Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Narrow Strip (narrow + strip)
Selected AbstractsStepwise fatigue crack propagation in poly(vinyl chloride)JOURNAL OF VINYL & ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2004T. E. Berna-Lara The kinetics and mechanism of fatigue crack growth in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) compounds of different molecular weight were studied. The fatigue crack propagation rate of all the PVC compounds followed the Paris law: da/dt = Af ,K. Fatigue crack propagation rate, as reflected by the pre-factor Af in the Paris law, was highly dependent on molecular weight of the resin, strain rate, and temperature. A stepwise mechanism of fatigue crack propagation was observed in all the PVC compounds. Steps were formed by discontinuous growth of the crack through a single craze in the shape of a narrow strip. Step length and lifetime were used to characterize fatigue crack propagation. J. Vinyl Addit. Technol. 10:5,10, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers. [source] Temporal Variations of Nutrients, Chlorophyll a and Particulate Matter in Three Coastal Lagoons of Amvrakikos Gulf (Ionian Sea, Greece)MARINE ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2001Konstantinos A. Kormas Abstract. The temporal variations of nutrients, chlorophyll a (chl a), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and particulate organic carbon (POC) were measured over 12 months in three shallow coastal brackish water lagoons of the Amvrakikos Gulf, Ionian Sea. Two of the lagoons, Tsoukalio and Rodia, are interconnected but separated from Logarou by a narrow strip of land. Logarou has a better water exchange with the sea as indicated by the higher salinity and dissolved oxygen concentrations and the smaller variation of the above-mentioned parameters. Nitrate concentrations were largely the same in the three lagoons and higher than in the Amvrakikos Gulf. Phosphate concentrations in Logarou exceeded by far those of Tsoukalio/Rodia; the increased phosphate levels recorded in January caused an extended phytoplankton bloom with chl a concentrations higher than in the other two lagoons. Chl a in Tsoukalio was positively correlated with nitrate whereas in the most shallow lagoon, Logarou, it showed a positive correlation with light winds (force 4 and lower), probably caused by resuspension from the sediment. Increased phytoplankton biomass in Logarou coupled with the better water exchange may be related to the higher fish production in this lagoon. [source] Estimating the spectral indices of correlated astrophysical foregrounds by a second-order statistical approachMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006A. Bonaldi ABSTRACT We present the first tests of a new method, the correlated component analysis (CCA) based on second-order statistics, to estimate the mixing matrix, a key ingredient to separate astrophysical foregrounds superimposed to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). In the present application, the mixing matrix is parametrized in terms of the spectral indices of Galactic synchrotron and thermal dust emissions, while the free,free spectral index is prescribed by basic physics, and is thus assumed to be known. We consider simulated observations of the microwave sky with angular resolution and white stationary noise at the nominal levels for the Planck satellite, and realistic foreground emissions, with a position-dependent synchrotron spectral index. We work with two sets of Planck frequency channels: the low-frequency set, from 30 to 143 GHz, complemented with the Haslam 408 MHz map, and the high-frequency set, from 217 to 545 GHz. The concentration of intense free,free emission on the Galactic plane introduces a steep dependence of the spectral index of the global Galactic emission with Galactic latitude, close to the Galactic equator. This feature makes difficult for the CCA to recover the synchrotron spectral index in this region, given the limited angular resolution of Planck, especially at low frequencies. A cut of a narrow strip around the Galactic equator (|b| < 3°), however, allows us to overcome this problem. We show that, once this strip is removed, the CCA allows an effective foreground subtraction, with residual uncertainties inducing a minor contribution to errors on the recovered CMB power spectrum. [source] Development of the Mesonephros in Camel (Camelus dromedarius)ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 1 2007K. H. Aly Summary The study of the development of the mesonephros in the camel (Camelus dromedarius) was carried out on 16 embryos ranging from 0.9 to 8.6 cm crown vertebral rump length (CVRL). At 0.9 cm CVRL, the mesonephros is represented by a narrow strip along the roof of the thoracolumbar part of the vertebral column. At 1.4 cm CVRL, some of the mesonephric tubules are canalized but others are still solid. The mesonephric corpuscles are well developed at 1.9 cm CVRL and occupy almost the entire abdominal cavity in between the liver and the gut. Histologically, the glomeruli occupy the ventromedial aspect of the mesonephros while the mesonephric tubules become numerous, larger and more coiled. At 3 cm CVRL, the metanephros is invaginated in the caudal pole of the mesonephros, and the mesonephric tubules in some areas are differentiated into secretory and collecting tubules. At 3.5 cm CVRL the mesonephros is related dorsally to the postcardinal vein and ventrally to the subcardinal vein. At 4.7 cm CVRL continuous regression of the mesonephros from cranialwards to caudalwards is observed. At 5.3,5.5 cm CVRL, the cranial part of the mesonephros is divided into medial and lateral regions, and later the medial region completely disappears and is replaced by the primordium of the adrenal gland. At 8.6 cm CVRL, the caudal part of