Nonequilibrium electron rings for synchrotron radiation production

Electron storage rings used for the production of synchrotron radiation (SR) have an output photon brightness that is limited by the equilibrium beam emittance. By using interleaved injection and ejection of bunches from a source with repetition rate greater than 1 kHz, we show that it is practicable to overcome this limit in rings of energy ~1 GeV. Sufficiently short kicker pulse lengths enable effective currents of many milliamperes, which can deliver a significant flux of diffraction-limited soft X-ray photons. Thus, either existing SR facilities may be adapted for non-equilibrium operation, or the technique applied to construct SR rings smaller than their storage ring equivalent.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Evolution of Ohmically Heated Hot Jupiters

We present calculations of thermal evolution of Hot Jupiters with various masses and effective temperatures under Ohmic dissipation. The resulting evolutionary sequences show a clear tendency towards inflated radii for effective temperatures that give rise to significant ionization of alkali metals in the atmosphere, compatible with the trend of the data. The degree of inflation shows that Ohmic dissipation, along with the likely variability in heavy element content can account for all of the currently detected radius anomalies. Furthermore, we find that in absence of a massive core, low-mass hot Jupiters can over-flow their Roche-lobes and evaporate on Gyr time-scales, possibly leaving behind small rocky cores.Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal (2011) 735-2, 9 pages, 8 figures, updated figures 2-

A concept design for an ultra-long-range survey class AUV

Gliders and flight-style Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are used to perform perform autonomous surveys of large areas of open ocean. Glider missions are characterized by their profiling flight pattern, slow speed, long range (1000s of km) and many month mission duration. Flight-style AUV missions are faster, of shorter range (100s of km) and multi day duration. An AUV combining many aspects of both vehicle classes would be of considerable value.This paper investigates the factors that affect the range of a traditional flight-style AUVs. A generic range model is outlined which factors in the effects of buoyancy on the range. The model shows that to create a very long range AUV it is necessary to reduce the hotel load on the AUV to the order of 1W and to add wings to overcome the vehicle’s positive buoyancy whilst travelling at the reduced speed required for long range.Using this model a concept long range AUV is outlined that is capable of travelling up to 5000km. The practical issues associated with achieving this range are also discussed

Turning the Commission's Farm to Fork Strategy into a far-reaching reform of EU agriculture

