Introducing the Digital Scholarship Lab

Milner Library recently opened a Digital Scholarship Lab and invites the community to consider how it might inform their teaching and research. Developed with input from two interdisciplinary working groups, the lab provides a space, programming, and specialized software and equipment for those interested in applying digital methods to their research and learning. The speakers will highlight some of the capabilities of the lab and invite your questions about integrating the space into your instruction and research. The session will bring together scholars with an interest in learning more about and engaging in digital scholarship, extending the community of practice on our campus

Effect of pressure and gas velocity on residence time of particles susceptible to entrainment in gas-solid fluidized beds

In relation to pressurized fluidization processes such as oxyfuel coal combustion, understanding the influence of pressure on bed hydrodynamics and in turn their effect on parameters including feed residence time and entrainment rate is essential. The main focus of the work presented here was to evaluate the impact of pressure and gas velocity on particle elutriation rates and residence times. Experiments were conducted under cold flow conditions in a pilot-scale pressurized fluidized bed with an inner diameter of 0.15 m. The bed material was relatively large glass beads (0.8 to 1.2 mm in diameter) while the feed material was simulated with smaller glass beads (37 to 106 micron in diameter), susceptible to entrainment. Operating pressures and fluidization velocities tested were between atmospheric and 1200 kPa(a) and 0.4 and 1.1 m/s, respectively. Preliminary experiments carried out in batch mode resulted in particle elutriation rates increasing with fluidization velocity in a power law relationship. To simulate coal combustors, experiments were then conducted in a continuous mode where the finer material was continuously fed to the fluidized bed of large particles over a desired period of time, without recycling of fines. This work thus presents particle entrainment results for both batch and continuous operations

Fifty-year study of microplastics ingested by brachyuran and fish larvae in the central English North Sea

\ua9 2023 The Authors. Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants in marine environments. Among the many detrimental consequences of microplastic pollution, its consumption by marine biota is of particular relevance for human health, due to exposure through the food web. Long-term time-series biotic samples are overlooked sources of information for microplastics research. These collections are extremely valuable for the detection and monitoring of changes in marine environments. However, there are very few long-term studies (>10 years) of the uptake of microplastics by biota. Here, we used Dove Time Series planktonic samples (from 1971 to 2020) to assess the presence and prevalence of microplastics in the English North Sea coast over time. Fish and brachyuran larvae were selected due to their commercial importance and consequent implications for human health. A custom enzymatic digestion method was used to extract microplastics for FTIR-ATR polymer identification. An increasing cumulative trend in MP ingestion was identified. Cellophane and polyethylene terephthalate were the polymer types found most frequently in both taxa. Although a total higher microplastics uptake was observed in fish, consumption was not significantly different between taxa over time. Equally, results were not clearly related to microplastics shape or polymer type. This work did not find significant long-term evidence on the increasing uptake of microplastic particles by zooplankton over time. However, the results of this report identified additives, plasticisers, and other more complex and hazardous compounds that should not be released to the environment (e.g., bis-(2-hydroxyethyl) dimerate, propylene glycol ricinoleate) inside marine biota. The study detailed herein provides a case study for the use of long-term time-series in providing accurate assessments of microplastic pollution in marine biota

Mediators of the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction in the natural environment

Social comparisons (i.e., body, eating, exercise) and body surveillance were tested as mediators of the thin-ideal internalization-body dissatisfaction relationship using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Participants were 232 college women who completed a 2-week EMA protocol, responding to questions three times per day. Multilevel path analysis was used to examine a 2-1-1 mediation model (thin-ideal internalization assessed as trait; between-person effects examined) and a 1-1-1 model (component of thin-ideal internalization [thin-ideal importance] assessed momentarily; within- and between-person effects examined). For the 2-1-1 model, only body comparison and body surveillance were significant specific mediators of the between-person effect. For the 1-1-1 model, all four variables were significant specific mediators of the within-person effect. Only body comparison was a significant specific mediator of the between-person effect. At the state level, many processes explain the thin-ideal internalization-body dissatisfaction relationship. However, at the trait level, body comparison and body surveillance are more important explanatory factors

The effects of estradiol-17β on the sex reversal, survival, and growth of green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus

The feminization of green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus could expand their utility as a game fish or aquacultured species by preventing overcrowding and precocious reproduction in stocked systems. Feminization of green sunfish could also help elucidate information on their sex determination system. We report the feminization of green sunfish cohorts via oral administration of estradiol-17β (E2) during early development. A low-dose (100 E2 mg per kg of diet) and a high-dose (150 E2 mg per kg of diet) experimental E2 treatment were fed to juvenile green sunfish from 30 to 90 days post-hatch. Fish were subsequently evaluated for any treatment effect on gonadal development, survival, and growth. Both E2 treatments resulted in 100% feminization, with no morphological or histological differences detected between E2 treated ovaries and those from a control group. The control group was composed mostly of males (82.61%). Overall, there was no effect of E2 on survival (P = 0.310) and growth rate data suggested no statistical differences (P = 0.0805). However, the growth rate of the high-dose group increased slightly higher after the treatment ended than the other treatments (P = 0.042), suggesting that E2 might suppress growth in green sunfish. In addition, the control group did not exhibit a higher survival rate after the treatment period ended (P = 0.266), whereas both E2 treated groups did (P = 0.0003–0.0050). We found that the low dose, 100 E2 mg per kg of diet, was sufficient for fully feminizing green sunfish if administered during development from 30 to 90 days post-hatch and E2 dosages may result in deleterious effects on green sunfish’s health and growth

Modeling tools to estimate the performance of the Thirty Meter Telescope: an integrated approach

A sound system engineering approach and the appropriate tools to support it are essential in achieving the scientific and financial objectives of the Thirty Meter Telescope project. Major elements of the required tool set are those providing estimates for the performance of the telescope. During the last couple of years, the partners in the consortium developed a wide range of modeling and simulation tools with various levels of fidelity and flexibility. There are models available for time domain and frequency domain simulations and analysis, as well as for lower fidelity, parametric investigations of design trade-offs and for high fidelity, integrated modeling of structure, optics and control. Presented are characteristic simulation results using the existing preliminary point designs of the TMT, with emphasis on the telescope performance degradation due to wind buffeting. Under the conditions modeled, the wind induced image jitter and image quality degradation was found comparable to good atmospheric seeing

Main-Belt Comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS)

We present initial results from observations and numerical analyses aimed at characterizing main-belt comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS). Optical monitoring observations were made between October 2012 and February 2013 using the University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescope, the Keck I telescope, the Baade and Clay Magellan telescopes, Faulkes Telescope South, the Perkins Telescope at Lowell Observatory, and the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope. The object's intrinsic brightness approximately doubles from the time of its discovery in early October until mid-November and then decreases by ~60% between late December and early February, similar to photometric behavior exhibited by several other main-belt comets and unlike that exhibited by disrupted asteroid (596) Scheila. We also used Keck to conduct spectroscopic searches for CN emission as well as absorption at 0.7 microns that could indicate the presence of hydrated minerals, finding an upper limit CN production rate of QCN<1.5x10^23 mol/s, from which we infer a water production rate of QH2O<5x10^25 mol/s, and no evidence of the presence of hydrated minerals. Numerical simulations indicate that P/2012 T1 is largely dynamically stable for >100 Myr and is unlikely to be a recently implanted interloper from the outer solar system, while a search for potential asteroid family associations reveal that it is dynamically linked to the ~155 Myr-old Lixiaohua asteroid family.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter