Agronomic Experiences with Biomass Feedstocks at the University of Illinois

Tom Voigt - Associate Professor and Extension Specialist Department of Crop Sciences. The University of Illinois has been collecting data from herbaceous biomass feedstock trials in Illinois since 2004 and is currently conducting collaborative feedstock research with universities in ten states. In this presentation, U of I feedstock research will be shared and include information on herbaceous feedstocks, agronomic feedstock studies, and research findings

FlexibleSUSY: Precise automated calculations in any BSM theory

FlexibleSUSY is a software package for various calculations in any model of physics beyond the standard model (not just any supersymmetric model). FlexibleSUSY can solve boundary value problems and uses this to find $\overline{DR}/\overline{MS}$ parameters and calculate the Higgs and BSM particle masses, as well as other observables. FlexibleSUSY is designed to be adaptable, fast, precise and reliable. We describe FlexibleSUSY with particular emphasis on recent developments and the state of the art Higgs mass calculations it can perform. We also show some applications to illustrate how it can be used to obtain interesting physics results with the highest precision possible and with remarkable speed.Comment: 4 pages plus title page, 1 figure. Contribution to proceedings of ICHEP 2018, the 39th International Conference on High Energy Physic

Post Traumatic Growth Amongst Australian Bravery Award Recipients

This study explored aspects of Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) amongst Australian Bravery Award recipients exposed to serious or life-threatening trauma. PTG is the process whereby some people experience growth following traumatic experiences. Previous PTG research has focused on specific disasters, incidents or cohorts of survivors. We explored a range of incidents in both civilian and non-civilian award recipients. Sixty-five Australian Bravery Award recipients (37 civilian and 28 non-civilian) completed the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory and provided additional demographic information about their bravery incident. Results showed that civilians experienced significantly higher growth (mean PTG score = 49.7 than non-civilians (mean PTG score = 29.5). PTG varied by gender, with female award recipients having much higher PTG scores (mean 65.9) than males (mean 29.5). Australian Bravery Award recipients involved in violent incidents reported significantly higher PTG, with civilians involved in firearm related incidents reporting a mean PTG score of 65.5 compared to non-civilians at 34.8. Not all individuals involved in traumatic incidents have PTG, however we found that 73% of civilian bravery award recipients experienced moderate to high levels of growth following serious life-threatening incidents compared with 22.1% of non-civilians

What is the impact of acts of bravery?

We all like to hear positive stories of bravery and heroism, especially those that have a good ending and outcome. These stories reassure us that amongst all the bad news and tragedy we see on a daily basis, there are people out there who act and behave selflessly in extraordinary situations and circumstances

Reassessing evidence of Moon–Earth dynamics from tidal bundles at 3.2 Ga (Moodies Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa)

Past orbital parameters of the Moon are difficult to reconstruct from geological records because relevant data sets of tidal strata are scarce or incomplete. The sole Archean data point is from the Moodies Group (ca 3.22 Ga) of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. From the time-series analysis of tidal bundles from a well-exposed subaqueous sand wave of this unit, Eriksson and Simpson (Geology, 28, 831) suggested that the Moon’s anomalistic month at 3.2 Ga was closer to 20 days than the present 27.5 days. This is in apparent accordance with models of orbital mechanics which place the Archean Moon in a closer orbit with a shorter period, resulting in stronger tidal action. Although this study’s detailed geological mapping and section measuring of the site confirmed that the sandstone bed in question is likely a migrating dune, the presence of angular mud clasts, channel-margin slumps, laterally aggrading channel fills and bidirectional paleocurrents in overlying and underlying beds suggests that this bedform was likely located in a nearshore channel near lower-intertidal flats and subtidal estuarine bars; it thus carries risk of incomplete preservation. Repeated measurements of foreset thicknesses along the published traverse, measured perpendicular to bedding, failed to show consistent spectral peaks. Larger data sets acquired along traverses measured parallel to bedding along the 20.5 m wide exposure are affected by minor faulting, uneven outcrop weathering, changing illumination, weather, observer bias and show a low reproducibility. The most robust measurements herein confirm the periodicity peak of approximately 14 in the original data of Eriksson and Simpson (Geology, 28, 831). Because laminae may have been eroded, the measurements may represent a lower bound of about 28 lunar days per synodic month. This estimate agrees well with Earth–Moon dynamic models which consider the conservation of angular momentum and place the Archaean Moon in a lower orbit around a faster-spinning Earth

Reassessing evidence of Moon–Earth dynamics from tidal bundles at 3.2 Ga (Moodies Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa)

Past orbital parameters of the Moon are difficult to reconstruct from geological records because relevant data sets of tidal strata are scarce or incomplete. The sole Archean data point is from the Moodies Group (ca 3.22 Ga) of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. From the time-series analysis of tidal bundles from a well-exposed subaqueous sand wave of this unit, Eriksson and Simpson (Geology, 28, 831) suggested that the Moon’s anomalistic month at 3.2 Ga was closer to 20 days than the present 27.5 days. This is in apparent accordance with models of orbital mechanics which place the Archean Moon in a closer orbit with a shorter period, resulting in stronger tidal action. Although this study’s detailed geological mapping and section measuring of the site confirmed that the sandstone bed in question is likely a migrating dune, the presence of angular mud clasts, channel-margin slumps, laterally aggrading channel fills and bidirectional paleocurrents in overlying and underlying beds suggests that this bedform was likely located in a nearshore channel near lower-intertidal flats and subtidal estuarine bars; it thus carries risk of incomplete preservation. Repeated measurements of foreset thicknesses along the published traverse, measured perpendicular to bedding, failed to show consistent spectral peaks. Larger data sets acquired along traverses measured parallel to bedding along the 20.5 m wide exposure are affected by minor faulting, uneven outcrop weathering, changing illumination, weather, observer bias and show a low reproducibility. The most robust measurements herein confirm the periodicity peak of approximately 14 in the original data of Eriksson and Simpson (Geology, 28, 831). Because laminae may have been eroded, the measurements may represent a lower bound of about 28 lunar days per synodic month. This estimate agrees well with Earth–Moon dynamic models which consider the conservation of angular momentum and place the Archaean Moon in a lower orbit around a faster-spinning Earth

The EASL–<em>Lancet</em> Commission on liver health in Europe: prevention, case-finding, and early diagnosis to reduce liver-related mortality

In December, 2021, the first report from the Lancet Commission on liver disease in Europe, a joint project with the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), was published. 1 The Commission explored the harm to liver health in Europe that results from a combination of increasing obesity, the highest level of alcohol consumption in the world, and delays in viral hepatitis elimination. The Commission emphasised the importance of structural factors that drive risk behaviours and poor outcomes in liver disease, with disproportionate effects on disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. Such structural drivers include the heterogeneous landscape of alcohol policy in Europe, fragmented access to testing and therapy for viral hepatitis, and stigmatisation faced by individuals at risk of liver disease at the societal level and within health-care settings. 2 , 3 This stigma contributes to care avoidance and delayed diagnosis, ultimately leading to a bias in clinical pathways that prioritise managing advanced liver disease rather than early diagnosis and primary and secondary prevention of liver disease. The Commission report included ten recommendations to facilitate a shift towards health promotion, prevention, proactive case-finding, early identification of progressive liver fibrosis, and early management and treatment of liver diseases (figure). 1 The key message of the Commission was paraphrased by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, in her remarks made at the launch event: “in most cases, liver disease can be prevented. Prevention is the best cure that we have.