Radar measurements of snow: experiment and analysis

This paper considers two specific types of experiments conducted to improve the authors' understanding of radar backscatter from snow-covered ground surfaces. The first experiment involves radar backscatter measurements at Cand X-band of artificial snow of varying depths. The relatively simple target characteristics, combined with an exhaustive ground truth effort, make the results of this experiment especially amenable to comparison with predictions based on theoretical methods for modeling volume-scattering media. It is shown that both conventional and dense-medium radiative transfer models fail to adequately explain the observed results. A direct polarimetric inversion approach is described by which the characteristics of the snow medium are extracted from the measured data. The second type of experiment examined in this study involves diurnal backscatter measurements that were made contemporaneously with detailed measurements of the snow-wetness depth profiles of the observed scene. These data are used to evaluate the capability of a recently proposed algorithm for snow wetness retrieval from polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) measurements, which has hithertofore been applied only to data from very complex and extended mountainous terrains     

Outbacks: the popular construction of an emergent landscape

CONSERVATION IN PERSPECTIVE edited by A. Warren and F. B. Goldsmith, 474 pages, John Wiley, London, 1983. £25 (hardback); £12.50 (paperback).

INVESTING IN RURAL HARMONY by Clive Potter, World Wildlife Fund, 1983, £1.25 (paperback).

Ken Parker, Peak Park Joint Planning Board,‐Bakewell.

NATURE'S IDEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE by Kenneth Olwig, 115 pages, Allen and Unwin, London. £15 (hardback).     

Experiments and Modeling for Biocidal Effects of Explosives

This paper reports an experimental and modelling study of the biocidal effect of an energetic mixture which is detonated in a closed chamber containing an initial spore distribution. The resulting spore neutralization efficiency is recorded as a function of measured detonation and combustion performance. We also report the results of a range of numerical modelling studies carried out to aid the interpretation of these experiments and to guide future developments. We find that the current energetic mixture (aluminum powder which is shock dispersed by detonation of a central high explosive core) gives variable combustion efficiency. The Al powder ignites on impact with the walls. In the modelling we match the recorded quasi‐static pressures in each experiment and compare predicted spore neutralization with measured values. Using a critical spore temperature for neutralization of 670 K gives a good match to the experiments. We report how neutralization efficiency varies with changes to this temperature. The coupled experimental and modelling approach allows us to suggest requirements for future biocidal energetic materials.     

Revision and extension of a multidimensional measure of sexual minority identity: The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale.

Two studies were conducted to investigate a revised and extended version of the Lesbian and Gay Identity Scale (Mohr & Fassinger, 2000): the 27-item Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale (LGBIS). This revision features more inclusive and less stigmatizing language than the previous version and includes 2 new subscales assessing identity affirmation and centrality. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis (n = 297) and a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 357) supported an 8-factor solution assessing acceptance concerns, concealment motivation, identity uncertainty, internalized homonegativity, difficulty with the identity development process, identity superiority, identity affirmation, and identity centrality. Predicted associations with measures of identity-related constructs and psychosocial functioning provided preliminary validity evidence for LGBIS scores in a college student population. Study 2 (N = 51) provided evidence of the test–retest and internal consistency reliability of LGBIS scores. These studies suggest that the LGBIS may offer researchers an efficient means of assessing multiple dimensions of sexual orientation minority identity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Red Fluorescence of European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) Spines Results from Free-Base Porphyrins of Potential Microbial Origin

Journal of Chemical Ecology - Bioluminescence has been recognized as an important means for inter- and intra-species communication. A growing number of reports of red fluorescence occurring in...     

Tracking of Listeria monocytogenes in smoked fish processing plants

Four smoked fish processing plants were used as a model system to characterize Listeria monocytogenes contamination patterns in ready-to-eat food production environments. Each of the four plants was sampled monthly for approximately 1 year. At each sampling, four to six raw fish and four to six finished product samples were collected from corresponding lots. In addition, 12 to 14 environmental sponge samples were collected several hours after the start of production at sites selected as being likely contamination sources. A total of 234 raw fish, 233 finished products, and 553 environmental samples were tested. Presumptive Listeria spp. were isolated from 16.7% of the raw fish samples, 9.0% of the finished product samples, and 27.3% of the environmental samples. L. monocytogenes was isolated from 3.8% of the raw fish samples (0 to 10%, depending on the plant), 1.3% of the finished product samples (0 to 3.3%), and 12.8% of the environmental samples (0 to 29.8%). Among the environmental samples, L. monocytogenes was found in 23.7% of the samples taken from drains, 4.8% of the samples taken from food contact surfaces, 10.4% of the samples taken from employee contact surfaces (aprons, hands, and door handles), and 12.3% of the samples taken from other nonfood contact surfaces. Listeria spp. were isolated from environmental samples in each of the four plants, whereas L. monocytogenes was not found in any of the environmental samples from one plant. Overall, the L. monocytogenes prevalence in the plant environment showed a statistically significant (P < 0.0001) positive relationship with the prevalence of this organism in finished product samples. Automated EcoRI ribotyping differentiated 15 ribotypes among the 83 L. monocytogenes isolates. For each of the three plants with L. monocytogenes-positive environmental samples, one or two ribotypes seemed to persist in the plant environment during the study period. In one plant, a specific L. monocytogenes ribotype represented 44% of the L. monocytogenes-positive environmental samples and was also responsible for one of the two finished product positives found in this plant. In another plant, a specific L. monocytogenes ribotype persisted in the raw fish handling area. However, this ribotype was never isolated from the finished product area in this plant, indicating that this operation has achieved effective separation of raw and finished product areas. Molecular subtyping methods can help identify plant-specific L. monocytogenes contamination routes and thus provide the knowledge needed to implement improved L. monocytogenes control strategies.     

Pheromone Components from Body Scales of Female <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anarsia lineatella</Emphasis> Induce Contacts by Conspecific Males

Pheromonal communication of adult peach twig borers, Anarsia lineatella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), was reinvestigated based on recent findings that virgin female-baited traps were more attractive to mate-seeking males than a two-component synthetic sex pheromone consisting of (E)-5-decen-1-yl acetate (1000 μg) and (E)-5-decen-1-ol (100 μg), suggesting that females use additional pheromone components. Hypothesizing that these additional components may be released from body parts other than abdominal sex pheromone glands, we extracted female body scales and analyzed aliquots by coupled gas chromatographic–electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC–mass spectrometry. Eight straight-chain and four methylated aliphatic hydrocarbons, as well as two acetates, all elicited responses from excised male antennae. In laboratory experiments with synthetic candidate pheromone components, a combination of octadecyl acetate, (R)-11-methyltricosane, and (S)-11-methyltricosane in the presence of gland-derived sex pheromone components were shown to elicit contact of female decoys by males. However, body pheromone components did not enhance attractiveness of sex pheromone components in field trapping experiments, suggesting that they are effective only at close range and that other stimuli are responsible for superior attractiveness of female-baited traps.