Monopulse tracking system Patent

Monopulse tracking system with antenna array of three radiators for deriving azimuth and elevation indication

Estimating Percent Residue Cover Using the Line-Transect Method

Leaving crop residue on the soil surface is one of the easiest and most cost-effective methods of reducing soil erosion. Research in Nebraska and other midwestern states has shown that leaving as little as 20 percent of the soil surface covered with crop residue can reduce soil erosion by one-half of what it would be from residue-free conditions. Greater amounts of residue cover will further reduce erosion. Many Conservation Plans specify crop residue management or residue left on the soil surface as the primary erosion control method. Generally, the amount of cover required after planting ranges from 30 percent to as much as 85 percent. Thus, it is important to accurately determine percent residue cover to verify effective erosion control and compliance with a Conservation Plan. Residue cover cannot be estimated merely by looking across a field. Such estimates, often attempted from the road or edge of the field, grossly overestimate the actual amount of cover. Accurate estimates of residue cover can only be obtained from measurements taken within the field, while looking straight down at the soil and residue. Crop residue management, or leaving residue on the soil surface, is the most cost-effective method of reducing soil erosion available to Nebraska farmers. Accurate measurements of percent residue cover are needed to determine if enough cover is present to adequately reduce erosion and to comply with a Conservation Plan. The line-transect method is one of the easiest and most accurate methods of determining percent residue cover

Temporary Extension of Unemployment Benefits: Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08)

[Excerpt] In July 2008, a new temporary unemployment benefit, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program, began. The program\u27s authorization ended on November 27, 2010. EUC08 was created by P.L. 110-252, and it has been amended by P.L. 110-449, P.L. 111-5, P.L. 111-92, P.L. 111-118, P.L. 111-144, P.L. 111-157, and P.L. 111-205. Most recently, P.L. 111-205 extended the authorization of the EUC08 program, but did not change the structure of the program or augment benefits. This temporary unemployment insurance program provides up to 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers who have exhausted their rights to regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. A second tier of benefits provides up to an additional 14 weeks of benefits (for a total of up to 34 weeks of EUC08 benefits for all unemployed workers). A third tier is available in states with a total unemployment rate of at least 6% and provides up to an additional 13 weeks of EUC08 benefits (for a total of up to 47 weeks of EUC08 benefits in certain states). A fourth tier is available in states with a total unemployment rate of at least 8.5% and provides up to an additional six weeks of EUC08 benefits (for a total of up to 53 weeks of EUC08 benefits in certain states). All tiers of EUC08 benefits are temporary and expired on the week ending on or before November 30, 2010. Those beneficiaries receiving tier I, II, III, or IV of EUC08 benefits before November 27, 2010 (November 28, 2010, in New York) are grandfathered for their remaining weeks of eligibility for that particular tier only. There will be no new entrants into any tier of the EUC08 program after November 27, 2010. If an individual is eligible to continue to receive his or her remaining EUC08 benefit tier after November 27, 2010, that individual would not be entitled to tier II benefits once those tier I benefits were exhausted. No EUC08 benefits—regardless of tier—are payable for any week after April 30, 2011. P.L. 111-92 expanded benefits available in the EUC08 program, creating two new tiers of benefits (bringing total benefit tiers to four) and adding 20 weeks of EUC08 benefits (for a total of up to 53 benefit weeks). P.L. 111-118 extended the EUC08 program, the 100% federal financing of the Extended Benefit (EB) program, and the $25 Federal Additional Compensation (FAC) weekly benefit through February 28, 2010. P.L. 111-144 and P.L. 111-157 extended these same three measures until April 5, 2010, and June 2, 2010, respectively. On July 22, 2010, the President signed P.L. 111-205, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010, into law. P.L. 111-205 extended the availability of EUC08 and 100$25 FAC benefit, which expired on May 29, 2010 (May 30, 2010, for New York). The latest version of H.R. 4853—as well as S. 3981 and S. 3990—would extend the authorization for the EUC08 program and the 100% federal financing of EB until the beginning of January 2012. H.R. 6419 would extend these same provisions through February 2011. This report will be updated to reflect current congressional action or programmatic changes. Individuals should contact their state\u27s unemployment agency to obtain information on how to apply for and receive EUC08 benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a website with links to each state\u27s agency at http://www.workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/map.asp

