Assessment of the visibility impairment caused by the emissions from the proposed power plant at Boron, California

The current atmospheric conditions and visibility were modeled, and the effect of the power plant effluent was then added to determine its influence upon the prevailing visibility; the actual reduction in visibility being a function of meteorological conditions and observer-plume-target geometry. In the cases investigated, the perceptibility of a target was reduced by a minimum of 10 percent and a maximum of 100 percent. This significant visual impact would occur 40 days per year in the Edwards area with meteorological conditions such as to cause some visual impact 80 days per year

Strain-driven elastic and orbital-ordering effects on thickness-dependent properties of manganite thin films

We report on the structural and magnetic characterization of (110) and (001) La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) epitaxial thin films simultaneously grown on (110) and (001)SrTiO3 substrates, with thicknesses t varying between 8 nm and 150 nm. It is found that while the in-plane interplanar distances of the (001) films are strongly clamped to those of the substrate and the films remain strained up to well above t=100 nm, the (110) films relax much earlier. Accurate determination of the in-plane and out-of-plane interplanar distances has allowed concluding that in all cases the unit cell volume of the manganite reduces gradually when increasing thickness, approaching the bulk value. It is observed that the magnetic properties (Curie temperature and saturation magnetization) of the (110) films are significantly improved compared to those of (001) films. These observations, combined with 55Mn-nuclear magnetic resonance data and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, signal that the depression of the magnetic properties of the more strained (001)LCMO films is not caused by an elastic deformation of the perovskite lattice but rather due to the electronic and chemical phase separation caused by the substrate-induced strain. On the contrary, the thickness dependence of the magnetic properties of the less strained (110)LCMO films are simply described by the elastic deformation of the manganite lattice. We will argue that the different behavior of (001) and (110)LCMO films is a consequence of the dissimilar electronic structure of these interfaces.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

Opportunities for integrated pest management to control the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae

Dermanyssus gallinae is the most economically important ectoparasite of laying hens in Europe. Control of D. gallinae is already hampered by issues of pesticide resistance and product withdrawal and, with the prohibition of conventional cages in 2012 and the resulting switch to more structurally complex housing which favours red mite, the importance of managing this pest will increase. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as often employed in agricultural pest control, may be a way to address these issues where a combination of different novel control methods could be used with/without conventional management techniques to provide a synergistic and more efficacious effect. Work at in our laboratory has shown that essential oils including thyme and garlic may act as effective D. gallinae repellents and acaricides, whilst preliminary vaccine studies have demonstrated a significant increase in mite mortality in vitro using concealed antigens. Work elsewhere 27 has considered predators and fungi for D. gallinae control and other husbandry techniques such as manipulating temperature and lighting regimes in poultry units. This paper will review the available and emerging techniques for D. gallinae control and discuss which techniques might be suitable for inclusion in an integrated management programme (e.g. synthetic acaricides and diatomaceous earths)

Markers of neuroinflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology in older adults.

In vitro and animal studies have linked neuroinflammation to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Studies on markers of inflammation in subjects with mild cognitive impairment or AD dementia provided inconsistent results. We hypothesized that distinct blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inflammatory markers are associated with biomarkers of amyloid and tau pathology in older adults without cognitive impairment or with beginning cognitive decline. To identify blood-based and CSF neuroinflammation marker signatures associated with AD pathology (i.e. an AD CSF biomarker profile) and to investigate associations of inflammation markers with CSF biomarkers of amyloid, tau pathology, and neuronal injury. Cross-sectional analysis was performed on data from 120 older community-dwelling adults with normal cognition (n=48) or with cognitive impairment (n=72). CSF Aβ1-42, tau and p-tau181, and a panel of 37 neuroinflammatory markers in both CSF and serum were quantified. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to determine a reference model that best predicts an AD CSF biomarker profile defined a priori as p-tau181/Aβ1-42 ratio >0.0779. It was then compared to a second model that included the inflammatory markers from either serum or CSF. In addition, the correlations between inflammatory markers and CSF Aβ1-42, tau and p-tau181 levels were assessed. Forty-two subjects met criteria for having an AD CSF biomarker profile. The best predictive models included 8 serum or 3 CSF neuroinflammatory markers related to cytokine mediated inflammation, vascular injury, and angiogenesis. Both models improved the accuracy to predict an AD biomarker profile when compared to the reference model. In analyses separately performed in the subgroup of participants with cognitive impairment, adding the serum or the CSF neuroinflammation markers also improved the accuracy of the diagnosis of AD pathology. None of the inflammatory markers correlated with the CSF Aβ1-42 levels. Six CSF markers (IL-15, MCP-1, VEGFR-1, sICAM1, sVCAM-1, and VEGF-D) correlated with the CSF tau and p-tau181 levels, and these associations remained significant after controlling for age, sex, cognitive impairment, and APOEε4 status. The identified serum and CSF neuroinflammation biomarker signatures improve the accuracy of classification for AD pathology in older adults. Our results suggest that inflammation, vascular injury, and angiogenesis as reflected by CSF markers are closely related to cerebral tau pathology

Interlayer Exchange Coupling Mediated by Valence Band Electrons

The interlayer exchange coupling mediated by valence band electrons in all-semiconductor IV-VI magnetic/nonmagnetic superlattices is studied theoretically. A 3D tight-binding model, accounting for the band and magnetic structure of the constituent superlattice components is used to calculate the spin-dependent part of the total electronic energy. The antiferromagnetic coupling between ferromagnetic layers in EuS/PbS superlattices is obtained, in agreement with the experimental evidences. The results obtained for the coupling between antiferromagnetic layers in EuTe/PbTe superlattices are also presented.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to Phys.Rev.

'Surely the most natural scenario in the world’: Representations of ‘Family’ in BBC Pre-school Television

Historically, the majority of work on British children’s television has adopted either an institutional or an audience focus, with the texts themselves often overlooked. This neglect has meant that questions of representation in British children’s television – including issues such as family, gender, class or ethnicity - have been infrequently analysed in the UK context. In this article, we adopt a primarily qualitative methodology and analyse the various textual manifestations of ‘family’, group, or community as represented in a selected number of BBC pre-school programmes. In doing so, we question the (limited amount of) international work that has examined representations of the family in children’s television, and argue that nuclear family structures do not predominate in this sphere