Solid state power mapping instrument Patent

Solid state device for mapping flux and power in nuclear reactor core

REGIONAL COMPETITIVE POSITION OF PORK INDUSTRY

In the recent past U.S. pork industry experienced geographical shifts in its production and processing. Some geographical areas have competitive advantages over the areas in raising pigs. Costs of raising pigs vary by type and size of operations, and other location specific factors. We used enterprise budgeting approach to estimate the profitability of representative feeder to finishing operations in different geographical regions in U.S. We obtained data from the United States Department of Agriculture databases, costs and returns survey and various university sources. The cost differences were not due to the unit prices of inputs but were largely driven by the differences in their efficiencies. Overhead costs varies by locations and size of operation. Pork feeding operations of all sizes operate at a loss if we account for all the cash expenses and opportunity costs given the prices of all inputs and output. However, producers got positive profits over the variable costs. The Eastern Corn belt regions' pork producers reap the highest operating profit ($1,861 per 100 hogs) followed by the Western Corn Belt region and the West region ($1,661). The results of production systems analyses as outlined here suggest that smaller firms have limited ability to compete with larger firms on the basis of cost of production. The key to keeping hog business competitive is higher production efficiency. Feed, labor, and building and equipment efficiencies were potential means of cutting production costs. Smaller producers who do not attain strong efficiencies in production are at a disadvantage relative to larger producers.Livestock Production/Industries,

Mesoscopic Mechanical Resonators as Quantum Non-Inertial Reference Frames

An atom attached to a micrometer-scale wire that is vibrating at a frequency of 100 MHz and with displacement amplitude 1 nm experiences an acceleration magnitude 10^9 ms^-2, approaching the surface gravity of a neutron star. As one application of such extreme non-inertial forces in a mesoscopic setting, we consider a model two-path atom interferometer with one path consisting of the 100 MHz vibrating wire atom guide. The vibrating wire guide serves as a non-inertial reference frame and induces an in principle measurable phase shift in the wave function of an atom traversing the wire frame. We furthermore consider the effect on the two-path atom wave interference when the vibrating wire is modeled as a quantum object, hence functioning as a quantum non-inertial reference frame. We outline a possible realization of the vibrating wire, atom interferometer using a superfluid helium quantum interference setup.Comment: Published versio

SWINE FARM BUSINESS ANALYSIS WORKBOOK

Swine Analysis Workbook Goal: For a one-year period, develop an accrual adjusted income statement.Livestock Production/Industries,

VEGETABLE FARM BUSINESS ANALYSIS WORKBOOK

Vegetable Farm Analysis Workbook instructions to develop an accrual adjusted income statement for a one-year period.Crop Production/Industries,

Closed loop spray cooling apparatus

A closed loop apparatus for spraying coolant against the back of a radiation target is described. The coolant was circulated through a closed loop with a bubble of inert gas being maintained around the spray. Mesh material was disposed between the bubble and the surface of the liquid coolant which was below the bubble at a predetermined level. In a second embodiment, no inert gas was used, the bubble consisting of a vapor produced when the coolant was sprayed against the target

Measurement of energy eigenstates by a slow detector

We propose a method for a weak continuous measurement of the energy eigenstates of a fast quantum system by means of a "slow" detector. Such a detector is only sensitive to slowly-changing variables, e. g. energy, while its back-action can be limited solely to decoherence of the eigenstate superpositions. We apply this scheme to the problem of detection of quantum jumps between energy eigenstates in a harmonic oscillator.Comment: 4 page

Airborne Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from a Concentrated Swine Feeding Operation

The use of nontherapeutic levels of antibiotics in swine production can select for antibiotic resistance in commensal and pathogenic bacteria in swine. As a result, retail pork products, as well as surface and groundwaters contaminated with swine waste, have been shown to be sources of human exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, it is unclear whether the air within swine operations also serves as a source of exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. To investigate this issue, we sampled the air within a concentrated swine feeding operation with an all-glass impinger. Samples were analyzed using a method for the isolation of Enterococcus. A total of 137 presumptive Enterococcus isolates were identified to species level using standard biochemical tests and analyzed for resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin, virginiamycin, tetracycline, and vancomycin using the agar dilution method. Thirty-four percent of the isolates were confirmed as Enterococcus, 32% were identified as coagulase-negative staphylococci, and 33% were identified as viridans group streptococci. Regardless of bacterial species, 98% of the isolates expressed high-level resistance to at least two antibiotics commonly used in swine production. None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic that has never been approved for use in livestock in the United States. In conclusion, high-level multidrug-resistant Enterococcus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and viridans group streptococci were detected in the air of a concentrated swine feeding operation. These findings suggest that the inhalation of air from these facilities may serve as an exposure pathway for the transfer of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens from swine to humans