Substrate Integrated Coaxial Line Planar Transitions to Single-Layer Transmission Lines and Waveguides

This paper presents inline transitions from substrate integrated coaxial line (SICL) to microstrip line, coplanar waveguide (CPW), as well as substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). A common property is the conversion of transmission medium from double to single substrate layer of PCB. The first two of described transitions can be used from DC up to the presence of higher order modes if the characteristic impedances of two meeting transmission lines are matched. The transition to substrate integrated waveguide is of higher complexity, yet compact. Both sides of the SICL-SIW transition are strongly coupled to resonant cavity, and return loss greater than 20 dB is achieved in fractional bandwidth of 10.91 %. Improvements compared to the existing solutions have been made in designs of all three transitions

Absorbing Phase Transition in a Four State Predator Prey Model in One Dimension

The model of competition between densities of two different species, called predator and prey, is studied on a one dimensional periodic lattice, where each site can be in one of the four states say, empty, or occupied by a single predator, or occupied by a single prey, or by both. Along with the pairwise death of predators and growth of preys, we introduce an interaction where the predators can eat one of the neighboring prey and reproduce a new predator there instantly. The model shows a non-equilibrium phase transition into a unusual absorbing state where predators are absent and the lattice is fully occupied by preys. The critical exponents of the system are found to be different from that of the Directed Percolation universality class and they are robust against addition of explicit diffusion.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, to appear in JSTA

'Rapid fire' spectroscopy of Kepler solar-like oscillators

The NASA Kepler mission has been continuously monitoring the same field of the sky since the successful launch in March 2009, providing high-quality stellar lightcurves that are excellent data for asteroseismology, far superior to any other observations available at the present. In order to make a meaningful analysis and interpretation of the asteroseismic data, accurate fundamental parameters for the observed stars are needed. The currently available parameters are quite uncertain as illustrated by e.g. Thygesen et al. (A&A 543, A160, 2012), who found deviations as extreme as 2.0 dex in [Fe/H] and log g, compared to catalogue values. Thus, additional follow-up observations for these targets are needed in order to put firm limits on the parameter space investigated by the asteroseismic modellers. Here, we propose a metod for deriving accurate metallicities of main sequence and subgiant solar-like oscillators from medium resolution spectra with a moderate S/N. The method takes advantage of the additional constraints on the fundamental parameters, available from asteroseismology and multi-color photometry. The approach enables us to reduce the analysis overhead significantly when doing spectral synthesis, which in turn will increases the efficiency of follow-up observations.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Proceedings from Asteroseismology of Stellar Populations in the Milky Way 2013 to appear in 'Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings

Low-Cost Hybrid Manufactured Waveguide Bandpass Filters with 3D Printed Insert Dielectric

In this paper, a new type of simple and inexpensive waveguide filter manufacturing that minimizes material consumption and has capabilities of high performance and rapid prototyping is presented. Filter inserts are fabricated by a combination of additive dielectric manufacturing and subtractive metal manufacturing, whereas standard waveguides are used as housings, utilizing best properties of each technology. Along with it, a suitable filter design using metal rectangular rings has been developed. Since the rings that act as positive reactance discontinuities in the passband are resonant at frequencies below it, it is possible to bring lower stopband transmission zeros near the passband to create sharp skirt. A resonator of such a filter and a third order bandpass filter sample have been designed at 11.13 GHz and 11.36 GHz centre frequencies respectively. In addition, smaller size rectangular rings in waveguide can realize upper stopband transmission zeros while acting as negative reactance discontinuities in the passband. This was utilized in fourth order bandpass filter at 11.36 GHz centre frequency with finite transmission zeros in both stopbands. All the filtering structures have been fabricated with 3D printer to extrude polylactic acid and circuit board plotter to mill copper sheet, and tested. Excellent measurement results that have been obtained validate the proposed design. Practical sides of achieving quality 3D printouts are analysed

What Is The Neon Abundance Of The Sun?

