Tools made of ice facilitate forming of soft, sticky materials

Tools made of ice facilitate the forming or shaping of materials that are soft and sticky in the uncured state. The low-temperature of the ice slows the curing of the material, extending the working time available before setup. Handling problems are eliminated because the material does not adhere to the tool, and the melting ice serves as a lubricant

Charged Current Universality and the MSSM

We analyze the prospective impact of supersymmetric radiative corrections on tests of charged current universality involving light quarks and leptons. Working within the R-parity conserving Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, we compute the corresponding one-loop corrections that enter the extraction of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $V_{ud}$ from a comparison of the muon-decay Fermi constant with the vector coupling constant determined from nuclear and neutron $\beta$-decay. We also revisit earlier studies of the corrections to the ratio $R_{e/\mu}$ of pion leptonic decay rates $\Gamma[\pi^+ \to e^+ \nu (\gamma)]$ and $\Gamma[\pi^+ \to \mu^+ \nu (\gamma)]$. In both cases, we observe that the magnitude of the corrections can be on the order of $10^{-3}$. We show that a comparison of the first row CKM unitarity tests with measurements of $R_{e/\mu}$ can provide unique probes of the spectrum of first generation squarks and first and second generation sleptons.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figure

An initial investigation into the low-cost manufacture of diffracting objects

In this letter we report on an initial investigation into the printing of diffracting objects via the high-speed, low-cost, printing process of offset-lithography, a method more commonly used in the printing of books and newspapers. A series of diffracting objects were printed onto clear substrates and evaluated with a coherent light source. The diffraction patterns generated correlate well with the Fourier transform of the printed image

Modelling red squirrel population viability under a range of landscape scenarios in a fragmented woodland ecosystem on the Solway Plain, Cumbria, UK.

To assess the viability of the red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris in fragmented woodlands on the Solway Plain we used a combination of Vortex population viability analysis and BEETLE (Biological and Environmental Evaluation Tools for Landscape Ecology). Habitat fragmentation and the expansion of the North American grey squirrel S. carolinensis have had a detrimental effect upon red squirrel populations in the UK; assessing the viability of the remaining populations can guide in conservation management decisions. The initial field work showed red squirrels to use 5 of the 23 woodland fragments on the Solway Plain at a density of 0.65 squirrels ha-1, with a minimum dynamic area of 91 ha of red squirrel woodland habitat being identified using Vortex. Red squirrels may use more than one woodland fragment in its home range as long as fragments are connected functionally with the land cover between fragments producing a low cost for the squirrel. The functional connectivity of these woodland fragments was modeled within BEETLE to create habitat networks. Vortex was then used to identify which habitat networks would hold a viable population. Two areas were identified which could, if the correct landscape management is prescribed, potentially hold viable populations of red squirrels on the Solway Plain. This combination of behavioral, demographic and landscape modeling allows scenario building and has application across a wide range of conservation area design problems

Defining Landscape Resistance Values in Least-Cost Connectivity Models for the Invasive Grey Squirrel: A Comparison of Approaches Using Expert-Opinion and Habitat Suitability Modelling

Least-cost models are widely used to study the functional connectivity of habitat within a varied landscape matrix. A critical step in the process is identifying resistance values for each land cover based upon the facilitating or impeding impact on species movement. Ideally resistance values would be parameterised with empirical data, but due to a shortage of such information, expert-opinion is often used. However, the use of expert-opinion is seen as subjective, human-centric and unreliable. This study derived resistance values from grey squirrel habitat suitability models (HSM) in order to compare the utility and validity of this approach with more traditional, expert-led methods. Models were built and tested with MaxEnt, using squirrel presence records and a categorical land cover map for Cumbria, UK. Predictions on the likelihood of squirrel occurrence within each land cover type were inverted, providing resistance values which were used to parameterise a leastcost model. The resulting habitat networks were measured and compared to those derived from a least-cost model built with previously collated information from experts. The expert-derived and HSM-inferred least-cost networks differ in precision. The HSM-informed networks were smaller and more fragmented because of the higher resistance values attributed to most habitats. These results are discussed in relation to the applicability of both approaches for conservation and management objectives, providing guidance to researchers and practitioners attempting to apply and interpret a leastcost approach to mapping ecological networks.This project was funded by the Forestry Commission GB and the National School of Forestry at the University of Cumbria. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript