1,168 research outputs found
Spatial variability of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) yield as related to soil parameters in a small field
The harvested biomass of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is generally much lower than its potential; this may be due to several factors including not recovering all the biomass at harvest, weed competition, pests, disease and spatial variation of soil features. The objective of this research was to quantify the yield spatial variation of switchgrass and relate it to soil parameters, in a field of about 5 ha, in 2004 and 2005. Several thematic maps of soil parameters and biomass yield were produced using GIS and geostatistical methods. Soil parameters changed consistently within very short distances and biomass yield varied from 3 to more than 20 Mg ha(-1). This remarkable variation indicates that the potential for increasing switchgrass productivity is a real prospect. Furthermore, spatial variation of yield showed similar patterns in the 2 years (r = 0.38**), and therefore a major influence of site characteristics on switchgrass yield can be assumed to occur. Significant correlations were found between biomass yield and soil N, P, moisture and pH as well as between soil parameters. Some soil parameters such as sand content showed patchy spatial distribution. Conversely, a reliable spatial dependence could not be identified for other parameters such as P. Further research is needed
Interferometric length metrology for the dimensional control of ultra-stable Ring Laser Gyroscopes
We present the experimental test of a method for controlling the absolute
length of the diagonals of square ring laser gyroscopes. The purpose is to
actively stabilize the ring cavity geometry and to enhance the rotation sensor
stability in order to reach the requirements for the detection of the
relativistic Lense-Thirring effect with a ground-based array of optical
gyroscopes. The test apparatus consists of two optical cavities 1.32 m in
length, reproducing the features of the ring cavity diagonal resonators of
large frame He-Ne ring laser gyroscopes. The proposed measurement technique is
based on the use of a single diode laser, injection locked to a frequency
stabilized He-Ne/Iodine frequency standard, and a single electro-optic
modulator. The laser is modulated with a combination of three frequencies
allowing to lock the two cavities to the same resonance frequency and, at the
same time, to determine the cavity Free Spectral Range (FSR). We obtain a
stable lock of the two cavities to the same optical frequency reference,
providing a length stabilization at the level of 1 part in , and the
determination of the two FSRs with a relative precision of 0.2 ppm. This is
equivalent to an error of 500 nm on the absolute length difference between the
two cavities
Rotational sensitivity of the "G-Pisa" gyrolaser
G-Pisa is an experiment investigating the possibility to operate a high
sensitivity laser gyroscope with area less than for improving the
performances of the mirrors suspensions of the gravitational wave antenna
Virgo. The experimental set-up consists in a He-Ne ring laser with a 4 mirrors
square cavity. The laser is pumped by an RF discharge where the RF oscillator
includes the laser plasma in order to reach a better stability. The contrast of
the Sagnac fringes is typically above 50% and a stable regime has been reached
with the laser operating both single mode or multimode. The effect of hydrogen
contamination on the laser was also checked. A low-frequency sensitivity, below
, in the range of has been
measured.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, presented at the EFTF-IFCS joint conference 200
A 1.82 m^2 ring laser gyroscope for nano-rotational motion sensing
We present a fully active-controlled He-Ne ring laser gyroscope, operating in
square cavity 1.35 m in side. The apparatus is designed to provide a very low
mechanical and thermal drift of the ring cavity geometry and is conceived to be
operative in two different orientations of the laser plane, in order to detect
rotations around the vertical or the horizontal direction. Since June 2010 the
system is active inside the Virgo interferometer central area with the aim of
performing high sensitivity measurements of environmental rotational noise. So
far, continuous not attempted operation of the gyroscope has been longer than
30 days. The main characteristics of the laser, the active remote-controlled
stabilization systems and the data acquisition techniques are presented. An
off-line data processing, supported by a simple model of the sensor, is shown
to improve the effective long term stability. A rotational sensitivity at the
level of ten nanoradiants per squareroot of Hz below 1 Hz, very close to the
required specification for the improvement of the Virgo suspension control
system, is demonstrated for the configuration where the laser plane is
horizontal
A high sensitivity tool for geophysical applications: A geometrically locked Ring Laser Gyroscope
This work demonstrates that a middle size ring laser gyroscope (RLG) can be a
very sensitive and robust instrument for rotational seismology, even if it
operates in a quite noisy environment. The RLG has a square cavity, m, and it lies in a plane orthogonal to the Earth rotational axis.
The Fabry-Perot optical cavities along the diagonals of the square were
accessed and their lengths were locked to a reference laser. Through a quite
simple locking circuit, we were able to keep the sensor fully operative for 14
days. The obtained long term stability is of the order of 3~nanorad/s and the
short term sensitivity close is to 2~nanorad/sHz. These results
are limited only by the noisy environment, our laboratory is located in a
building downtown.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 25 reference
Cambios productivos y estrategias de la pequeña industria. El caso de la industria metalmecánica de Guadalajara
El cambio de modelo económico y producción industrial experimentado en México desde los
años ochenta, incidió en la pequeña industria del paÃs, del estado de Jalisco y de Guadalajara.
