Eric Davis - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Eric Davis

Plant Disease

Potential resistance to the guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, in ninety-one sele... more Potential resistance to the guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, in ninety-one selected sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] genotypes was evaluated in six greenhouse experiments. Ten thousand eggs of M. enterolobii were inoculated on each sweetpotato genotype grown in a 3:1 sand to soil mixture. Sixty days post inoculation, percent of total roots with nematode-induced galls was determined, and nematode eggs were extracted from roots. Significant differences (P ˂ 0.001) among sweetpotato genotypes were found in all six tests for gall rating, total eggs, and eggs per gram of root. Resistant sweetpotato genotypes were determined by final eggs per root system divided by the initial inoculum where Pf/Pi < 1 (reproduction factor; final egg count divided by initial inoculum of 10,000 eggs), and statistical mean separations were confirmed by Fisher’s LSD t test. Our results indicated that 19 out of 91 tested sweetpotato genotypes were resistant to M. enterolobii. Some o...

Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Journal of Applied Physics

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer nanocomposites are a promising solution to address the poor... more Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer nanocomposites are a promising solution to address the poor ion selectivity of current membranes utilized in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Herein, we investigate the impact of casting substrate on the nanostructure and vanadium ion transport in bulk ionomer and ionomer nanocomposite membranes (i.e., films with thicknesses of ~100 microns). Specifically, solution-cast ionomer nanocomposite membranes, containing either unfunctionalized (hydroxyl groups), amine-functionalized, or sulfonic acid-functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiNPs), were fabricated by casting on either polished quartz or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrates. Surprisingly, the choice of casting substrate was seen to affect the bulk morphology of the PFSA ionomers, resulting in substrate-specific vanadium ion transport, where suppressed ion transport was observed for membranes cast on polished quartz, when compared to their PTFE-cast counterparts. Additionally, the chemical composition of the substrate-adjacent surface was a function of both the substrate and the surface functionality of the SiNPs. Moreover, it was observed that both the chemical composition of the membrane surface and the substrate-induced changes to the bulk ionomer morphology governed vanadyl ion transport through the PFSA ionomers. Results from this work have direct implications for design of next

Journal of aquatic animal health, Jan 5, 2017

Decontamination of watercraft and/or equipment following exposure to zebra mussels with the use o... more Decontamination of watercraft and/or equipment following exposure to zebra mussels with the use of chemicals is one method of decontamination that has been recommended in the United States by multiple government agencies. The ideal chemical to be used for decontamination would be inexpensive, easily obtained, have no or limited effect on nontarget species, and relatively environmentally friendly. Two chemicals that have been tested are potassium chloride and sodium chloride. The toxicity of each chemical to both adult mussels and veliger larvae was examined. Sodium chloride was less effective at causing mortality than potassium chloride within the exposure periods tested. Adult mussels required an exposure period four times longer to experience complete mortality when exposed to sodium chloride (24 h) at a concentration of 30,000 mg/L compared to potassium chloride (6 h). At a 10,000 mg/L concentration, sodium chloride took eight times longer (96 h) to cause 100% mortality of adult ...

Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Jan 26, 2017

A strategy to rapidly determine if a matched unrelated donor (URD) can be secured for allograft r... more A strategy to rapidly determine if a matched unrelated donor (URD) can be secured for allograft recipients is needed. We sought to validate the accuracy of 1) HapLogic™ match predictions, and, 2) a resultant novel Search Prognosis (SP) patient categorization that could predict 8/8 HLA-matched URD(s) likelihood at search initiation. Patient prognosis categories at search initiation were correlated with URD confirmatory typing results. HapLogic™-based SP categorizations accurately predicted the likelihood of an 8/8 HLA-match in 830 patients (1,530 donors tested). Sixty percent of patients had 8/8 URD(s) identified. Patient SP categories (217 Very Good, 104 Good, 178 Fair, 33 Poor, 153 Very Poor, 145 Futile) were associated with a marked progressive decrease in 8/8 URD identification and transplantation. Very Good-Good categories were highly predictive of identifying and receiving an 8/8 URD regardless of ancestry. Europeans in Fair/ Poor categories were more likely to identify and rec...