Despite the EU's claim to lead the world on farm animal welfare, much of the EU livestock sector is industrial with poor welfare standards. Moreover, the crowded, stressful conditions of industrial livestock production contribute to the emergence, spread and amplification of pathogens, some of which are zoonotic. Industrial production is dependent on the routine use of antimicrobials to prevent the bacterial diseases that are inevitable when animals are kept in poor conditions. This leads to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in animals which can in turn be transferred to people, so undermining the efficacy of the antimicrobials that are so important in human medicine. In order to reduce disease risk and save our antibiotics, we need to move to 'health-oriented systems' for rearing animals in which good health is inherent in the farming methods rather than being propped up by routine use of antimicrobials. Industrial livestock production is also dependent on feeding human-edible cereals to animals who convert them very inefficiently into meat and milk. 57% of EU cereals are used to feed farm animals. Industrial production's huge demand for cereals has fuelled intensive crop production which with its monocultures and agro-chemicals has led to soil degradation, overuse and pollution of ground- and surface-water, and biodiversity loss including sharp declines in pollinators and farmland birds. We need to transform the role of animals; they only make an efficient contribution to food security when they are converting materials we cannot consume - e.g. grass, crop residues, by-products and unavoidable food waste - into food we can eat. We need to move to regenerative agriculture such as agroecology which can minimise the use of pesticides and fertilisers, while in some cases, enhancing productivity by supporting and harnessing natural processes.A pesar de la afirmación de la UE de ser líder mundial en bienestar de los animales de granja, gran parte del sector ganadero de la UE es industrial y tiene unos estándares de bienestar deficientes. Además, las condiciones estresantes y hacinadas de la producción ganadera industrial contribuyen a la aparición, propagación y amplificación de patógenos, algunos de los cuales son zoonóticos. La producción industrial depende del uso rutinario de antimicrobianos para prevenir las enfermedades bacterianas que son inevitables cuando los animales se mantienen en malas condiciones. Esto conduce a la aparición de resistencias a los antimicrobianos en los animales que, a su vez, pueden transferirse a las personas, lo que socava la eficacia de los antimicrobianos que son tan importantes en la medicina humana. Para reducir el riesgo de enfermedades y conservar nuestros antibióticos, debemos pasar a "sistemas orientados a la salud" para la cría de animales en los que la buena salud es inherente en los métodos de cría en lugar de estar respaldada por el uso rutinario de antimicrobianos. La producción ganadera industrial también depende de la alimentación de animales con cereales comestibles para humanos, que los convierten de manera muy ineficaz en carne y leche. El 57% de los cereales de la UE se utilizan para alimentar a los animales de granja. La enorme demanda de cereales de la producción industrial ha impulsado la producción intensiva de cultivos que, con sus monocultivos y agroquímicos, ha provocado la degradación del suelo, el uso excesivo y la contaminación de las aguas subterráneas y superficiales, y la pérdida de biodiversidad, incluida una fuerte disminución de los polinizadores y las aves de las tierras de cultivo. Necesitamos transformar el papel de los animales; solo hacen una contribución eficiente a la seguridad alimentaria cuando están convirtiendo materiales que no podemos consumir - por ejemplo, pasto, residuos de cultivos, subproductos y desperdicio inevitable de alimentos - en alimentos que podemos comer. Necesitamos pasar a la agricultura regenerativa, como la agroecología, que puede minimizar el uso de pesticidas y fertilizantes y, en algunos casos, mejorar la productividad al respaldar y aprovechar los procesos naturales

New Formation Models for the Kepler-36 System

Formation of the planets in the Kepler-36 system is modeled by detailed numerical simulations according to the core-nucleated accretion scenario. The standard model is updated to include the dissolution of accreting rocky planetesimals in the gaseous envelope of the planet, leading to substantial enrichment of the envelope mass in heavy elements and a non-uniform composition with depth. For Kepler-36 c, models involving in situ formation and models involving orbital migration are considered. The results are compared with standard formation models. The calculations include the formation (accretion) phase, as well as the subsequent cooling phase, up to the age of Kepler-36 (7 Gyr). During the latter phase, mass loss induced by stellar XUV radiation is included. In all cases, the results fit the measured mass, 7.84 M$_\oplus$, and radius, 3.68 R$_\oplus$, of Kepler-36 c. Two parameters are varied to obtain these fits: the disk solid surface density at the formation location, and the "efficiency" factor in the XUV mass loss rate. The updated models are hotter and therefore less dense in the silicate portion of the planet and in the overlying layers of H/He, as compared with standard models. The lower densities mean that only about half as much H/He is needed to be accreted to fit the present-day mass and radius constraints. For Kepler-36 b, an updated in situ calculation shows that the entire H/He envelope is lost, early in the cooling phase, in agreement with observation.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

The effect of the glycemic index of an evening meal on the metabolic responses to a standard high glycemic index breakfast and subsequent exercise in men

The study investigated the effect of the glycemic index of an evening meal on responses to a standard high glycemic index (HGI) breakfast the following morning. The metabolic responses to exercise 3 hours after breakfast were also investigated. 7 active males completed 2 trials. In each trial, participants were provided with an evening meal on day 1, either HGI or LGI (high or low glycemic index) carbohydrates. On day 2, participants were provided with a standard HGI breakfast, then performed a 60 minute run 3 hours later. Plasma glucose and serum insulin concentrates following breakfast were higher in the HGI trial compared to the LGI trial. During exercise there were no differences in substrate utilization. Results suggest that consuming a single LGI evening meal can improve glucose tolerance at breakfast but the metabolic responses to subsequent exercise were not affected