Response of selected microorganisms to experimental planetary environments

The anaerobic utilization of phosphite or phosphine and the significance of this conversion to potential contamination of Jupiter were investigated. A sporeforming organism was isolated from Cape Canaveral soil which anaerobically converts hypophosphite to phosphate. This conversion coincides with an increase in turbidity of the culture and with phosphate accumulation in the medium. Investigations of omnitherms (organisms which grow over a broad temperature range, i.e. 3 -55 C were also conducted. The cellular morphology of 28 of these isolates was investigated, and all were demonstrated to be sporeformers. Biochemical characterizations are also presented. Procedures for replicate plating were evaluated, and those results are also presented. The procedures for different replicate-plating techniques are presented, and these are evaluated on the basis of reproducibility, percentage of viable transfer, and ease of use. Standardized procedures for the enumeration of microbial populations from ocean-dredge samples from Cape Canaveral are also presented

Subantarctic mode water in the southeast Pacific : effect of exchange across the Subantarctic Front

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 118 (2013): 2052–2066, doi:10.1002/jgrc.20144.This study considered cross-frontal exchange as a possible mechanism for the observed along-front freshening and cooling between the 27.0 and 27.3 kg m − 3 isopycnals north of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) in the southeast Pacific Ocean. This isopycnal range, which includes the densest Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) formed in this region, is mostly below the mixed layer, and so experiences little direct air-sea forcing. Data from two cruises in the southeast Pacific were examined for evidence of cross-frontal exchange; numerous eddies and intrusions containing Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ) water were observed north of the SAF, as well as a fresh surface layer during the summer cruise that was likely due to Ekman transport. These features penetrated north of the SAF, even though the potential vorticity structure of the SAF should have acted as a barrier to exchange. An optimum multiparameter (OMP) analysis incorporating a range of observed properties was used to estimate the cumulative cross-frontal exchange. The OMP analysis revealed an along-front increase in PFZ water fractional content in the region north of the SAF between the 27.1 and 27.3 kg m − 3 isopycnals; the increase was approximately 0.13 for every 15° of longitude. Between the 27.0 and 27.1 kg m − 3 isopycnals, the increase was approximately 0.15 for every 15° of longitude. A simple bulk calculation revealed that this magnitude of cross-frontal exchange could have caused the downstream evolution of SAMW temperature and salinity properties observed by Argo profiling floats.NSF Ocean Sciences grant OCE-0327544 supported L.D.T., T.K.C., and J.H. and funded the two research cruises; NSF Ocean Sciences grant OCE-0850869 funded part of the analysis. BMS’s contribution to this work was undertaken as part of the Australian Climate Change Science Program, funded jointly by the Department of Climate Change and CSIRO.2013-10-2

The role of air-sea fluxes in Subantarctic Mode Water formation

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (2012): C03040, doi:10.1029/2011JC007798.Two hydrographic surveys and a one-dimensional mixed layer model are used to assess the role of air-sea fluxes in forming deep Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) mixed layers in the southeast Pacific Ocean. Forty-two SAMW mixed layers deeper than 400 m were observed north of the Subantarctic Front during the 2005 winter cruise, with the deepest mixed layers reaching 550 m. The densest, coldest, and freshest mixed layers were found in the cruise's eastern sections near 77°W. The deep SAMW mixed layers were observed concurrently with surface ocean heat loss of approximately −200 W m−2. The heat, momentum, and precipitation flux fields of five flux products are used to force a one-dimensional KPP mixed layer model initialized with profiles from the 2006 summer cruise. The simulated winter mixed layers generated by all of the forcing products resemble Argo observations of SAMW; this agreement also validates the flux products. Mixing driven by buoyancy loss and wind forcing is strong enough to deepen the SAMW layers. Wind-driven mixing is central to SAMW formation, as model runs forced with buoyancy forcing alone produce shallow mixed layers. Air-sea fluxes indirectly influence winter SAMW properties by controlling how deeply the profiles mix. The stratification and heat content of the initial profiles determine the properties of the SAMW and the likelihood of deep mixing. Summer profiles from just upstream of Drake Passage have less heat stored between 100 and 600 m than upstream profiles, and so, with sufficiently strong winter forcing, form a cold, dense variety of SAMW.NSF Ocean Sciences grant OCE-0327544 supported LDT, TKC, and JH and funded the two research cruises. BMS’s contribution to this work was undertaken as part of the Australian Climate Change Science Program, funded jointly by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and CSIRO. The QuikSCAT wind mapping method [Kelly et al., 1999], used to create the Kelly flux product, was sponsored by NASA’s Ocean Vector Winds Science. NCEP Reanalysis data were provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD. WHOI’s OAFlux project is funded by the NOAA Climate Observations and Monitoring (COM) program.2012-09-2