Review of Scientific Instruments

ABSTRACT A new octopole electrode design improves the particle trapping stability of an electrody... more ABSTRACT A new octopole electrode design improves the particle trapping stability of an electrodynamic balance (EDB) and allows one to make three-dimensional force measurements on a trapped particle. A conventional double-ring EDB was modified by splitting each ring into four equal segments that are electrically independent. Three dc sources were combined such that eight potentials were applied to the eight segments of the electrodes. An additional ac voltage was superimposed on each ring segment as in a conventional double-ring EDB. The resulting electric field has dc components in the x, y, and z directions, which can be controlled independently by the three dc supplies. The z component is used to balance and measure vertical forces such as gravity, radiation pressure, or phoretic forces. The x and y fields can be used to suppress lateral oscillations of the trapped particles, and lateral forces on the particle can be measured in terms of the x and y dc voltages. The apparatus and the electric fields are described herein, and the operation of the device is demonstrated for spheres and aggregated particles. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per res... more Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

Assay Drug Dev Technol, 2007

International Journal For Parasitology, Sep 30, 2007

Cyst nematodes produce parasitism proteins that contain putative nuclear localisation signals (NL... more Cyst nematodes produce parasitism proteins that contain putative nuclear localisation signals (NLSs) and, therefore, are predicted to be imported into the nucleus of the host plant cell. The in planta localisation patterns of eight soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) parasitism proteins with putative NLSs were determined by producing these proteins as translational fusions with the GFP and GUS reporter proteins. Two parasitism proteins were found to be imported into the nuclei of onion epidermal cells as well as Arabidopsis protoplasts. One of these two parasitism proteins was further transported into the nucleoli. Mutations introduced into the NLS domains of these two proteins abolished nuclear import and caused a cytoplasmic accumulation. Furthermore, we observed active nuclear uptake for three additional parasitism proteins, however, only when these proteins were synthesised as truncated forms. Two of these proteins were further transported into nucleoli. We hypothesise that nuclear uptake and nucleolar localisation are important mechanisms for H. glycines to modulate the nuclear biology of parasitised cells of its host plant.

Annals of the American Thoracic Society, Jun 1, 2013

Middle East Policy, 2008

quarter century ago, about the time that the Middle East Policy Council was created, little serio... more quarter century ago, about the time that the Middle East Policy Council was created, little serious attention was paid to the Middle East at the annual meetings of the leading disciplinary associations, including the American Political Science Association (APSA). Professor Louis J. Cantori and a small group of colleagues, including this writer, decided in 1983 to create the Conference Group on the Middle East (CGME), which convened for the first time in 1984. Just a few months ago, the group convened for the twenty-fourth time in conjunction with the national meeting of APSA in Boston. From the start, it was Lou who cheerfully assumed the leadership of the group, as well as the administrative burden of organizing the annual meeting. Over the years, the CGME provided a forum for several dozen younger scholars from the Middle East, who, thanks to the support of the Ford Foundation, often gained the opportunity to participate in their first U.S. meeting. The CGME focused on myriad themes, including U.S. foreign policy in the region, Islam and politics, the domestic determinants of foreign policy in Middle Eastern states, women and politics, and the prospects for political reform. Several of the annual meetings inspired collections of articles in this journal and several other respected periodicals. This year, the CGME invited participants to offer advice to the next president and the resulting pieces follow. Sadly, Lou Cantori was not in the room when the group convened. With his customary humor and courage, Lou confronted a degenerative disease that took far longer to complete its grim course than the best doctors predicted. Lou finally succumbed on May 12, 2008, after a rich academic career that included studies at al-Azhar University in Cairo and professorships at UCLA and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Lou had been a Marine, and, while he was often deeply critical of U.S. security policies, he loved the customs and traditions of the military. He served for a year in the 1980s on the West Point faculty as a visiting professor. Then, as though he had won a soldier-scholar trifecta, he went on to visiting appointments at the Air Force Academy and