The Application of Formal Principles of Public Administration as Perceived by City Managers

The present study seeks to determine the extent to which formalist ideas in public administration are evident in the practice of managerial performance as perceived by city managers and assistant city managers in the three states of Arizona, Colorado, and Virginia. While numerous studies demonstrate how administrative practices vary in different socio-political environments, the International City Management Association contends that certain basic features of public management nevertheless should be widely applied in different settings. The questions that are being posed in this study are: What are the perceived norms or standards that structure managerial performance of city managers and do they transcend state and regional boundaries? To what extent is perceived managerial performance based on the application of formal principles of public administration and the professional expectations of the city management profession? The basic approach has been to compare city managers responses to survey questions related to basic areas of formalist doctrine having to do with concepts of political neutrality, professional development, competence, and the importance of the organizational structure. Overall, this study indicates that general principles of public administration and professionalism are critical in establishing the organizational framework of how city managers and assistant city managers perform their duties. This study would seem to reinforce the literature on the importance of professional culture in setting expectations of professional performance. We can speculate that the early teachings of Richard Childs, the founder of the city management movement, at least partly accounts for this. His ideas of professional, nonpartisan competence appear to have been deeply absorbed into the profession of city management

Unveiling Su Aurigae in the near Infrared: New high spatial resolution results using Adaptive Optics

We present here new results on circumstellar nebulosity around SU Aurigae, a T-Tauri star of about 2 solar mass and 5 Myrs old at 152 pc in the J, H and K bands using high resolution adaptive optics imaging (0\farcs30) with the Penn state IR Imaging Spectrograph (PIRIS) at the 100 inch Mt. Wilson telescope. A comparison with HST STIS optical (0.2 to 1.1 micron) images shows that the orientation of the circumstellar nebulosity in the near-IR extends from PAs 210 to 270 degrees in H and K bands and up to 300 degrees in the J band. We call the circumstellar nebulosity seen between 210 to 270 degrees as 'IR nebulosity'. We find that the IR nebulosity (which extends up to 3.5 arcsecs in J band and 2.5 arcsecs in the K band) is due to scattered light from the central star. The IR nebulosity is either a cavity formed by the stellar outflows or part of the circumstellar disk. We present a schematic 3-dimensional geometrical model of the disk and jet of SU Aur based on STIS and our near-IR observations. According to this model the IR nebulosity is a part of the circumstellar disk seen at high inclination angles. The extension of the IR nebulosity is consistent with estimates of the disk diameter of 50 to 400 AU in radius, from earlier mm, K band interferometric observations and SED fittings.Comment: Accepted for publications in the Astronomical Journal, to appear in the May issue of the Journa

G1564 Manure Incorporation and Crop Residue Cover — Part II: Fine-Tuning the System

How injector/applicator spacing, tire spacing, field speed, and other factors influence the amount of residue cover reduction after manure incorporation. Manure incorporation represents a conflict between best management practices for soil erosion control and manure management. Manure should be incorporated into the soil for odor control, maximum availability of nutrients, and control of potential manure runoff. However, for maximum soil erosion control, the soil and crop residue should remain undisturbed. These two best management practices must be balanced since disturbing the soil and residue for manure incorporation, either with conventional tillage implements or equipment specifically designedfor manure application, reduces the residue cover remaining for erosion control. The companion NebGuide, Manure Incorporation and Crop Residue Cover — Part I: Reduction of Cover (G1563), presents results from a field study conducted at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln Haskell Agricultural Laboratory at Concord to evaluate the degree of residue cover reduction caused by soil-engaging components typically used with tank spreaders and towed hose systems to apply liquid or slurry manure. Ranges of values are given for the percentage of the initial residue cover that could be expected to remain after the operation of chisel and sweep manure injectors, disk and coulter applicators and a tandem disk. This NebGuide discusses how injector/applicator spacing, tire spacing, field speed, and other factors influence the amount of residue cover reduction. Much of this information is based on experience and field observations and is intended to help livestock producers select and operate manure application/ incorporation equipment to maximize residue cover and erosion control

Impaired Glucose Metabolism among Those with and without Diagnosed Diabetes and Mortality: A Cohort Study Using Health Survey for England Data.

The extent that controlled diabetes impacts upon mortality, compared with uncontrolled diabetes, and how pre-diabetes alters mortality risk remain issues requiring clarification