Lithium-Ion Batteries

Summarizes the history of lithium-ion batteries, and their uses. This is a project for the Natural Sciences Poster Session at Parkland College

Scalable High-Speed Communications for Neuromorphic Systems

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), and other chip/multi-chip level implementations can be used to implement Dynamic Adaptive Neural Network Arrays (DANNA). In some applications, DANNA interfaces with a traditional computing system to provide neural network configuration information, provide network input, process network outputs, and monitor the state of the network. The present host-to-DANNA network communication setup uses a Cypress USB 3.0 peripheral controller (FX3) to enable host-to-array communication over USB 3.0. This communications setup has to run commands in batches and does not have enough bandwidth to meet the maximum throughput requirements of the DANNA device, resulting in output packet loss. Also, the FX3 is unable to scale to support larger single-chip or multi-chip configurations. To alleviate communication limitations and to expand scalability, a new communications solution is presented which takes advantage of the GTX/GTH high-speed serial transceivers found on Xilinx FPGAs. A Xilinx VC707 evaluation kit is used to prototype the new communications board. The high-speed transceivers are used to communicate to the host computer via PCIe and to communicate to the DANNA arrays with the link layer protocol Aurora. The new communications board is able to outperform the FX3, reducing the latency in the communication and increasing the throughput of data. This new communications setup will be used to further DANNA research by allowing the DANNA arrays to scale to larger sizes and for multiple DANNA arrays to be connected to a single communication board

Nontraditional grain sources in brewing and effects on wort and beer

Master of ScienceFood Science InstituteJon FaubionBrewing of beer has a long history and has evolved over time as tastes, markets and science have progressed. Traditionally malted barley is the grain source used in brewing. Malt provides a multitude of benefits including: fermentable carbohydrates, nitrogen for yeast metabolism, color compounds, flavor compounds and minor constituents that provide for various qualities in beer such as foam and colloidal stability. There is, however, interest from brewers and drinkers alike for a variety of beer styles. Because of this and other reasons, brewers have worked with adjuncts such as oats, sorghum, wheat, rice, and maize. These grains can be used in unmalted or malted forms, but the incorporation of these grains affects the brewing process and final beer qualities. A review of literature reveals the use of grains other than malted barley reduce the nitrogen contribution and alter the amino acid profile available for yeast metabolism, leading to slower fermentations and variations in the fermentation products resulting in changes to beer flavor. Exceptions include sorghum and oats, which provide a more beneficial amino acid profile than barley despite lower levels of nitrogen when compared to barley. Extract is found to increase when using maize and rice, while oats and sorghum reduce the amount of extract. Wheat has comparable extract to barley. Grains that contribute B-glucans and arabinoxylans will increase viscosity, while grains without these components will reduce viscosity if fermentation is complete. Additionally, most grains will reduce the foam stability due to altered nitrogen and protein contributions; wheat being the lone exception that improves foam stability. This review will discuss the above mentioned attributes and more to explore the changes to be expected when brewing with unmalted and malted grains other than barley

A case study of grinding coarse 5 mm particles into sand grade particles less than 2.36 mm

This paper presents the viability study of utilising a rod or ball mill to grind a ‘5 mm grit’ to 100% passing 2.36 mm and fit in with a desired particle size analysis. The aim is to introduce this grit into the concrete grade sand produced at the Hanson owned Axedale Sand & Gravel quarry to reduce generated waste and improve the process efficiency. A ball mill and rod mill were used to grind the samples at an interval of 5 and 10 minutes. From the laboratory experimental analysis, it was found that a ball mill with 5 minutes grinding time in closed-circuit using a classifier to remove undersize and reintroduce oversize to the mill would be a viable option in an industrial setting. A Bond Ball Mill Grindability Test was undertaken to determine the grindability of the 5 mm grit, which served to determine the power (kWh/t) required to grind it to 100% passing 2.36 mm. The bond ball mill grindability test showed that the grit had a work index value of 17.66 kWh/t. This work index gives an actual work input of 13.54 kWh/t, meaning that for every ton of feed material introduced to the mill, 13.54 kWh of work input is required to grind it to 150 microns. © 2021 Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology

Two Pieces for Bassoon by Dan Welcher: a Guide to Performance and Analysis, Including a Survey of Welcher’s Chamber Music with Bassoon

This study is a performance guide that traces the compositional style of Dan Welcher, a well-known composer and former principal bassoonist of the Louisville Symphony and professor of bassoon at the University of Texas, through an examination of two works in which the bassoon is a prominent solo instrument: Concerto da Camera (1975) and The Wind Won’t Listen (2002). These works, a concerto and a chamber piece, span a period of almost 30 years in Welcher’s career. The study also includes a survey of other chamber music by Welcher involving the bassoon. It relates the two focal pieces to the greater bassoon repertoire by examining elements of form, style, harmonic language, and those of a programmatic nature. Suggestions for performance are included based upon their relevance to these considerations. Also included in this document are a discography of recordings of each piece and a collection of available program notes

An efficient method for radiation hydrodynamics in models of feedback-regulated star formation

We describe a module for the Athena code that solves the gray equations of radiation hydrodynamics (RHD), based on the first two moments of the radiative transfer equation. We combine explicit Godunov methods to advance the gas and radiation variables including non-stiff source terms with a local implicit method to integrate stiff source terms. We adopt the M1 closure relation, including leading source terms to $mathcal{O}(betatau)$ and employ the reduced speed of light approximation (RSLA) with subcycling of the radiation variables to reduce computational costs. We consider self-gravitating fragmentation and evolution of turbulent gaseous clouds, modeling the propagation and interaction of radiation from embedded star clusters that form with the surrounding gas. To model the luminosity sources, we use the star particle algorithm of Gong & Ostriker (2013) based on the particle mesh method combined with an efficient open boundary condition Poisson solver for the self-gravitational potential. Our code is dimensionally unsplit in one, two, and three space dimensions and is parallelized using MPI. The streaming and diffusion limits are well-described by the M1 closure model, and our implementation shows excellent behavior for a problem with a concentrated radiation source containing both regimes simultaneously. Our operator-split method is ideally suited for problems with a slowly-varying radiation field and dynamical gas flows in which the effect of the RSLA is minimal. We present an analysis of the dispersion relation of RHD linear waves highlighting the conditions of applicability for the RSLA. To demonstrate the accuracy of our method, we utilize a suite of radiation and RHD tests covering a broad range of regimes, including RHD waves, shocks, and equilibria, showing second-order convergence in most cases, and a test to demonstrate the accuracy of particle orbits obtained using our method. Applying our method to the study of feedback-regulated star formation in models of giant molecular clouds, we conclude that the radiation force on dust from reprocessed radiation is an efficient mechanism for cloud disruption, which may be particularly important in super star clusters with deep gravitational potential wells

Body Size, Growth, and Feather Mass of the Endangered Hawaiian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis).

v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyBody and feather mass data are important in avian studies and are required for determining things such as body condition and energetic carrying capacity. There are 12 subspecies of Common Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus), six continental and six island subspecies, of which two are endangered. Body mass data for multiple individuals are available for only three subspecies, and feather mass data have been reported for only one individual. Body mass (n ¼ 82) and feather mass (n ¼ 2) for adults and body mass for three subadult age classes (n ¼ 27) are provided for the Hawaiian subspecies of Common Moorhen (G. c. sandvicensis). Other body size measurements, including tarsus length, shield-bill length, shield width, and wing cord length also are presented. Adult Hawaiian Moorhen body mass averaged 350.7 g (G50.0 SD; range, 232–522; 95% CI, 339.8–361.6), and young birds appear to develop like young of G. c. chloropus and other Rallidae. Based on published data, G. c. sandvicensis is heavier than G. c. guami, female G. c. chloropus, and G. c. meridionalis; lighter than G. c. garmani and males of G. c. cachinnans; and similar in mass to G. c. cachinnans females, males of G. c. chloropus, and G. c. orientalis. There do not appear to be systematic differences in body mass between mainland (data for four subspecies) and island subspecies (data for three subspecies). Total mass of all feathers for two males was 16.2 and 12.1 g, which made up 3.1% and 3.8%, respectively, of their total body mass

The Effects of a High Fat Meal on Blood Flow Regulation during Arm Exercise

A diet high in saturated fats results in endothelial dysfunction and can lead to atherosclerosis, a precursor to cardiovascular disease. Exercise training is a potent stimulus though to mitigate the negative effects of a high saturated fat diet; however, it is unclear how high-saturated fat meal (HSFM) consumption impacts blood flow regulation during a single exercise session. PURPOSE: This study sought to examine the impact of a single HSFM on peripheral vascular function during an acute upper limb exercise bout. METHODS: Ten young healthy individuals completed two sessions of progressive handgrip exercise. Subjects either consumed a HSFM (0.84 g of fat/kg of body weight) 4 hours prior or remained fasted before the exercise bout. Progressive rhythmic handgrip exercise (6kg, 12kg, 18kg) was performed for 3 minutes per stage at rate of 1 Hz. The brachial artery (BA) diameter and blood velocity was obtained using Doppler Ultrasound (GE Logiq e) and BA blood flow was calculated with these values. RESULTS: BA blood flow and flow mediated dilation (normalized for shear rate) during the handgrip exercise significant increased from baseline in all workloads, but no differences were revealed in response to the HSFM consumption. CONCLUSION: Progressive handgrip exercise augmented BA blood flow and flow mediated dilation in both testing days; however, there was no significant differences following the HSFM consumption. This suggests that upper limb blood flow regulation during exercise is unaltered by a high fat meal in young healthy individuals.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1060/thumbnail.jp