Mol Plant Microbe Interaction, 1999

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2005

The Gravitational Wave (GW) radiation pattern is derived that results from a rod rotating about a... more The Gravitational Wave (GW) radiation pattern is derived that results from a rod rotating about a pivot, a dumbbell rotating about its central axis, a pair of stars rotating about their orbital focus, or a stationary circular asymmetrical-array of tangentially jerking elements. The three-dimensional shape of the GW radiation pattern is like a dumbbell cross-section having its long axis perpendicular to the plane of motion or along the central axis of the stationary ring of sequentially jerking elements. The center of the radiation pattern is situated at the pivot, orbital-focus, or center of the stationary array. Knowledge of the GW radiation pattern allows for optimum placement of a detector. In the case of High-Frequency Gravitational Waves (HFGWs), in which the diffraction of the GW radiation is less than the dimensions of the ring of jerking elements, the radiation pattern is situated at the center of the ring and represents a focus or concentration point of the HFGWs, The concentration point extends over a diffraction-limited spot having a radius of λ GW /π, where λ GW is the wavelength of the HFGW. In the case of a superconductor, prior research, although speculative has shown that the GW wavelength is foreshortened by a factor of about 300. Thus there could be a much more concentrated diffraction-limited flux of HFGW at the focus. It is shown that the efficiency of a HFGW communications link could be approximately proportional to the sixth power of the HFGW frequency. Applications to space technology, involving aerospace communications, and Astronomy are discussed.

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2008

Laser-powered "Lightcraft" systems that deliver nano-satellites to LEO have been studied for the ... more Laser-powered "Lightcraft" systems that deliver nano-satellites to LEO have been studied for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The study was built on the extensive Lightcraft laser propulsion technology already developed by theoretical and experimental work by the AFRL's Propulsion Directorate at Edwards AFB, CA. Here we review the history and engineering-physics of the laser Lightcraft system and its propulsive performance. We will also review the effectiveness and cost of a Lightcraft vehicle powered by a high-energy laser beam. One result of this study is the significant influence of laser wavelength on the power lost during laser beam propagation through Earth's atmosphere and in space. It was discovered that energy and power losses in the laser beam are extremely sensitive to wavelength for Earth-To-Orbit missions, and this significantly affects the amount of mass that can be placed into orbit for a given maximum amount of radiated power from a ground-based laser.

AIP Conference Proceedings, 1998

Space flight by means of wormholes is described whereby the traditional rocket propulsion approac... more Space flight by means of wormholes is described whereby the traditional rocket propulsion approach can be abandoned in favor of a new paradigm involving the manipulation of spacetime. Maccone (1995) extended Levi-Civita's 1917 magnetic gravity solution to the Morris and Thorne (1988) wormhole solution and claimed that static homogeneous magnetic/electric fields can create spacetime curvature manifesting itself as a traversable wormhole. Furthermore, Maccone showed that the speed of light through this curvature region is slowed by the magnetic (or electric) induced gravitational field there. Maccone's analysis immediately suggests a way to perform laboratory experiments whereby one could apply a powerful static homogeneous magnetic field in a vacuum, thereby creating spacetime curvature, and measure the speed of a light beam through it. Magnetic fields employed in this scenario must achieve magnitudes > 10 10 Tesla in order for measurable effects to appear. Current magnetic induction technology is limited to static fields of ~ several x 10 3 Tesla. However, destructive chemical (implosive/explosive) magnetic field generation technology has reached peak rate-of-rise field strengths of ~ 10 9 Tesla/s. It is proposed that this technology be exploited to take advantage of the high rate-of-rise field strengths to create and measure spacetime curvature in the lab.