We have evolved a series of thirteen complete solar models that utilize different assumed heavy element compositions. Models that are based upon the heavy element abundances recently determined by Asplund, Grevesse, and Sauval (2005) are inconsistent with helioseismological measurements. However, models in which the neon abundance is increased by 0.4-0.5 dex to log N(Ne) = 8.29 +- 0.05 (on the scale in which log N(H) = 12) are consistent with the helioseismological measurements even though the other heavy element abundances are in agreement with the determinations of Asplund et al. (2005). These results sharpen and strengthen an earlier study by Antia and Basu (2005). The predicted solar neutrino fluxes are affected by the uncertainties in the composition by less than their 1sigma theoretical uncertainties.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ. Minor editorial change

Development of a quick and reliable molecular detection system for Sclerotinia stem rot of canola in western Canada

Non-Peer ReviewedSclerotinia stem rot is an important, yield-limiting disease of canola caused by the necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The development of stem rot is highly dependent on environmental conditions and inoculum levels, and as a result disease occurrence and severity are sporadic in nature. In western Canada, stem rot is primarily controlled through the routine application of fungicides, which are often applied with no indication of disease risk. In order to reduce non-economical application of fungicides, a reliable forecasting system is needed. Since the infection of canola petals in an important step in the stem rot disease cycle, a quantitative (q)PCR-based system that can give an estimate of petal infestation rates could form the basis of a reliable forecasting system to help guide fungicide spray decisions. A primer and TaqMan probe have been developed based on the sequence of a novel protein that is specific to S. sclerotiorum. This primer-probe system, when used in a TaqMan qPCR assay, can quantify S. sclerotiorum DNA with a high level of sensitivity and specificity. The development of an internal amplification control will further increase the reliability of the assay by accounting for false negatives. This assay shows great potential for use as the basis of a stem rot forecasting system for canola in western Canada

Location, function, and nucleotide sequence of a promoter for bacteriophage T3 RNA polymerase

The major promoters for bacteriophage T3 RNA polymerase on the T3 genome have been mapped by DNA.RNA filter hybridization. One promoter is located in a 300-base-pair Hpa I restriction fragment near the genetic "left" end of T3 DNA. The sequence in the vicinity of the major initiation site of transcription in this region has been determined. A part of the (-)strand sequence is 5' T-A-T-T-T-A-C-C-C-T-C-A-C-T-A-A-A-G-+1 G-G-A-A-U 3'. Comparison of this sequence with the prototype 23-base-pair promoter sequence for bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase shows a striking pattern of homology and divergence. Between positions -9 and +4, the sequences are virtually identical, whereas between positions -17 and -10, the sequences are quite different. It is postulated that these sequence subsets may perform different functions in transcription initiation by the phage RNA polymerases

Symmetries and novel universal properties of turbulent hydrodynamics in a symmetric binary fluid mixture

We elucidate the universal properties of the nonequilibrium steady states (NESS) in a driven symmetric binary fluid mixture, an example of active advection, in its miscible phase. We use the symmetries of the equations of motion to establish the appropriate form of the structure functions which characterise the statistical properties of the NESS of a driven symmetric binary fluid mixture. We elucidate the universal properties described by the scaling exponents and the amplitude ratios. Our results suggest that these exponents and amplitude ratios vary continuously with the degree of crosscorrelations between the velocity and the gradient of the concentration fields. Furthermore, we demonstrate, in agreement with Celani et al, Phys. Rev. Lett., 89, 234502 (2002, that the conventional structure functions as used in passive scalar turbulence studies exhibit only simple scaling in the problem of symmetric binary fluid mixture even in the weak concentration limit. We also discuss possible experimental verifications of our results.Comment: To appear in JSTAT (letters) (2005

Electrochemically modified viscose-rayon-based activated carbon cloth for competitive and noncompetitive sorption of trace cobalt and lead ions from aqueous solution

A viscose-rayon-based activated carbon cloth (ACC) was electrochemically oxidised. As-received and electrochemically modified ACCs were characterised by sodium capacity, pH titration, elemental analysis and Fourier transform infra red (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. Cobalt and lead noncompetitive sorption capacities for electrochemically oxidised ACC (EO) are 4.3 and 3.9 times, respectively higher than those for unoxidised ACC (UO). Cobalt and lead competitive sorption capacities for EO are 4.1 and 5.1 times, respectively higher than those for UO. Sorption of cobalt and lead onto EO was by ion exchange, while that onto UO was by surface complex formation. Affinity order of metals sorbed by EO and UO is Pb2+ > Co2+. Metal uptake onto EO increased with an increase in solution pH