In recent years, the aviation industry has taken a leading role in the integration of composite structures to develop lighter and more fuel efficient aircraft. Among the leading concepts to achieve this goal is the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) concept. The focus of most PRSEUS studies has been on developing an hybrid wing body structure, with only a few discussing the application of PRSEUS to a tube-wing fuselage structure. Additionally, the majority of investigations for PRSEUS have focused on experimental validation of anticipated benefits rather than developing a methodology to capture the behavior of stitched structure analytically. This paper presents an overview of a numerical methodology capable of accurately describing PRSEUS’ construction and how it may be implemented in a barrel fuselage platform resorting to high-fidelity mesoscale modeling techniques. The methodology benefits from fresh user defined strategies developed in a commercially available finite element analysis environment. It further proposes a new approach for improving the ability to predict deformation in stitched composites, allowing for a better understanding of the intricate behavior and subtleties of stitched aerospace structures.

Along many flight corridors, bodies of water serve as preferred emergency landing options. Thus, relevant scenarios must be investigated to improve aircraft crashworthiness in the event of an impact landing on water. Enhancing the damage tolerance of aircraft structures through repetitive experiments can, however, prove highly uneconomical. Such large-scale trials can be influenced by many factors of uncertainty adversely affecting the quality of the results. Therefore, the work presented in this study focuses in particular on evaluating a computational methodology perfected for aircraft water ditching using Coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian (CLE) that allows detailed prediction of structural response of a verified deformable fuselage section during such events. Validation of the fluid-structure interactive (FSI) strategy developed is conducted, thoroughly comparing the method against the analytical and experimental results of multiple wedge drop tests. Finally, the validated FSI strategy is applied to a high-fidelity fuselage section model impacting water to simulate and assess a realistic ditching scenario.

Disease surveillance in wildlife populations presents a logistical challenge, yet is critical in gaining a deeper understanding of the presence and impact of wildlife pathogens. Erinaceus coronavirus (EriCoV), a clade C Betacoronavirus, was first described in Western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in Germany. Here, our objective was to determine whether EriCoV is present, and if it is associated with disease, in Great Britain (GB). An EriCoV-specific BRYT-Green® real-time reverse transcription PCR assay was used to test 351 samples of faeces or distal large intestinal tract contents collected from casualty or dead hedgehogs from a wide area across GB. Viral RNA was detected in 10.8% (38) samples; however, the virus was not detected in any of the 61 samples tested from Scotland. The full genome sequence of the British EriCoV strain was determined using next generation sequencing; it shared 94% identity with a German EriCoV sequence. Multivariate statistical models using hedgehog case history data, faecal specimen descriptions and post-mortem examination findings found no significant associations indicative of disease associated with EriCoV in hedgehogs. These findings indicate that the Western European hedgehog is a reservoir host of EriCoV in the absence of apparent disease.

Field studies were conducted in North Carolina to determine the critical period for Palmer amaranth control (CPPAC) in pickling cucumber. In removal treatments (REM), emerged Palmer amaranth were allowed to compete with cucumber for 14, 21, 28, or 35 d after sowing (DAS) in 2014 and 14, 21, 35, or 42 DAS in 2015, and cucumber was kept weed-free for the remainder of the season. In the establishment treatments (EST), cucumber was maintained free of Palmer amaranth by hand removal until 14, 21, 28, or 35 DAS in 2014 and until 14, 21, 35, or 42 DAS in 2015; after this, Palmer amaranth was allowed to establish and compete with the cucumber for the remainder of the season. The beginning and end of the CPPAC, based on 5% loss of marketable yield, was determined by fitting log-logistic and Gompertz equations to the relative yield data representing REM and EST, respectively. Season-long competition by Palmer amaranth reduced pickling cucumber yield by 45% to 98% and 88% to 98% during 2014 and 2015, respectively. When cucumber was planted on April 25, 2015, the CPPAC ranged from 570 to 1,002 heat units (HU), which corresponded to 32 to 49 DAS. However, when cucumber planting was delayed 2 to 4 wk (May 7 and May 21, 2014 and May 4, 2015), the CPPAC lasted from 100 to 918 HU (7 to 44 DAS). This research suggested that planting pickling cucumber as early as possible during the season may help to reduce competition by Palmer amaranth and delay the beginning of the CPPAC.

Relationships between stable isotopes (δD–δ18O), ice facies and glacier structures have hitherto gone untested in the mid-latitude maritime glaciers of the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we present δD–δ18O values as part of a broader study of the structural glaciology of Fox Glacier, New Zealand. We analyzed 94 samples of δD–δ18O from a range of ice facies to investigate whether isotopes have potential for structural glaciological studies of a rapidly deforming glacier. The δD–δ18O measurements were aided by structural mapping and imagery from terminus time-lapse cameras. The current retreat phase was preceded by an advance of 1 km between 1984 and 2009, with the isotopic sampling and analysis undertaken at the end of that advance (2010/11). Stable isotopes from debris-bearing shear planes near the terminus, interpreted as thrust faults, are isotopically enriched compared with the surrounding ice. When plotted on co-isotopic diagrams (δD–δ18O), ice sampled from the shear planes appears to show a subtle, but distinctive isotopic signal compared with the surrounding clean ice on the lower glacier. Hence, stable isotopes (δD–δ18O) have potential within the structural glaciology field, but larger sample numbers than reported here may be required to establish isotopic contrasts between a broad range of ice facies and glacier structures.