Journal of Nematology, Sep 1, 1994

Three monodonal antibodies (MAbs) that bound to secretory granules within the subventral esophage... more Three monodonal antibodies (MAbs) that bound to secretory granules within the subventral esophageal glands of second-stage juveniles (J2) of the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, were developed from intrasplenic immunizations of a mouse with homogenates of SCN J2. Two MAbs to the secretory granules within subventral glands and one MAb to granules within the dorsal esophageal gland of SCN J2 were developed by intrasplenic immunizations with J2 stylet secretions. Stylet secretions, produced in vitro by incubating SCN J2 in 5-methoxy DMT oxalate, were solubilized with a high pH buffer and concentrated for use as antigen. Three of the five MAbs specific to the subventral esophageal glands bound to stylet secretions from SCN J2 in immunofluorescence and ELISA assays. Two of these three MAbs also bound to secretory granules within both the dorsal and subventral esophageal glands of young SCN females. All five of the subventral gland MAbs bound to the subventral glands of Heterodera schachtii and one bound to the subventral glands of Globodera tabacum, but none bound to any structures in Meloidogyne incognita or Caenorhabditis elegans.

Mol Plant Microbe Interaction, 1999

Molecular plant pathology, Aug 17, 2015

Cyst nematodes are plant-parasitic roundworms that are of significance in many cropping systems a... more Cyst nematodes are plant-parasitic roundworms that are of significance in many cropping systems around the world. Cyst nematode infection is facilitated by effector proteins secreted from the nematode into the plant host. The cDNAs of the 25A01-like effector family are novel sequences that were isolated from the esophageal gland cells of the soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines). To aid functional characterization we identified an orthologous member of this protein family (Hs25A01) from the closely related sugar beet cyst nematode H. schachtii, which infects Arabidopsis. Constitutive expression of the Hs25A01 CDS in Arabidopsis plants caused a small increase in root length accompanied by up to 22% increase in susceptibility to H. schachtii. A plant-expressed RNAi construct targeting Hs25A01 transcripts in invading nematodes significantly reduced host susceptibility to H. schachtii. These data document that Hs25A01 has physiological functions in planta and a role in cyst nemato...

Plant Disease

Potential resistance to the guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, in ninety-one sele... more Potential resistance to the guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, in ninety-one selected sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] genotypes was evaluated in six greenhouse experiments. Ten thousand eggs of M. enterolobii were inoculated on each sweetpotato genotype grown in a 3:1 sand to soil mixture. Sixty days post inoculation, percent of total roots with nematode-induced galls was determined, and nematode eggs were extracted from roots. Significant differences (P ˂ 0.001) among sweetpotato genotypes were found in all six tests for gall rating, total eggs, and eggs per gram of root. Resistant sweetpotato genotypes were determined by final eggs per root system divided by the initial inoculum where Pf/Pi < 1 (reproduction factor; final egg count divided by initial inoculum of 10,000 eggs), and statistical mean separations were confirmed by Fisher’s LSD t test. Our results indicated that 19 out of 91 tested sweetpotato genotypes were resistant to M. enterolobii. Some o...

Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Journal of Applied Physics

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer nanocomposites are a promising solution to address the poor... more Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer nanocomposites are a promising solution to address the poor ion selectivity of current membranes utilized in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Herein, we investigate the impact of casting substrate on the nanostructure and vanadium ion transport in bulk ionomer and ionomer nanocomposite membranes (i.e., films with thicknesses of ~100 microns). Specifically, solution-cast ionomer nanocomposite membranes, containing either unfunctionalized (hydroxyl groups), amine-functionalized, or sulfonic acid-functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiNPs), were fabricated by casting on either polished quartz or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrates. Surprisingly, the choice of casting substrate was seen to affect the bulk morphology of the PFSA ionomers, resulting in substrate-specific vanadium ion transport, where suppressed ion transport was observed for membranes cast on polished quartz, when compared to their PTFE-cast counterparts. Additionally, the chemical composition of the substrate-adjacent surface was a function of both the substrate and the surface functionality of the SiNPs. Moreover, it was observed that both the chemical composition of the membrane surface and the substrate-induced changes to the bulk ionomer morphology governed vanadyl ion transport through the PFSA ionomers. Results from this work have direct implications for design of next