the mesonephros completely disappears. [source] Accumulation of carbon and nitrogen by old arable land reverting to woodlandGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2003P. R. POULTON Abstract The accumulation of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) was measured on two sites on Rothamsted Farm that had been fenced off some 120 years ago and allowed to revert naturally to woodland. The sites had previously been arable for centuries. One had been chalked and was still calcareous; the other had never been chalked and the pH fell from 7.1 in 1883 to 4.4 in 1999. The acidic site (Geescroft wilderness) is now a deciduous wood, dominated by oak (Quercus robor); the calcareous site (Broadbalk wilderness) is now dominated by ash (Fraxinus excelsior), with sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and hawthorn (Craetagus monogyna) as major contributors. The acidic site gained 2.00 t C ha,1 yr,1 over the 118-year period (0.38 t in litter and soil to a depth of 69 cm, plus an estimated 1.62 t in trees and their roots); the corresponding gains of N were 22.2 kg N ha,1 year,1 (15.2 kg in the soil, plus 6.9 kg in trees and their roots). The calcareous site gained 3.39 t C ha,1 year,1 over the 120-year period (0.54 t in the soil, plus an estimated 2.85 t in trees and roots); for N the gains were 49.6 kg ha,1 yr,1 (36.8 kg in the soil, plus 12.8 kg in trees and roots). Trees have not been allowed to grow on an adjacent part of the calcareous site. There is now a little more C and N in the soil from this part than in the corresponding soil under woodland. We argue from our results that N was the primary factor limiting plant growth and hence accumulation of C during the early stages of regeneration in these woodlands. As soil organic N accumulates and the sites move towards N saturation, other factors become limiting. Per unit area of woodland, narrow strips; that is, wide hedges with trees, are the most efficient way of sequestering C , provided that they are not short of N. [source] INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF IN-FIELD, EDGE-OF-FIELD, AND AFTER-FIELD BUFFERS,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2006Seth M. Dabney ABSTRACT: This review summarizes how conservation benefits are maximized when in-field and edge-of-field buffers are integrated with each other and with other conservation practices such as residue management and grade control structures. Buffers improve both surface and subsurface water quality. Soils under permanent buffer vegetation generally have higher organic carbon concentrations, higher infiltration capacities, and more active microbial populations than similar soils under annual cropping. Sediment can be trapped with rather narrow buffers, but extensive buffers are better at transforming dissolved pollutants. Buffers improve surface runoff water quality most efficiently when flows through them are slow, shallow, and diffuse. Vegetative barriers - narrow strips of dense, erect grass - can slow and spread concentrated runoff. Subsurface processing is best on shallow soils that provide increased hydrologic contact between the ground water plume and buffer vegetation. Vegetated ditches and constructed wetlands can act as "after-field" conservation buffers, processing pollutants that escape from fields. For these buffers to function efficiently, it is critical that in-field and edge-of-field practices limit peak runoff rate and sediment yield in order to maximize contact time with buffer vegetation and minimize the need for cleanout excavation that destroys vegetation and its processing capacity. [source] Comparison of bobuck (Trichosurus cunninghami) demography in two habitat types in the Strathbogie Ranges, AustraliaJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 4 2007J. K. Martin Abstract The demographic characteristics of populations are determined by the life-history strategies of their constituent individuals. Habitat characteristics, such as the availability of key resources, shape life-history strategies; thus habitat variation may result in intraspecific variability in demography. We studied two neighbouring populations of bobucks or mountain brushtail possums Trichosurus cunninghami within a fragmented forest system. One population occurred in a forest patch that was selectively logged in the last 40 years; the other occupied narrow strips of linear roadside remnant vegetation that have not been logged for at least 100 years. Many demographic parameters of the two populations were similar, and were consistent with those described previously for a bobuck population living in continuous forest. For example, both sexes were long-lived (at least 12 years), but there were fewer males in the oldest age classes at both sites. Most females produced one young per year and reproduction was highly seasonal. Females in the oldest age classes produced young, but none of these survived to pouch emergence. There were also marked differences between our two study populations: the sex ratio of adults was equal at the forest site but female-biased (1.7:1) at the roadside site. Forest males weighed significantly less than males at the roadside site and females at both sites. The peak of births occurred more than a month later at the roadside than at the forest site. The sex ratio of roadside offspring did not differ significantly from parity; however, the sex ratio of young at the forest site was significantly male-biased (62% of young). This demographic variation may be explained by differences in habitat characteristics (particularly logging history); a detailed investigation of resource availability at the two sites is warranted. Our results highlight the importance of studying multiple populations when attempting to describe the population ecology of a species. [source] | ||||||||||