a factor ~1.5 exists between DL07- and MBB-based dust masses, based on consistent dust properties. At the depth of the deepest Herschel surveys (in the GOODS-S field) it is possible to retrieve dust masses with a S/N>=3 for galaxies on the main sequence of star formation (MS) down to M(stars)~1e10 [M(sun)] up to z~1. At higher redshift (z<=2) the same result is achieved only for objects at the tip of the MS or lying above it. Molecular gas masses, obtained converting M(dust) through the metallicity-dependent gas-to-dust ratio delta(GDR), are consistent with those based on the scaling of depletion time, and on CO spectroscopy. Focusing on CO-detected galaxies at z>1, the delta(GDR) dependence on metallicity is consistent with the local relation. We combine far-IR Herschel data and sub-mm ALMA expected fluxes to study the advantages of a full SED coverage.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Some figures have degraded quality for filesize reason

Localization of non-interacting electrons in thin layered disordered systems

Localization of electronic states in disordered thin layered systems with b layers is studied within the Anderson model of localization using the transfer-matrix method and finite-size scaling of the inverse of the smallest Lyapunov exponent. The results support the one-parameter scaling hypothesis for disorder strengths W studied and b=1,...,6. The obtained results for the localization length are in good agreement with both the analytical results of the self-consistent theory of localization and the numerical scaling studies of the two-dimensional Anderson model. The localization length near the band center grows exponentially with b for fixed W but no localization-delocalization transition takes place.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

The effect of pressure on the thermodynamic properties of seawater

For many thermodynamic calculations in oceanography it is necessary to know the effect of pressure (or depth) on various thermodynamic properties. … Recently, a new equation of state for sea-water (Millero et al., 1980; Millero and Poisson, 1981) has been adopted by the UNESCO/ICES/IAPSO joint panel on oceanographic tables and standards. By appropriate differentiation of this equation of state, it is possible to determine the pressure derivatives for the specific volume of seawater solutions. To estimate the effect of pressure on the partial molal thermochemical properties (Millero and Leung, 1976), it is necessary to know the partial molal volumes of sea salt and water as a function of pressure. This can be accomplished by fitting the apparent molal volumes (c{\u3e,,) of seawater solutions to a function of pressure..