Journal of aquatic animal health, Jan 5, 2017

Decontamination of watercraft and/or equipment following exposure to zebra mussels with the use o... more Decontamination of watercraft and/or equipment following exposure to zebra mussels with the use of chemicals is one method of decontamination that has been recommended in the United States by multiple government agencies. The ideal chemical to be used for decontamination would be inexpensive, easily obtained, have no or limited effect on nontarget species, and relatively environmentally friendly. Two chemicals that have been tested are potassium chloride and sodium chloride. The toxicity of each chemical to both adult mussels and veliger larvae was examined. Sodium chloride was less effective at causing mortality than potassium chloride within the exposure periods tested. Adult mussels required an exposure period four times longer to experience complete mortality when exposed to sodium chloride (24 h) at a concentration of 30,000 mg/L compared to potassium chloride (6 h). At a 10,000 mg/L concentration, sodium chloride took eight times longer (96 h) to cause 100% mortality of adult ...

Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Jan 26, 2017

A strategy to rapidly determine if a matched unrelated donor (URD) can be secured for allograft r... more A strategy to rapidly determine if a matched unrelated donor (URD) can be secured for allograft recipients is needed. We sought to validate the accuracy of 1) HapLogic™ match predictions, and, 2) a resultant novel Search Prognosis (SP) patient categorization that could predict 8/8 HLA-matched URD(s) likelihood at search initiation. Patient prognosis categories at search initiation were correlated with URD confirmatory typing results. HapLogic™-based SP categorizations accurately predicted the likelihood of an 8/8 HLA-match in 830 patients (1,530 donors tested). Sixty percent of patients had 8/8 URD(s) identified. Patient SP categories (217 Very Good, 104 Good, 178 Fair, 33 Poor, 153 Very Poor, 145 Futile) were associated with a marked progressive decrease in 8/8 URD identification and transplantation. Very Good-Good categories were highly predictive of identifying and receiving an 8/8 URD regardless of ancestry. Europeans in Fair/ Poor categories were more likely to identify and rec...

Review of Scientific Instruments

ABSTRACT A new octopole electrode design improves the particle trapping stability of an electrody... more ABSTRACT A new octopole electrode design improves the particle trapping stability of an electrodynamic balance (EDB) and allows one to make three-dimensional force measurements on a trapped particle. A conventional double-ring EDB was modified by splitting each ring into four equal segments that are electrically independent. Three dc sources were combined such that eight potentials were applied to the eight segments of the electrodes. An additional ac voltage was superimposed on each ring segment as in a conventional double-ring EDB. The resulting electric field has dc components in the x, y, and z directions, which can be controlled independently by the three dc supplies. The z component is used to balance and measure vertical forces such as gravity, radiation pressure, or phoretic forces. The x and y fields can be used to suppress lateral oscillations of the trapped particles, and lateral forces on the particle can be measured in terms of the x and y dc voltages. The apparatus and the electric fields are described herein, and the operation of the device is demonstrated for spheres and aggregated particles. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per res... more Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

Assay Drug Dev Technol, 2007

International Journal For Parasitology, Sep 30, 2007

Cyst nematodes produce parasitism proteins that contain putative nuclear localisation signals (NL... more Cyst nematodes produce parasitism proteins that contain putative nuclear localisation signals (NLSs) and, therefore, are predicted to be imported into the nucleus of the host plant cell. The in planta localisation patterns of eight soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) parasitism proteins with putative NLSs were determined by producing these proteins as translational fusions with the GFP and GUS reporter proteins. Two parasitism proteins were found to be imported into the nuclei of onion epidermal cells as well as Arabidopsis protoplasts. One of these two parasitism proteins was further transported into the nucleoli. Mutations introduced into the NLS domains of these two proteins abolished nuclear import and caused a cytoplasmic accumulation. Furthermore, we observed active nuclear uptake for three additional parasitism proteins, however, only when these proteins were synthesised as truncated forms. Two of these proteins were further transported into nucleoli. We hypothesise that nuclear uptake and nucleolar localisation are important mechanisms for H. glycines to modulate the nuclear biology of parasitised cells of its host plant.

