Nitrification is a necessary and often limiting process in animal waste treatment for removal of nitrogen as N2 through biological nitrification/denitrification systems. We evaluated three technologies for enhancing nitrification of pig lagoon wastewater prior to denitrification: overland flow, trickling filter, and a bioreactor using nitrifying pellets. The overland flow system consisted of a ...

An experimental evaluation of mixed mode fracture tests conducted on adhesively bonded wood specimens using a dual actuator load frame is presented. This unit allows the fracture mode mixity to be easily varied during testing of a given specimen, providing improved consistency, accuracy, and ease of testing over a range of loading modes. Double cantilever beam (DCB) type specimens made of south...

We discuss the implications of the recent upward revision of the LMC microlensing rate by the MACHO Collaboration. We conclude: (i) A good case for the existence of baryonic dark matter in the halo has been made; (ii) The case for the existence of cold dark matter is unaffected and still compelling; and (iii) The Galactic halo is still an excellent place to search for cold dark matter particles...

The dilator function of the vascular endothelium is critical for optimal tissue perfusion, and this is brought into stark reality in a number of diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and preeclampsia, in which endothelium-dependent vasodilator function is impaired. Prostacyclin and nitric oxide (NO) were the earliest identified endothelium-dependent vasodilators, but it was soon found that ...

An anticipatory system for guiding plot development in interactive narratives is described. The executable model is a finite automaton that provides the implemented system with a lookahead. The identification of undesirable future states in the model is used to guide the player, in a transparent manner. In this way, too radical twists of the plot that lead to behaviors of the autonomous fellow ...