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The SA Agulhas II is a polar supply and research vessel, which operates in the stormy Southern ocean and icy Antarctic waters. She is predisposed to problematic stern slamming. Twelve accelerometer channels from a full-scale vibration measurement system were used to capture measurements of wave incidence on the main deck close to the water line. An automated slamming detection and classification algorithm is proposed to extract slamming incidents from expansive full-scale data. This method is based on image processing of scalograms which are produced by continuous transforms, using the Morlet wavelet. Slams are classified based on the time of incidence. It is shown that high crest factor stern slamming occurs as often as twice per minute.

The Department of Science and Technology's (DST's) 10-year Global Change Grand Challenge programme requires platforms to 'attract young researchers to the region and retain them by exciting their interest in aspects of global change; while developing their capacity and professional skills in the relevant fields of investigation' (1). In addition, in July 2014, President Zuma officially launched Operation Phakisa and announced that a key target of this Oceans Economy initiative would be 'for the Department of Higher Education and Training to drive alignment between theoretical and workplace learning' (2). SEAmester–South Africa's recently established Class Afloat–achieves just that. SEAmester introduces marine science as an applied and cross-disciplinary field to students who have shown an affinity for core science disciplines. It identifies with government's National Development Plan (3) on education, training and innovation–critical to South Africa's long-term development and investment in this sector. SEAmester has a long-term vision aimed at building capacity within the marine sciences by coordinating and fostering cross-disciplinary research projects and achieving this goal through a highly innovative programme. The strength of SEAmester is that postgraduate students combine theoretical classroom learning with the application of this knowledge through ship-based, and more importantly, hands-on research. The state-of-the-art research vessel, SA Agulhas II, provides an ideal teaching and research platform for this programme; its size, comfort and shipboard facilities allow large groups of students and lecturers to productively interact over a period of 10 days. KEYWORDS: marine science; National Development Plan; SA Agulhas II; postgraduates; teaching and research platform

Federal government project managers are responsible for ensuring successful project outcomes, yet failure rates for government projects remain high. The selection of an appropriate project management method can significantly improve project success rates. The qualitative, exploratory study used a Delphi method to collect data and determine how federal information technology (IT) project managers evaluate project parameters during the initial project planning stages. The purpose was to determine how federal IT project managers choose between Agile and traditional project management methods and which project parameters affect method selection. The researcher collected data from an expert panel of 13 federal IT project managers working in the Washintong DC metro area. Panelists were required to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, between 10 and 25 years of federal project management experiences, and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. The study addressed the central research question of how federal IT project managers choose between Agile and traditional methods to improve the likelihood of project success. The research determined that traditional method can improve project performance and success if it is used in projects that have minimal costs, short durations, standard cost estimates, tightly defined requirements with change controls, and firm-fixed-price contracts. The Agile method was a better choice when projects had loose requirements, limited scope, high complexity, limited resources, development teams with limited experience and education, and time and material contracts. The study indicated that project parameters could be evaluated to drive the selection of project management methods and increase project success. Future research can explore the impact of regulatory constraints and project controls on federal IT projects. Additional research can also explore various federal acquisition regulation contract types and their impacts on federal project outcomes.

The Department of Science and Technology's (DST's) 10-year Global Change Grand Challenge programme requires platforms to 'attract young researchers to the region and retain them by exciting their interest in aspects of global change; while developing their capacity and professional skills in the relevant fields of investigation'. In addition, in July 2014, President Zuma officially launched Operation Phakisa and announced that a key target of this Oceans Economy initiative would be 'for the Department of Higher Education and Training to drive alignment between theoretical and workplace learning'. SEAmester - South Africa's recently established Class Afloat - achieves just that. SEAmester introduces marine science as an applied and cross-disciplinary field to students who have shown an affinity for core science disciplines. It identifies with government's National Development Plan on education, training and innovation - critical to South Africa's long-term development and investment in this sector. SEAmester has a long-term vision aimed at building capacity within the marine sciences by coordinating and fostering cross-disciplinary research projects and achieving this goal through a highly innovative programme. The strength of SEAmester is that postgraduate students combine theoretical classroom learning with the application of this knowledge through ship-based, and more importantly, hands-on research. The state-of-the-art research vessel, SA Agulhas II, provides an ideal teaching and research platform for this programme; its size, comfort and shipboard facilities allow large groups of students and lecturers to productively interact over a period of 10 days.