Annals of the American Thoracic Society, Jun 1, 2013

Middle East Policy, 2008

quarter century ago, about the time that the Middle East Policy Council was created, little serio... more quarter century ago, about the time that the Middle East Policy Council was created, little serious attention was paid to the Middle East at the annual meetings of the leading disciplinary associations, including the American Political Science Association (APSA). Professor Louis J. Cantori and a small group of colleagues, including this writer, decided in 1983 to create the Conference Group on the Middle East (CGME), which convened for the first time in 1984. Just a few months ago, the group convened for the twenty-fourth time in conjunction with the national meeting of APSA in Boston. From the start, it was Lou who cheerfully assumed the leadership of the group, as well as the administrative burden of organizing the annual meeting. Over the years, the CGME provided a forum for several dozen younger scholars from the Middle East, who, thanks to the support of the Ford Foundation, often gained the opportunity to participate in their first U.S. meeting. The CGME focused on myriad themes, including U.S. foreign policy in the region, Islam and politics, the domestic determinants of foreign policy in Middle Eastern states, women and politics, and the prospects for political reform. Several of the annual meetings inspired collections of articles in this journal and several other respected periodicals. This year, the CGME invited participants to offer advice to the next president and the resulting pieces follow. Sadly, Lou Cantori was not in the room when the group convened. With his customary humor and courage, Lou confronted a degenerative disease that took far longer to complete its grim course than the best doctors predicted. Lou finally succumbed on May 12, 2008, after a rich academic career that included studies at al-Azhar University in Cairo and professorships at UCLA and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Lou had been a Marine, and, while he was often deeply critical of U.S. security policies, he loved the customs and traditions of the military. He served for a year in the 1980s on the West Point faculty as a visiting professor. Then, as though he had won a soldier-scholar trifecta, he went on to visiting appointments at the Air Force Academy and

Mol Plant Microbe Interaction, 1999

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2005

The Gravitational Wave (GW) radiation pattern is derived that results from a rod rotating about a... more The Gravitational Wave (GW) radiation pattern is derived that results from a rod rotating about a pivot, a dumbbell rotating about its central axis, a pair of stars rotating about their orbital focus, or a stationary circular asymmetrical-array of tangentially jerking elements. The three-dimensional shape of the GW radiation pattern is like a dumbbell cross-section having its long axis perpendicular to the plane of motion or along the central axis of the stationary ring of sequentially jerking elements. The center of the radiation pattern is situated at the pivot, orbital-focus, or center of the stationary array. Knowledge of the GW radiation pattern allows for optimum placement of a detector. In the case of High-Frequency Gravitational Waves (HFGWs), in which the diffraction of the GW radiation is less than the dimensions of the ring of jerking elements, the radiation pattern is situated at the center of the ring and represents a focus or concentration point of the HFGWs, The concentration point extends over a diffraction-limited spot having a radius of λ GW /π, where λ GW is the wavelength of the HFGW. In the case of a superconductor, prior research, although speculative has shown that the GW wavelength is foreshortened by a factor of about 300. Thus there could be a much more concentrated diffraction-limited flux of HFGW at the focus. It is shown that the efficiency of a HFGW communications link could be approximately proportional to the sixth power of the HFGW frequency. Applications to space technology, involving aerospace communications, and Astronomy are discussed.