Monolithic millimeter-wave and picosecond electronic technologies

Theoretical and experimental studies into monolithic millimeter-wave and picosecond electronic technologies have been undertaken as a collaborative project between the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of California Department of Applied Science Coherent Millimeter-Wave Group under the auspices of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at LLNL. The work involves the design and fabrication of monolithic frequency multiplier, beam control, and imaging arrays for millimeter-wave imaging and radar, as well as the development of high speed nonlinear transmission lines for ultra-wideband radar imaging, time domain materials characterization and magnetic fusion plasma applications. In addition, the Coherent Millimeter-Wave Group is involved in the fabrication of a state-of-the-art X-band ({approximately}8-11 GHz) RF photoinjector source aimed at producing psec high brightness electron bunches for advanced accelerator and coherent radiation generation studies

Horn Fly Control and Growth Implants are Effective Strategies for Heifers Grazing Flint Hills Pasture

Horn flies (Haematobia irritans (L.)) are considered the most important external parasite that negatively affects pasture-based beef systems with losses estimated to exceed $1 billion annually to the U.S. beef industry. Control strategies have relied heavily on insecticide applications to control horn flies and are implemented when the economic threshold of 200 flies/animal have been exceeded. When horn fly populations are maintained below 200 flies/animal by treating them with insecticides then the level of stress annoyance behaviors such as leg stomping, head throwing, and skin twitching decreases while grazing increases. While most stocker operators utilize some type of fly control these are rarely used as a single pharmaceutical technology to aid in performance of the animals. Additional pharmaceutical technologies are utilized in combination of others, with the use of de-wormers and implants showing the largest impact with performance of stockers. The objective of this study was to compare a commercial injectable insecticide, LongRange, to an insecticidal ear tag for horn fly control and determine the impact of weight performance on stockers when fly control technologies were used in combination with implants versus no implants

Atmosphere-ocean coupled processes in the Madden-Julian oscillation

The Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) is a convectively coupled 30-70 day (intraseasonal) tropical atmospheric mode that drives variations in global weather, but which is poorly simulated in most atmospheric general circulation models. Over the past two decades, field campaigns and modeling experiments have suggested that tropical atmosphere-ocean interactions may sustain or amplify the pattern of enhanced and suppressed atmospheric convection that defines the MJO, and encourage its eastward propagation through the Indian and Pacific Oceans. New observations collected during the past decade have advanced our understand of the ocean response to atmospheric MJO forcing and the resulting intraseasonal sea surface temperature (SST) fluctuations. Numerous modeling studies have revealed a considerable impact of the mean state on MJO ocean-atmosphere coupled processes, as well as the importance of resolving the diurnal cycle of atmosphere--upper-ocean interactions. New diagnostic methods provide insight to atmospheric variability and physical processes associated with the MJO, but offer limited insight on the role of ocean feedbacks. Consequently, uncertainty remains concerning the role of the ocean in MJO theory. Our understanding of how atmosphere-ocean coupled processes affect the MJO can be improved by collecting observations in poorly sampled regions of MJO activity, assessing oceanic and atmospheric drivers of surface fluxes, improving the representation of upper-ocean mixing in coupled-model simulations, designing model experiments that minimize mean-state differences, and developing diagnostic tools to evaluate the nature and role of coupled ocean-atmosphere processes over the MJO cycle

Fabrication of an Antenna-Coupled Bolometer for Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimetry

We describe the development of a detector for precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background polarization. The detector employs a waveguide to couple light between a pair of Mo/Au superconducting transition edge sensors (TES) and a feedhorn. Incorporation of an on-chip ortho-mode transducer (OMT) results in high isolation. The OMT is micromachined and bonded to the microstrip and TES circuits in a low temperature wafer bonding process. The wafer bonding process incorporates a buried superconducting niobium layer with a single crystal silicon layer which serves as the leg isolated TES membrane and as the microstrip dielectric. We describe the micromachining and wafer bonding process and report measurement results of the microwave circuitry operating in the 29-43GHz band along with Johnson noise measurements of the TES membrane structures and development of Mo/Au TES operating under '00mK

Benefits and pitfalls of multimedia and interactive features in technology-enhanced storybooks:A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted on the effects of technology-enhanced stories for young children’s literacy development when compared to listening to stories in more traditional settings like storybook reading. A small but significant additional benefit of technology was found for story comprehension (g+ = 0.17) and expressive vocabulary (g+ = 0.20), based on data from 2,147 children in 43 studies. When investigating the different characteristics of technology-enhanced stories, multimedia features like animated pictures, music, and sound effects were found beneficial. In contrast, interactive elements like hotspots, games, and dictionaries were found to be distracting. Especially for children disadvantaged because of less stimulating family environments, multimedia features were helpful and interactive features were detrimental. Findings are discussed from the perspective of cognitive processing theories