Aberrant microbiota composition and function have been linked to several pathologies, including type 2 diabetes. In animal models, prebiotics induce favourable changes in the intestinal microbiota, intestinal permeability (IP) and endotoxaemia, which are linked to concurrent improvement in glucose tolerance. This is the first study to investigate the link between IP, glucose tolerance and intestinal bacteria in human type 2 diabetes. In all, twenty-nine men with well-controlled type 2 diabetes were randomised to a prebiotic (galacto-oligosaccharide mixture) or placebo (maltodextrin) supplement (5·5 g/d for 12 weeks). Intestinal microbial community structure, IP, endotoxaemia, inflammatory markers and glucose tolerance were assessed at baseline and post intervention. IP was estimated by the urinary recovery of oral 51Cr-EDTA and glucose tolerance by insulin-modified intravenous glucose tolerance test. Intestinal microbial community analysis was performed by high-throughput next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons and quantitative PCR. Prebiotic fibre supplementation had no significant effects on clinical outcomes or bacterial abundances compared with placebo; however, changes in the bacterial family Veillonellaceae correlated inversely with changes in glucose response and IL-6 levels (r −0·90, P=0·042 for both) following prebiotic intake. The absence of significant changes to the microbial community structure at a prebiotic dosage/length of supplementation shown to be effective in healthy individuals is an important finding. We propose that concurrent metformin treatment and the high heterogeneity of human type 2 diabetes may have played a significant role. The current study does not provide evidence for the role of prebiotics in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and subsequent neonatal catch-up growth are implicated in the programming of increased appetite, adiposity and cardiometabolic diseases. Guinea pigs provide an alternate small animal model to rodents to investigate mechanisms underlying prenatal programming, being relatively precocial at birth, with smaller litter sizes and undergoing neonatal catch-up growth after IUGR. The current study, therefore, investigated postnatal consequences of spontaneous IUGR due to varying litter size in this species. Size at birth, neonatal, juvenile (post-weaning, 30–60 days) and adolescent (60–90 days) growth, juvenile and adolescent food intake, and body composition of young adults (120 days) were measured in 158 male and female guinea pigs from litter sizes of one to five pups. Compared with singleton pups, birth weight of pups from litters of five was reduced by 38%. Other birth size measures were reduced to lesser degrees with head dimensions being relatively conserved. Pups from larger litters had faster fractional neonatal growth and faster absolute and fractional juvenile growth rates (P<0.005 for all). Relationships of post-weaning growth, feed intakes and adult body composition with size at birth and neonatal growth rate were sex specific, with neonatal growth rates strongly and positively correlated with adiposity in males only. In conclusion, spontaneous IUGR due to large litter sizes in the guinea pig causes many of the programmed sequelae of IUGR reported in other species, including human. This may therefore be a useful model to investigate the mechanisms underpinning perinatal programming of hyperphagia, obesity and longer-term metabolic consequences.

We have used rocket-borne photometers to determine the ultra-violet flux of the full moon in the wavelength range 2400-2900A where atmospheric ozone prevents ground-based observations. The lunar fluxes determined in two rocket firings from Woomera on 9th December, 1965, and 30th August, 1966, are summarized in the Table. The results for the two firings have been corrected to full moon values on the assumption that the lunar phase law is the same at these ultra-violet wavelengths as it is in the visible.

The region of the solar atmosphere where the brightness temperature is less than 9 x 103 K. defines the photosphere and low chromosphere. In physical scale this covers the range from 300 km. below to 2 x 103 km. above the visible surface.

The first observations by a worldwide network of advanced interferometric gravitational wave detectors offer a unique opportunity for the astronomical community. At design sensitivity, these facilities will be able to detect coalescing binary neutron stars to distances approaching 400 Mpc, and neutron star–black hole systems to 1 Gpc. Both of these sources are associated with gamma-ray bursts which are known to emit across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Gravitational wave detections provide the opportunity for ‘multi-messenger’ observations, combining gravitational wave with electromagnetic, cosmic ray, or neutrino observations. This review provides an overview of how Australian astronomical facilities and collaborations with the gravitational wave community can contribute to this new era of discovery, via contemporaneous follow-up observations from the radio to the optical and high energy. We discuss some of the frontier discoveries that will be made possible when this new window to the Universe is opened.

