The use of pure carbon for permanent percutaneous electrical connector systems

Pure carbon was used as an electrode in the clinical application of long-term neuromuscular stimulation, as well as a connector for permanent neuroelectrodes. The history of this material and some examples of the material in use are presented

A concept-based system for the live diffusion of sound via multiple loudspeakers

This paper presents a conceptual framework for sound diffusion: the process of presenting multiple channels of audio to an audience in a live performance context, via loudspeakers. Terminology that allows us to concisely describe the task of sound diffusion is defined. The conceptual model is described using this terminology. The model allows audio channels (sources) and loudspeakers (destinations) to be grouped logically, which, in turn, allows for sophisticated abstract methods of control that supercede the restrictive 'one-fader-one-loudspeaker' approach. The Resound project - an open source software initiative conceived to implement and further develop the conceptual model - is introduced. The aim is, through further theoretical and practice led research into the conceptual model and software respectively, to address the technical, logistical and aesthetic issues inherent in the process of sound diffusion

Estimating the Impacts of Storage Dry Matter Losses on Switchgrass Production

This poster estimates dry matter losses as a function of harvest method, storage treatment, and time in storage. We then calculate the cost to store switchgrass bales under alternate harvest method and storage treatment scenarios; and determine the breakeven harvest method and storage treatment as a function of biomass price and time in storage.Biomass, bioenergy crops, function form, sustainable systems, Farm Management, Production Economics, Q10, Q42,

Clinal adaptation and adaptive plasticity in Artemisia californica: implications for the response of a foundation species to predicted climate change.

Local adaptation and plasticity pose significant obstacles to predicting plant responses to future climates. Although local adaptation and plasticity in plant functional traits have been documented for many species, less is known about population-level variation in plasticity and whether such variation is driven by adaptation to environmental variation. We examined clinal variation in traits and performance - and plastic responses to environmental change - for the shrub Artemisia californica along a 700 km gradient characterized (from south to north) by a fourfold increase in precipitation and a 61% decrease in interannual precipitation variation. Plants cloned from five populations along this gradient were grown for 3 years in treatments approximating the precipitation regimes of the north and south range margins. Most traits varying among populations did so clinally; northern populations (vs. southern) had higher water-use efficiencies and lower growth rates, C : N ratios and terpene concentrations. Notably, there was variation in plasticity for plant performance that was strongly correlated with source site interannual precipitation variability. The high-precipitation treatment (vs. low) increased growth and flower production more for plants from southern populations (181% and 279%, respectively) than northern populations (47% and 20%, respectively). Overall, precipitation variability at population source sites predicted 86% and 99% of variation in plasticity in growth and flowering, respectively. These striking, clinal patterns in plant traits and plasticity are indicative of adaptation to both the mean and variability of environmental conditions. Furthermore, our analysis of long-term coastal climate data in turn indicates an increase in interannual precipitation variation consistent with most global change models and, unexpectedly, this increased variation is especially pronounced at historically stable, northern sites. Our findings demonstrate the critical need to integrate fundamental evolutionary processes into global change models, as contemporary patterns of adaptation to environmental clines will mediate future plant responses to projected climate change

Hatching Strategies in Monogenean (Platyhelminth) Parasites that Facilitate Host Infection

In parasites, environmental cues may influence hatching of eggs and enhance the success of infections. The two major endoparasitic groups of parasitic platyhelminths, cestodes (tapeworms) and digeneans (flukes), typically have high fecundity, infect more than one host species, and transmit trophically. Monogeneans are parasitic flatworms that are among the most host specific of all parasites. Most are ectoparasites with relatively low fecundity and direct life cycles tied to water. They infect a single host species, usually a fish, although some are endoparasites of amphibians and aquatic chelonian reptiles. Monogenean eggs have strong shells and mostly release ciliated larvae, which, against all odds, must find, identify, and infect a suitable specific host. Some monogeneans increase their chances of finding a host by greatly extending the hatching period (possible bet-hedging). Others respond to cues for hatching such as shadows, chemicals, mechanical disturbance, and osmotic changes, most of which may be generated by the host. Hatching may be rhythmical, larvae emerging at times when the host is more vulnerable to invasion, and this may be combined with responses to other environmental cues. Different monogenean species that infect the same host species may adopt different strategies of hatching, indicating that tactics may be more complex than first thought. Control of egg assembly and egg-laying, possibly by host hormones, has permitted colonization of frogs and toads by polystomatid monogeneans. Some monogeneans further improve the chances of infection by attaching eggs to the host or by retaining eggs on, or in, the body of the parasite. The latter adaptation has led ultimately to viviparity in gyrodactylid monogeneans

Resound: a design-led approach to the problem of live multi-loudspeaker sound spatialisation

The process of live sound spatialisation has many unpredictable parameters. Large numbers of loudspeakers with variable frequency responses, hastily configured routings, live and recorded audio sources that change between works, unforeseen technical requirements, compatibility issues, unfamiliar control interfaces, limited setup, rehearsal and change-over time, complex power and signal routing schemes, long cable runs and unpredictable venue acoustics are all issues familiar to performers of electroacoustic music. Unsurprisingly, the articulation of space in a live, multi-loudspeaker scenario can be problematic. Even 'simple' CD-only diffusion requires dexterity on the part of the performer and considerable technical planning. If we consider multiple sources, with more than two channels of audio, each source to be diffused independently under the control of a single performer, the difficulties are compounded. Now consider that we want to stage a live performance of multiple works where each item on the programme has different requirements, and we have a real problem on our hands. A solution to this problem is needed. In Towards and New Architecture, Corbusier observes that a problem, clearly stated, naturally yields solutions through the process of design. Thus, the aeroplane is the logical conclusion to the problem, clearly stated, of sustaining flight. This ethos has been adopted by the authors in beginning to address the 'problem' of sound spatialisation, and in the ongoing development of Resound, a system comprising a bespoke hardware design and open-source software. This paper begins by stating the problem of sound spatialisation. Against this background, the Resound system is presented in design and implementation

Hybrid density functional theory description of N- and C-doping of NiO

The large intrinsic bandgap of NiO hinders its potential application as a photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation. In this study, we have performed first-principles screened exchange hybrid density functional theory with the HSE06 functional calculations of N- and C-doped NiO to investigate the effect of doping on the electronic structure of NiO. C-doping at an oxygen site induces gap states due to the dopant, the positions of which suggest that the top of the valence band is made up primarily of C 2p-derived states with some Ni 3d contributions, and the lowest-energy empty state is in the middle of the gap. This leads to an effective bandgap of 1.7 eV, which is of potential interest for photocatalytic applications. N-doping induces comparatively little dopant-Ni 3d interactions, but results in similar positions of dopant-induced states, i.e., the top of the valence band is made up of dopant 2p states and the lowest unoccupied state is the empty gap state derived from the dopant, leading to bandgap narrowing. With the hybrid density functional theory (DFT) results available, we discuss issues with the DFT corrected for on-site Coulomb description of these systems

Resound: open-source live sound spatialisation

Resound is an open source cross-platform software tool for real time multi-channel sound spatialisation. This paper gives a non-technical account of the key capabilities of the system, predominantly from the standpoint of live performance in electroacoustic music, with specific examples of how the various functionalities might be used