La composición de la estructura productiva por tamaño de empresa se reconfiguró, como
también lo hizo la estructura de las ramas manufactureras, varias de las cuales se enfocaron a
la industria exportadora. En este contexto, las pequeñas industrias aplicaron diversas
estrategias para enfrentar la transformación de sus mercados, procesos y organización. Este
trabajo expone los procesos de cambio en la industria metalmecánica y analiza las estrategias
de algunos casos que ilustran la transformación de la actividad manufacturera en Guadalajara,
México.
The change of economic model and industrial production experienced in Mexico since the
eighties influenced the small industry of the country, the state of Jalisco and Guadalajara. The
composition of the productive structure by company size was reconfigured, and the structure of
manufacturing branches, which were focused on the export industry. In this context, small
industries implemented several strategies to deal with the transformation of their markets,
processes and organization. This paper describes the processes of change in the metalworking
industry and discusses the strategies of some cases that illustrate the transformation of
manufacturing activity in Guadalajara, Mexico
Geometrical scale-factor stabilization of square cavity ring laser gyroscopes
Large frame ring laser gyros performances are ultimately limited by the instabilities of their geometrical parameters. We present the experimental activity on the GP2 ring laser gyro. GP2 is a ring laser gyro devoted to develop advanced stabilization techniques of the ring cavity geometrical scale-factor. A method based on optical interferometry has been developed for canceling the deformations of the resonator. The method is based on the measurement and stabilization of the absolute length of the cavity perimeter and of the resonators formed by the opposite cavity mirrors. The optical frequency reference in the experiment is an iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser, with a relative frequency stability of 10-11. The measurement of the absolute length of the two resonators has been demonstrated up to now on a test bench. We discuss the experimental results on GP2: the present performances as a ring laser gyro and the stabilization scheme to be implemented in the near future
Length measurement and stabilization of the diagonals of a square area laser gyroscope
Large frame ring laser gyroscopes are top sensitivity inertial sensors able to measure absolute angular rotation rate below prad s-1 in few seconds. The GINGER project is aiming at directly measuring the Lense-Thirring effect with an 1% precision on an Earth based experiment. GINGER is based on an array of large frame ring laser gyroscopes. The mechanical design of this apparatus requires a micrometric precision in the construction and the geometry must be stabilized in order to keep constant the scale factor of the instrument. The proposed control is based on square cavities, and relies on the length stabilization of the two diagonals, which must be equal at micrometric level. GP2 is the prototype devoted to the scale factor control test. As a first step, the lengths of the diagonals of the ring cavity have been measured through an interferometric technique with a statistical accuracy of some tens of nanometers, and they have been locked to the wavelength of a reference optical standard. Continuous operation has been obtained over more than 12 h, without loss of sensitivity. GP2 is located in a laboratory with standard temperature stabilization, with residual fluctuations of the order of 1 C. Besides the demonstration of the control effectiveness, the analysis of the Sagnac frequency demonstrates that relative small and low-cost ring lasers (around one meter of side) can also achieve a sensitivity of the order of nrad s-1 in the range 0.01-10 Hz in a standard environment, which is the target sensitivity in many different applications, such as rotational seismology and next generation gravitational waves detectors
Cost-effectiveness analysis of ceftazidime/avibactam compared to imipenem as empirical treatment for complicated urinary tract infections
Ceftazidime/avibactam (CAZ-AVI) is a novel, fixed-dose combination antibiotic that has been approved in Europe and the United States for patients with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) based on results of a Phase III, randomized, comparative study (RECAPTURE study). The present analysis evaluated cost-effectiveness of CAZ-AVI as an empirical treatment for hospitalized patients with cUTIs from the Italian publicly funded healthcare (third-party payer) perspective. A sequential, patient-level simulation model was developed that followed the clinical course of cUTI and generated 5000 pairs of identical patients (CAZ-AVI or imipenem as empirical treatment). The model included additional impact of resistant pathogens; patients who did not respond to empirical treatment were switched to second-line treatment of colistin+high dose carbapenem in both groups. The time horizon of the model was five years, with an annual discount rate of 3% applied to both costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The analysis demonstrated that an intervention sequence (CAZ-AVI followed by colistin+high dose carbapenem) compared with a comparator sequence (imipenem followed by colistin+high dose carbapenem) was associated with a net incremental cost of €1015 per patient but provided better health outcomes in terms of clinical cure (97.65% vs. 91.08%; ∆ = 6.57%), shorter hospital stays (10.65 vs. 12.55 days; ∆ = 1.90 days), and QALYs gained per patient (4.190 vs. 4.063; ∆ = 0.126). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €8039/QALY, which is well below the willingness-to-pay threshold of €30 000/QALY in Italy. The results showed that CAZ-AVI is expected to be a cost-effective treatment compared with imipenem for cUTI in Italy
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