We provide a mini-history of the craft beer segment of the U.S. brewing industry with particular emphasis on producer-entrepreneurs but also other pioneers involved in the promotion and marketing of craft beer who made contributions to brewing it. In contrast to the more commodity-like lager beer produced by the macrobrewers in the United States, the output of the craft segment more closely resembles the product differentiation and fragmentation in the wine industry. We develop a database that tracks the rise of craft brewing using various statistical measures of output, number of producers, concentration within the segment, and compares output with that of the macro and import segment of the industry. Integrating our database into Geographic Information Systems software enables us to map the spread of the craft beer segment from its taproot in San Francisco across the United States. Finally, we use regression analysis to explore variables influencing the entrants and craft beer production at the state level from 1980 to 2012. We use Tobit estimation for production and negative binomial estimation for the number of brewers. We also analyze whether strategic effects (e.g., locating near competing beer producers) explain the location choices of craft beer producers. (JEL Classifications: L26, L66, N82, R12)

Salt-marsh sediments provide accurate and precise reconstructions of late Holocene relative sea-level changes. However, compaction of salt-marsh stratigraphies can cause post-depositional lowering (PDL) of the samples used to reconstruct sea level, creating an estimation of former sea level that is too low and a rate of rise that is too great. We estimated the contribution of compaction to late Holocene sea-level trends reconstructed at Tump Point, North Carolina, USA. We used a geotechnical model that was empirically calibrated by performing tests on surface sediments from modern depositional environments analogous to those encountered in the sediment core. The model generated depth-specific estimates of PDL, allowing samples to be returned to their depositional altitudes. After removing an estimate of land-level change, error-in-variables changepoint analysis of the decompacted and original sea-level reconstructions identified three trends. Compaction did not generate artificial sea-level trends and cannot be invoked as a causal mechanism for the features in the Tump Point record. The maximum relative contribution of compaction to reconstructed sea-level change was 12%. The decompacted sea-level record shows 1.71 mm yr− 1 of rise since AD 1845.

We consider the limits of validity of ray tracing and ray diffusion equations, for short wavelength waves propagating in a turbulent plasma background. We derive an improved transport equation for the electric field autocorrelation function, where first order diffraction effects associated with these waves are included. We apply this description to the case of lower hybrid (LH) waves propagating in non-stationary plasma where density perturbations can occur due to drift wave turbulence, as well as magnetic field perturbations due to MHD turbulence. This is relevant to the problem of LH current drive.

Electrochemical dissolution by congruent oxidation of Fe Pd in 1 M HCl solution was strongly controlled by crystallographic orientation. Anodic dissolution was characterized over a wide variety of grain surface plane orientations providing a detailed view of the crystallographic nature of oxidative dissolution and surface facet evolution as a function of grain orientation. Near {100}-oriented grains retained low surface roughness after corrosion and low dissolution rates. Grains with orientation within 2° of {111} were also topographically smooth after dissolution and were nearly as corrosion resistant as {100} grains. Overall dissolution depth depended linearly on crystallographic angle within 40° of {100} and within 10° of {111} planes. Post-corrosion surface faceting and dissolution were substantially increased at grain orientations near {110} and were highest between 10° and 20° from the {111} plane normal. Grains at these crystallographic angles roughened during oxidative dissolution by forming complex semi-periodic topographies. These finely spaced arrays of terraces and ledges likely consisted of combinations of more corrosion resistant low-index planes. Therefore, the overall corrosion depth within a grain possessing an initially irrational crystal orientation was determined by the amount of dissolution required to expose new, slowly dissolving surface facets with low-index orientations. Computations of Fe–Pd alloy surface energies and surface atom coordination as a function of crystal orientation are utilized to help support this explanation.

Infestations of Italian ryegrass are problematic in both conventional and organic wheat production systems. The development of wheat cultivars with superior competitive ability against Italian ryegrass could play a role in maintaining acceptable yields and suppressing weed populations. Research was conducted in North Carolina to identify indirect methods of selection for Italian ryegrass suppressive ability (hereafter referred to as weed suppressive ability) of winter wheat cultivars that correlate well with Italian ryegrass-to-wheat biomass ratios. Two winter wheat cultivars (Dyna-Gro Baldwin and Dyna-Gro Dominion) and one experimental wheat line (NC05-19684) with differing morphological traits were overseeded with varying densities of Italian ryegrass. Wheat height measured throughout the growing season in weed-free plots was strongly associated with weed suppressive ability, but high wheat tillering capacity had no significant effect on weed suppressive ability in the lines tested in this study. Italian ryegrass seed head density during grain fill was strongly correlated (r = 0.94) with Italian ryegrass-to-wheat biomass ratio, the generally accepted measure of weed suppressive ability. Visual estimates of percent Italian ryegrass biomass relative to the plot with the highest level of Italian ryegrass infestation in each replicate were also strongly correlated with weed suppressive ability at all growth stages, especially during heading (r = 0.87) (Zadoks growth stage [GS] 55). Measurements from nonimaging spectrophotometers and overhead photographs taken from tillering (Zadoks 23 to 25) to early dough development (Zadoks 80) were unreliable estimates of end-of-season Italian ryegrass-to-wheat biomass ratios because they failed to account for wheat cultivar differences in biomass, color, and growth habit. Italian ryegrass seed head density and visual estimates of Italian ryegrass biomass during grain fill are appropriate indirect methods of selection for weed suppressive ability in breeding programs.