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2008

Laser-powered "Lightcraft" systems that deliver nano-satellites to LEO have been studied for the ... more Laser-powered "Lightcraft" systems that deliver nano-satellites to LEO have been studied for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The study was built on the extensive Lightcraft laser propulsion technology already developed by theoretical and experimental work by the AFRL's Propulsion Directorate at Edwards AFB, CA. Here we review the history and engineering-physics of the laser Lightcraft system and its propulsive performance. We will also review the effectiveness and cost of a Lightcraft vehicle powered by a high-energy laser beam. One result of this study is the significant influence of laser wavelength on the power lost during laser beam propagation through Earth's atmosphere and in space. It was discovered that energy and power losses in the laser beam are extremely sensitive to wavelength for Earth-To-Orbit missions, and this significantly affects the amount of mass that can be placed into orbit for a given maximum amount of radiated power from a ground-based laser.

AIP Conference Proceedings, 1998

Space flight by means of wormholes is described whereby the traditional rocket propulsion approac... more Space flight by means of wormholes is described whereby the traditional rocket propulsion approach can be abandoned in favor of a new paradigm involving the manipulation of spacetime. Maccone (1995) extended Levi-Civita's 1917 magnetic gravity solution to the Morris and Thorne (1988) wormhole solution and claimed that static homogeneous magnetic/electric fields can create spacetime curvature manifesting itself as a traversable wormhole. Furthermore, Maccone showed that the speed of light through this curvature region is slowed by the magnetic (or electric) induced gravitational field there. Maccone's analysis immediately suggests a way to perform laboratory experiments whereby one could apply a powerful static homogeneous magnetic field in a vacuum, thereby creating spacetime curvature, and measure the speed of a light beam through it. Magnetic fields employed in this scenario must achieve magnitudes > 10 10 Tesla in order for measurable effects to appear. Current magnetic induction technology is limited to static fields of ~ several x 10 3 Tesla. However, destructive chemical (implosive/explosive) magnetic field generation technology has reached peak rate-of-rise field strengths of ~ 10 9 Tesla/s. It is proposed that this technology be exploited to take advantage of the high rate-of-rise field strengths to create and measure spacetime curvature in the lab.

Journal of Nematology, Sep 1, 1994

Three monodonal antibodies (MAbs) that bound to secretory granules within the subventral esophage... more Three monodonal antibodies (MAbs) that bound to secretory granules within the subventral esophageal glands of second-stage juveniles (J2) of the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, were developed from intrasplenic immunizations of a mouse with homogenates of SCN J2. Two MAbs to the secretory granules within subventral glands and one MAb to granules within the dorsal esophageal gland of SCN J2 were developed by intrasplenic immunizations with J2 stylet secretions. Stylet secretions, produced in vitro by incubating SCN J2 in 5-methoxy DMT oxalate, were solubilized with a high pH buffer and concentrated for use as antigen. Three of the five MAbs specific to the subventral esophageal glands bound to stylet secretions from SCN J2 in immunofluorescence and ELISA assays. Two of these three MAbs also bound to secretory granules within both the dorsal and subventral esophageal glands of young SCN females. All five of the subventral gland MAbs bound to the subventral glands of Heterodera schachtii and one bound to the subventral glands of Globodera tabacum, but none bound to any structures in Meloidogyne incognita or Caenorhabditis elegans.

Mol Plant Microbe Interaction, 1999

Molecular plant pathology, Aug 17, 2015

Cyst nematodes are plant-parasitic roundworms that are of significance in many cropping systems a... more Cyst nematodes are plant-parasitic roundworms that are of significance in many cropping systems around the world. Cyst nematode infection is facilitated by effector proteins secreted from the nematode into the plant host. The cDNAs of the 25A01-like effector family are novel sequences that were isolated from the esophageal gland cells of the soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines). To aid functional characterization we identified an orthologous member of this protein family (Hs25A01) from the closely related sugar beet cyst nematode H. schachtii, which infects Arabidopsis. Constitutive expression of the Hs25A01 CDS in Arabidopsis plants caused a small increase in root length accompanied by up to 22% increase in susceptibility to H. schachtii. A plant-expressed RNAi construct targeting Hs25A01 transcripts in invading nematodes significantly reduced host susceptibility to H. schachtii. These data document that Hs25A01 has physiological functions in planta and a role in cyst nemato...