The details of the pediatric immune system that supports induction of antibodies capable of neutralizing geographically-diverse or heterologous HIV-1 is currently unclear. Here we explore the pediatric immune environment in neonatal macaque undergoing Simian-HIV infection. Simian-HIV infection of 11 pairs of therapy-naive dams and infant rhesus macaques for 24 months results in heterologous HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies in 64% of young macaques compared to 18% of adult macaques. Heterologous HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies emerge by 12 months post-infection in young macaques, in association with lower expression of immunosuppressive genes, fewer germinal center CD4 + T regulatory cells, and a lower ratio of CD4 + T follicular regulatory to helper cells. Antibodies from peripheral blood B cells in two young macaques following SHIV infection neutralize 13% of 119 heterologous HIV-1 strains and map to regions of canonical broadly neutralizing antibody epitopes on the envelope surface protein. Here we show that pediatric immunity to SHIV infection in a macaque model may inform vaccine strategies to induce effective HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies in infants and children prior to viral exposure. The specifics of the pediatric immune response that gives rise to antibodies capable of neutralising diverse HIV-1 strains is not fully understood. Here the authors characterise the immune environment of Simian-HIV infected paediatric macaques and link to antibody neutralisation induction.

Aluminum oxide nanofibers having different fiber diameters were characterized to determine if and how the fiber diameter affects their colloidal behavior and solubility in water. The measurements provide initial data on the behavior of alumina nanofibers in aqueous systems. Three different aluminum oxide materials with average fiber diameters ranging from a few nanometers to a few hundred nanometers were acquired from ANF Technology (Nafen™), MemPro Materials, and Pardam Nanotechnology. The morphology, dimensions, chemical composition, and surface properties of each material were measured using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and N 2 -BET surface area analysis. Properties measured for aqueous suspensions of the fibers included electrophoretic mobility, point of zero charge, apparent hydrodynamic radius via dynamic light scattering, and solubility. TEM images were used to determine the size distribution of the fiber diameter, and the smooth, non-porous, non-tubular structure of the materials. Fiber diameters were 5–10 nm for Nafen™, 90–175 nm for MemPro, and 150–600 nm for Pardam. SEM showed that samples of the dry materials consisted of long (micron sized) fibers having these diameters. Specific surface area ranged from 2.7 m 2 /g for the largest diameter Pardam fibers to 136 m 2 /g for the smallest diameter Nafen™ fibers. The pH of the point of zero charge for the three materials ranged from 5.0 for Pardam to 8.5 for Nafen™ in 10 mM NaCl. Dynamic light scattering revealed that the fibers readily aggregate in both deionized water and solutions of high ionic strength. Fiber solubility ranged from a dissolved aluminum concentration of 23–83 μg/L for pH from 6.67 to 8.23. The observed solubilities were similar to those calculated from thermodynamic data for corundum (α-Al 2 O 3 ) and boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), phases that were observed by XRD in the aged materials.

Native shrublands and their associated grasses and forbs have been disappearing from the Great Basin as a result of grazing practices, exotic weed invasions, altered fire regimes, climate change and other human impacts. Native forb seed is needed to restore these areas. The irrigation requirements for maximum seed production of four key native forb species (Eriogonum umbellatum, Lomatium dissectum, Penstemon speciosus, and Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia) were studied at the Oregon State University Malheur Experiment Station beginning in 2005. Species plots were supplied with 0, 100, or 200 mm of subsurface drip irrigation per year using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Irrigation in each plot was divided into four equal increments applied between bud and seed set with timing dependent upon the flowering and seed set phenology of each species. Seed was harvested in each year of production through 2011, and the optimal irrigation rate was determined by regression. The four native forb species differed in their responses to irrigation. Lomatium dissectum seed yields were optimized with 140 mm of irrigation. Eriogonum umbellatum seed yields were optimized with 173 to 200 mm of irrigation in dry years and progressively less to no irrigation in the wettest year. Penstemon speciosus seed yields were optimized with 107 mm of irrigation in dry years and were reduced by irrigation in wet years. Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia seed yields did not respond to irrigation. Water requirements of these species are low, and these results can be used by seed growers to produce native forb seed more economically.

While alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seed yield is known to respond positively to moderate deficit irrigation, the effects of deficit irrigation on seed viability and seed size are not known. Minimum seed viability for certification in Oregon is 85% germination plus hard seed. Two alfalfa cultivars ('Tango' and 'Accord') were planted in 2000 and were subjected to four subsurface drip irrigation treatments in 2001, 2002, and 2003 in eastern Oregon. Before flowering, the field was irrigated uniformly to replace approximately 65% of the accumulated alfalfa evapotranspiration (ETc). After the onset of flowering, four irrigation levels (80, 60, 40, and 20% of the accumulated ETc) were applied every 3 to 4 d to plots arranged in a randomized complete block design with five replicates. Seed yield showed a quadratic response to ETc replacement level and was maximized by an ETc replacement of 50% over the 3 yr. While germination decreased with increasing ETc replacement, hard and abnormal seed increased with increasing ETc replacement. The highest viable seed was achieved with an ETc replacement level of 32%, over the 3 yr. Seed weight increased with increasing ETc replacement level, but the largest increase occurred from 20 to 60% ETc replacement. With an ETc replacement of 50% that maximized yield, seed quality met or exceeded the minimum certification standard of 85% viable seed each year. The results suggest that alfalfa seed production can be optimized with 50% ETc replacement using drip irrigation.

Onion (Allium cepa) varieties for commercial production in eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho are evaluated annually in replicated trials conducted at the Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, near Ontario, Oregon. Characteristics evaluated include bulb yield, market grade, and the frequency of single centers. After the emergence of iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) as a threat to commercial onion production in the early 2000s, onion varieties at the Malheur Experiment Station have been evaluated for virus symptoms since 2004. Varieties showed differences in the severity of IYSV symptoms each year. Symptom severity increased over the years from 2004 to 2006, and variety virus ratings showed a strong negative correlation of severity with yield in 2005 and 2006. Marketable yield after 3 months of storage averaged 781, 534, and 551 cwt/acre in 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. Averaging over varieties, yield of bulbs larger than 4 inches in diameter was 438 cwt/acre, 56 cwt/acre, and 76 cwt/acre, and the average virus severity ratings were 1.1, 1.3, and 2.7 in 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. A few varieties showed a combination of high yield, large bulb size, low incidence of virus symptoms, and a predominance of single-centered bulbs. With the prevalence of IYSV, variety tolerance to IYSV has become an important production factor in the Treasure Valley.

Onion (Allium cepa) cultivars for commercial production in eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho are evaluated annually in replicated yield trials conducted at the Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Ontario. Market demand has progressively called for larger bulb size and bulbs with single centers. At harvest onions were evaluated for maturity, number of bolters, and single centeredness. Cultivars showed a wide range of bulbs with only one growing point or \"bullet\" single centers, ranging from 1% to 57% in 2000, from 7% to 70% in 2001, and from 1% to 74% in 2002. The percentages of bulbs functionally single-centered for processing uses ranged from 18% to 88% in 2000, from 24.7% to 91.3% in 2001, and from 14.4% to 92% in 2002. Bulb yield and market grade were evaluated out of storage. Marketable yield after 4 months of storage varied significantly by cultivar from 643 to 1196 cwt/acre (72.1 to 134.1 Mg.ha(-1)) in 2000, from 538 to 980 cwt/acre (60.3 to 109.8 Mg.ha(-1)) in 2001, and from 583 to 1119 cwt/acre (65.3 to 125.4 Mg.ha(-1)) in 2002. Averaging over cultivars, super colossal bulb size averaged 26%, 14%, and 10% in 2000, 2001, and 2002, respectively.