Further evidence of nuclear reactions in the Pd/D lattice: emission of charged particles

Almost two decades ago, Fleischmann and Pons reported excess enthalpy generation in the negatively polarized Pd/D-D₂O system, which they attributed to nuclear reactions. In the months and years that followed, other manifestations of nuclear activities in this system were observed, viz. tritium and helium production and transmutation of elements. In this report, we present additional evidence, namely, the emission of highly energetic charged particles emitted from the Pd/D electrode when this system is placed in either an external electrostatic or magnetostatic field. The density of tracks registered by a CR-39 detector was found to be of a magnitude that provides undisputable evidence of their nuclear origin. The experiments were reproducible. A model based upon electron capture is proposed to explain the reaction products observed in the Pd/D-D₂O system.

Choice of teenagers' vehicles and views on vehicle safety: survey of parents of novice teenage drivers

Objective

To examine parental decisions about vehicles driven by teenagers and parental knowledge of vehicle safety.

Methods

About 300 parents were interviewed during spring 2006 in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island while teenagers took their first on-road driving tests.

Results

Fewer than half of parents surveyed said teenagers would be the primary drivers of the chosen vehicles. Parents most often cited safety, existing family vehicle, and reliability when explaining the choices for their teenagers’ vehicles. About half of the vehicles intended for teenagers were small/mini/sports cars, pickups, or SUVs — vehicles considered less safe for teenagers than midsize/large cars or minivans. A large majority of vehicles were 2001 models or earlier. Vehicles purchased in anticipation of adding a new driver to the family were more likely to be the sizes/types considered less safe than vehicles already owned. Few parents insisted on side airbags or electronic stability control, despite strong evidence of their safety benefits. Even when asked to identify ideal vehicles for their teenagers to drive, about half of parents identified less safe vehicle sizes/types. Most parents knew that midsize/large vehicles are safer than small vehicles, and at least half of parents said SUVs and pickups are not safe for teenage drivers, citing instability.

Conclusions

The majority of parents understood some of the important criteria for choosing safe vehicles for their teenagers. However, parents actually selected many vehicles for teenagers that provide inferior crash protection.

Impact on industry

Vehicle safety varies substantially by vehicle size, type, and safety features. Many teenagers are driving inferior vehicles in terms of crashworthiness and crash avoidance.     

Secondary analysis of time of day on simulated driving performance

PROBLEM: Age and gender are frequently controlled for in studies of driving performance, but the effects of time of day or circadian cycles on performance are often not considered. Previous research on time of day effects of simulated driving is contradictory and provides little guidance for understanding the impact of these variables on results. METHODS: Using driving simulator data from 79 subjects ages 18 to 65, this paper focuses on the impact of age, gender, and time of day on the simulated driving performance of subjects who self-selected the time of participation. RESULTS: Time of day effects were consistently evident for drivers' speed overall and across different simulated environments. Drivers in the late afternoon period consistently drove significantly slower than drivers in other time periods. Age and gender affected speed such that women and those participants 50 and older tended to drive more slowly. Time of day also had an effect on reaction time and on speed variability measures. Gender did not have significant effects on reaction time or variability measures, but age effects were present. SUMMARY: Taken together, the results suggest that time of day effects should be considered as part of simulated driving performance, and that interactions between time of day and other variables, notably age, should be controlled for as part of future research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings on current efforts for older driver testing are discussed.     

Land use change and forestry climate project regional baselines: a review

Climate change programs have largely used the project-specific approach for estimating baseline emissions of climate mitigation projects. This approach is subjective, lacks transparency, can generate inconsistent baselines for similar projects, and is likely to have high transaction costs. The use of regional baselines, which partially addresses these issues, has been reported in the literature on forestry and agriculture projects, and in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation program guidance for them (e.g., WRI/WBCSD GHG Project Protocol, USDOE’s 1605(b) registry, UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism). This paper provides an assessment of project-specific and regional baselines approaches for key baseline tasks, using project and program examples. The regional experience to date is then synthesized into generic steps that are referred to as Stratified Regional Baselines (SRB). Regional approaches generally, and SRB in particular explicitly acknowledge the heterogeneity of carbon density, land use change, and other key baseline driver variables across a landscape. SRB focuses on providing guidance on how to stratify lands into parcels with relatively homogeneous characteristics to estimate conservative baselines within a GHG assessment boundary, by applying systematic methods to determine the boundary and time period for input data.

Cranial shape transformation in the evolution of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

In this study, landmark-based methods of geometric morphometrics are used for investigating the main aspects of cranial shape transformation in the evolution of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Specifically, we explore if the highly derived cranial adaptations for bamboo feeding of the living panda were developed early in the panda's lineage. Results obtained show that the overall cranial morphologies of the oldest known panda, the "pygmy" Ailuropoda microta, and the late Pleistocene Ailuropoda baconi are both very similar to that of their closest living relative, A. melanoleuca, which agrees with a previous proposal based on qualitative criteria. However, we also describe several differences between the crania of A. microta, A. baconi, and A. melanoleuca, including the development of the postorbital process, the orientation of the occipital region, and the expansion of the braincase. As a result, the cranial morphology of A. microta shows a less specialized morphology toward a fibrous and durophagous diet compared to the giant panda. These results are confirmed by a comparative analysis of the dimensions of the upper teeth in bears, which has revealed differences in relative tooth size between A. microta and A. melanoleuca, most probably as a result of mosaic evolution. Therefore, we conclude that cranial shape did not remain essentially uniform in the Ailuropoda lineage, as previously thought, but underwent a number of changes during more than 2?Myr.     

