Inverse modeling of the global methyl chloride sources

Inverse modeling using the Bayesian least squares method is applied to better constrain the sources and sinks of atmospheric methyl chloride (CH3Cl) using observations from seven surface stations and eight aircraft field experiments. We use a three-dimensional global chemical transport model, the GEOS-Chem, as the forward model. Up to 39 parameters describing the continental/hemispheric and seasonal dependence of the major sources of CH3Cl are used in the inversion. We find that the available surface and aircraft observations cannot constrain all the parameters, resulting in relatively large uncertainties in the inversion results. By examining the degrees of freedom in the inversion Jacobian matrix, we choose a reduced set of parameters that can be constrained by the observations while providing valuable information on the sources and sinks. In particular, we resolve the seasonal dependence of the biogenic and biomass-burning sources for each hemisphere. The in situ aircraft measurements are found to provide better constraints on the emission sources than surface measurements. The a posteriori emissions result in better agreement with the observations, particularly at southern high latitudes. The a posteriori biogenic and biomass-burning sources decrease by 13 and 11% to 2500 and 545 Gg yr-1, respectively, while the a posteriori net ocean source increases by about a factor of 2 to 761 Gg yr-1. The decrease in biomass-burning emissions is largely due to the reduction in the emissions in seasons other than spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The inversion results indicate that the biogenic source has a clear winter minimum in both hemispheres, likely reflecting the decrease of biogenic activity during that season. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union

High Speed Forming Press Using Electromagnetic Pulse Force

In this paper, the finite element analysis for the design of a high speed forming press using electromagnetic pulse force has been performed. The punch of the press has been fixed on a aluminium plate, which is driven by the electromagnetic pulse force. The force is the repulsive force between aluminium plate and the coil. The coil has been supplied with a high voltage AC current impulse from the capacitors and then the magnetized aluminium plate has been forced to move upward with high speed. For the analysis of the pressing, the coupled analysis of electromagnetic field and rigid-body dynamic of the aluminium plate has been performed with a commercial FE-software, ANSYS and the rigid-body dynamics theory

Entraining and copying of temporal correlations in dissociated cultured neurons

Here we used multi-electrode array technology to examine the encoding of temporal information in dissociated hippocampal networks. We demonstrate that two connected populations of neurons can be trained to encode a defined time interval, and this memory trace persists for several hours. We also investigate whether the spontaneous firing activity of a trained network, can act as a template for copying the encoded time interval to a naive network. Such findings are of general significance for understanding fundamental principles of information storage and replicatio

Chaotic exploration and learning of locomotion behaviours

We present a general and fully dynamic neural system, which exploits intrinsic chaotic dynamics, for the real-time goal-directed exploration and learning of the possible locomotion patterns of an articulated robot of an arbitrary morphology in an unknown environment. The controller is modeled as a network of neural oscillators that are initially coupled only through physical embodiment, and goal-directed exploration of coordinated motor patterns is achieved by chaotic search using adaptive bifurcation. The phase space of the indirectly coupled neural-body-environment system contains multiple transient or permanent self-organized dynamics, each of which is a candidate for a locomotion behavior. The adaptive bifurcation enables the system orbit to wander through various phase-coordinated states, using its intrinsic chaotic dynamics as a driving force, and stabilizes on to one of the states matching the given goal criteria. In order to improve the sustainability of useful transient patterns, sensory homeostasis has been introduced, which results in an increased diversity of motor outputs, thus achieving multiscale exploration. A rhythmic pattern discovered by this process is memorized and sustained by changing the wiring between initially disconnected oscillators using an adaptive synchronization method. Our results show that the novel neurorobotic system is able to create and learn multiple locomotion behaviors for a wide range of body configurations and physical environments and can readapt in realtime after sustaining damage

Projection of the demand for fertilizer

노트 : Total consumption of commercial fertilizer in Korea has been increased at a rapid rate during the last two decades. In the period from 1952 to 1961, the consumption of fertilizer was 208 thousand metric tons. In the period from 1962 to 1971, the average consumption was increased to 442 thousand metric tons on the plant nutrient basis per year on the average. During the same period the total area of arable land was not increased, but there was a little increase in the rate of land utilization by the multi-cropping farmers. Therefore, the usage of fertilizer on the unit cultivated area has been doubled during the last two decades. This study proposes to quantify the potential demand for fertilizer by nutrients in Korea for policy making. All of the data used in this study, except land prices and the seed improvement index, are derived from official reports of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. In the time series analysis demand functions of total and individual nutrients are estimated using prices of total and individual nutrients, wage rates, machine prices, cropping acres, and technological changes as explanatory variables from 1960 to 1972 on an annual basis. All prices were constant in 1965. Linear and linear in logarithm equations are estimated under both assumptions of instantaneous quantity adjustment and on the belief that quantity adjustment takes place over time

Anisotropic Dirac fermions in a Bi square net of SrMnBi2

We report the highly anisotropic Dirac fermions in a Bi square net of SrMnBi2, based on a first principle calculation, angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and quantum oscillations for high-quality single crystals. We found that the Dirac dispersion is generally induced in the (SrBi)+ layer containing a double-sized Bi square net. In contrast to the commonly observed isotropic Dirac cone, the Dirac cone in SrMnBi2 is highly anisotropic with a large momentum-dependent disparity of Fermi velocities of ~ 8. These findings demonstrate that a Bi square net, a common building block of various layered pnictides, provide a new platform that hosts highly anisotropic Dirac fermions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Preparation of “Open/closed” pores of PLGA-microsphere for controlled release of protein drug

Poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid)  has been extensively used as a controlled release carrier for drug delivery due to its good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical strength. In this study, porous PLGA microspheres were fabricated by an emulsion-solvent evaporation technique using poly ethylene glycol (PEG) as an extractable porogen and loaded with  protein (lysozyme) by suspending them in protein solution. For controlled release of protein, porous microspheres containing lysozyme were treated with water-miscible solvents in aqueous phase for production of pore-closed microspheres. The surface morphology of microspheres were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for confirmation of its porous microstructure structure. Protein property after release was observed by enzymatic activity assay. The pore-closing process resulted in nonporous microspheres which exhibited sustained release patterns over an extended period

Factorization in graviton interactions

The study of factorization in the linearized gravity is extended to the graviton scattering processes with a massive scalar particle, with a massless vector boson and also with a graviton. Every transition amplitude is shown to be completely factorized and the physical implications of their common factors are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex 3.0, SNUTP 93-7

Superconducting Properties of MgCNi3 Films

We report the magnetotransport properties of thin polycrystalline films of the recently discovered non-oxide perovskite superconductor MgCNi3. CNi3 precursor films were deposited onto sapphire substrates and subsequently exposed to Mg vapor at 700 C. We report transition temperatures (Tc) and critical field values (Hc2) of MgCNi3 films ranging in thickness from 7.5 nm to 100 nm. Films thicker than ~40 nm have a Tc ~ 8 K, and an upper critical field Hc2 ~ 14 T, which are both comparable to that of polycrystalline powders. Hall measurements in the normal state give a carrier density, n =-4.2 x 10^22 cm^-3, that is approximately 4 times that reported for bulk samples.Comment: submitted to PR