4,799 research outputs found
Performance of AAOmega: the AAT multi-purpose fibre-fed spectrograph
AAOmega is the new spectrograph for the 2dF fibre-positioning system on the
Anglo-Australian Telescope. It is a bench-mounted, double-beamed design, using
volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings and articulating cameras. It is fed by
392 fibres from either of the two 2dF field plates, or by the 512 fibre SPIRAL
integral field unit (IFU) at Cassegrain focus. Wavelength coverage is 370 to
950nm and spectral resolution 1,000-8,000 in multi-Object mode, or 1,500-10,000
in IFU mode. Multi-object mode was commissioned in January 2006 and the IFU
system will be commissioned in June 2006.
The spectrograph is located off the telescope in a thermally isolated room
and the 2dF fibres have been replaced by new 38m broadband fibres. Despite the
increased fibre length, we have achieved a large increase in throughput by use
of VPH gratings, more efficient coatings and new detectors - amounting to a
factor of at least 2 in the red. The number of spectral resolution elements and
the maximum resolution are both more than doubled, and the stability is an
order of magnitude better.
The spectrograph comprises: an f/3.15 Schmidt collimator, incorporating a
dichroic beam-splitter; interchangeable VPH gratings; and articulating red and
blue f/1.3 Schmidt cameras. Pupil size is 190mm, determined by the competing
demands of cost, obstruction losses, and maximum resolution. A full suite of
VPH gratings has been provided to cover resolutions 1,000 to 7,500, and up to
10,000 at particular wavelengths.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; presented at SPIE, Astronomical Telescopes and
Instrumentation, 24 - 31 May 2006, Orlando, Florida US
Minute Pirate Bug and Big-Eyed Bug Populations in Pyramided Bt Sweet Corn Bordered by Native Perennial and Pasture Border Rows
Sweet corn is an important vegetable crop grown in Kentucky. The major sweet corn ear pests are European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, and corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea. Ecological control measures have been introduced to manage these pests, reducing use of broad spectrum insecticides. Conservation biological control (CBC) is a component of these approaches. CBC manages pests in agroecosystems using habitat management to enhance populations of natural enemies that are already present in the system. Another important advancement is the cultivation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) sweet corn resistant to the Lepidopteran corn ear pests. This study used CBC of corn ear pests using pyramided Bt-protected sweet corn. The research was conducted at the Kentucky State University Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration farm in Franklin County, Kentucky, during the summers of 2021 and 2022. Sixteen plots were created by splitting each of the eight larger existing plots into 25 m × 10 m plots with an unplanted strip between them and 2 m wide native perennial or pasture border rows. Yellow sticky traps 15 cm × 15 cm were deployed and replaced weekly to trap beneficial insects. Results revealed that minute pirate bug populations were more abundant than big-eyed bug populations. Both species were slightly more abundant in pasture than native perennial habitats. Similarly, minute pirate bug populations were significantly larger in all four sweet corn habitats. Results will be discussed with respect to the Bt corn bordered by native perennial, Bt corn bordered by pasture, non Bt corn bordered by native perennial, and non Bt corn bordered by pasture border rows
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Diagnosing observation error correlations for Doppler radar radial winds in the Met Office UKV model using observation-minus-background and observation-minus-analysis statistics
With the development of convection-permitting numerical weather prediction the efficient use of high-resolution observations in data assimilation is becoming increasingly important. The operational assimilation of these observations, such as Doppler radar radial winds (DRWs), is now common, though to avoid violating the assumption of uncorrelated observation errors the observation density is severely reduced. To improve the quantity of observations used and the impact that they have on the forecast requires the introduction of the full, potentially correlated, error statistics. In this work, observation error statistics are calculated for the DRWs that are assimilated into the Met Office high-resolution UK model using a diagnostic that makes use of statistical averages of observation-minus-background and observation-minus-analysis residuals. This is the first in-depth study using the diagnostic to estimate both horizontal and along-beam observation error statistics. The new results obtained show that the DRW error standard deviations are similar to those used operationally and increase as the observation height increases. Surprisingly the estimated observation error correlation length-scales are longer than the operational thinning distance. They are dependent both on the height of the observation and on the distance of the observation away from the radar. Further tests show that the long correlations cannot be attributed to the background error covariance matrix used in the assimilation, although they are, in part, a result of using superobservations and a simplified observation operator. The inclusion of correlated error statistics in the assimilation allows less thinning of the data and hence better use of the high-resolution observations
New way to achieve chaotic synchronization in spatially extended systems
We study the spatio-temporal behavior of simple coupled map lattices with
periodic boundary conditions. The local dynamics is governed by two maps,
namely, the sine circle map and the logistic map respectively. It is found that
even though the spatial behavior is irregular for the regularly coupled
(nearest neighbor coupling) system, the spatially synchronized (chaotic
synchronization) as well as periodic solution may be obtained by the
introduction of three long range couplings at the cost of three nearest
neighbor couplings.Comment: 5 pages (revtex), 7 figures (eps, included
Cyclotron effect on coherent spin precession of two-dimensional electrons
We investigate the spin dynamics of high-mobility two-dimensional electrons
in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells grown along the and directions by
time-resolved Faraday rotation at low temperatures. In measurements on the
-grown structures without external magnetic fields, we observe coherent
oscillations of the electron spin polarization about the effective spin-orbit
field. In non-quantizing magnetic fields applied normal to the sample plane,
the cyclotron motion of the electrons rotates the effective spin-orbit field.
This rotation leads to fast oscillations in the spin polarization about a
non-zero value and a strong increase in the spin dephasing time in our
experiments. These two effects are absent in the -grown structure due to
the different symmetry of its effective spin-orbit field. The measurements are
in excellent agreement with our theoretical model.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Posttransplant Thrombopoiesis Predicts Survival in Patients Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Transplantation
AbstractThe frequency and clinical significance of secondary thrombocytopenia following initial engraftment in autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation (HPCT) is unknown. An institutional review board approved retrospective study of thrombopoiesis was performed in 359 patients transplanted with autologous blood (97%) or marrow (3%) who achieved platelet engraftment to >50,000/μL. Idiopathic secondary posttransplant thrombocytopenia (ISPT) was defined as >50% decline in blood platelets to <100,000/μL in the absence of relapse or sepsis. ISPT occurred at a median of day +35 posttransplant in 17% of patients. Patients with ISPT had similar initial platelet engraftment (median 17 days) versus non-ISPT patients (18 days; P = NS) and recovered platelet counts (median 123,00 K/μL) by day 110 posttransplant. Four factors were independently associated with post-transplant death in a multivariate model: disease status at transplant; the number of prior chemotherapy regimens, failure to achieve a platelet count of >150,000/μL posttransplant, and the occurrence of ISPT. A prognostic score was developed based upon the occurrence of ISPT and posttransplant platelet counts of <150,000/μL. Survival of patients with both factors (n = 25) was poor (15% alive at 5 years); patients with 1 factor (n = 145) had 49% 5-year survival; patients with 0 factors (n = 189) had 72% 5-year survival. Patients who failed to achieve a platelet count of >150,000/μL received significantly fewer CD34+ cells/kg (P < .001), whereas patients with ISPT received fewer CD34+CD38− cells/kg (P = .0006). The kinetics of posttransplant thrombopoiesis is an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival following autologous HPC. ISPT and lower initial posttransplant platelet counts reflect poor engraftment with long-term and short-term repopulating CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells, respectively, and are associated with an increased risk of death from disease relapse
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