An individual and a sex odor signature in kittiwakes? Study of the semiochemical composition of preen secretion and preen down feathers

The importance of olfaction in birds’ social behavior has long been denied. Avian chemical signaling has thus been relatively unexplored. The black-legged kittiwake provides a particularly appropriate model for investigating this topic. Kittiwakes preferentially mate with genetically dissimilar individuals, but the cues used to assess genetic characteristics remain unknown. As in other vertebrates, their body odors may carry individual and sexual signatures thus potentially reliably signaling individual genetic makeup. Here, we test whether body odors in preen gland secretion and preen down feathers in kittiwakes may provide a sex and an individual signature. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, we found that male and female odors differ quantitatively, suggesting that scent may be one of the multiple cues used by birds to discriminate between sexes. We further detected an individual signature in the volatile and nonvolatile fractions of preen secretion and preen down feathers. These results suggest that kittiwake body odor may function as a signal associated with mate recognition. It further suggests that preen odor might broadcast the genetic makeup of individuals, and could be used in mate choice to assess the genetic compatibility of potential mates.     

Pastoral farmland habitat diversity in south-east Ireland

In this study, habitat surveys were undertaken on 50 grass-based farms in SE Ireland and data digitised onto aerial photography. Additional data i.e. stocking rates, and participation (or otherwise) in the Irish Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) were collected and analysed as possible explanatory variables for farm habitat composition.Results indicated that approximately 14.3% of the land area of sampled farms comprised of semi-natural habitat types, a proportion substantially greater than has been reported for many other European countries. The most frequently recorded semi-natural habitats included, field boundaries, scrub, and deciduous and riparian woodlands.Multivariate analysis of farm habitat configuration showed a strong dichotomy between dairy and non-dairy farming systems. Habitats such as intensively managed grassland and built ground were closely associated with dairy-based enterprises. In contrast, the incidence of other habitat types was associated with non-dairy and/or REPS participating enterprises. The ecological quality of field boundaries as assessed by the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS) Index was significantly greater on dairy, compared with dry-stock farms.This dichotomy in farm habitat composition is not reflected within current Agri-Environment (AE) policy. Integration of locally important drivers of habitat diversity into the design and implementation of AE policy, is integral to the successful performance of AE schemes.     

Assessing the potential for greenhouse gas mitigation in intensively managed annual cropping systems at the regional scale

We predicted changes in yields and direct net soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from converting conventional to alternative management practices across one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, the Central Valley of California, using the DAYCENT model. Alternative practices included conservation tillage, winter cover cropping, manure application, a 25% reduction in N fertilizer input and combinations of these. Alternative practices were evaluated for all unique combinations of crop rotation, climate, and soil types for the period 1997-2006. The crops included were alfalfa, corn, cotton, melon, safflower, sunflower, tomato, and wheat. Our predictions indicate that, adopting alternative management practices would decrease yields up to 5%. Changes in modeled SOC and net soil GHG fluxes corresponded to values reported in the literature. Average potential reductions of net soil GHG fluxes with alternative practices ranged from −0.7 to −3.3 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the Sacramento Valley and −0.5 to −2.5 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for the San Joaquin Valley. While adopting a single alternative practice led to modest net soil GHG flux reductions (on average −1 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), combining two or more of these practices led to greater decreases in net soil GHG fluxes of up to −3 Mg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. At the regional scale, the combination of winter cover cropping with manure application was particularly efficient in reducing GHG emissions. However, GHG mitigation potentials were mostly non-permanent because 60-80% of the decreases in net soil GHG fluxes were attributed to increases in SOC, except for the reduced fertilizer input practice, where reductions were mainly attributed to decreased N₂O emissions. In conclusion, there are long-term GHG mitigation potentials within agriculture, but spatial and temporal aggregation will be necessary to reduce uncertainties around GHG emission reductions and the delivery risk of the associated C credits.     

Application of winery and distillery waste composts to a Jumilla (SE Spain) vineyard: Effects on the characteristics of a calcareous sandy-loam soil

The effects on different physico-chemical, chemical and biological soil properties of the incorporation of different organic materials into a calcareous vineyard soil were studied in an experiment during three growing seasons. The organic materials used were sheep manure and four composts derived from the treatment of winery and distillery wastes. A multivariate technique, factor analysis (FA), was also used for interpreting the data obtained from the samplings carried out throughout the three vine growing seasons. The application of the organic materials induced an increase in the activity of the soil microorganisms and in the soil macro and micronutrient contents, as well as a slow release of inorganic N. Through FA of the soil properties studied, three factors that explained 74.7% of the variability were established and the effects of the treatments after the whole experimental period were assessed.