3x3 Multibeam Network for a Triangular Array of Three Radiating Elements

A multibeam antenna study based on Butler network will be undertaken in this document. These antenna designs combines phase shift systems with multibeam networks to optimize multiple channel systems. The system will work at 1.7 GHz with circular polarization. Specifically, result simulations and measurements of 3 element triangular subarray will be shown. A 45 element triangular array will be formed by the subarrays. Using triangular subarrays, side lobes and crossing points are reduced

Entropy in Spin Foam Models: The Statistical Calculation

Recently an idea for computing the entropy of black holes in the spin foam formalism has been introduced. Particularly complete calculations for the three dimensional euclidean BTZ black hole were done. The whole calculation is based on observables living at the horizon of the black hole universe. Departing from this idea of observables living at the horizon, we now go further and compute the entropy of BTZ black hole in the spirit of statistical mechanics. We compare both calculations and show that they are very interrelated and equally valid. This latter behaviour is certainly due to the importance of the observables.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Solid and melt state processing of polymers and their composites in supercritical carbon dioxide.

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) has been widely studied as an environmentally friendly alternative to organic solvents in many applications. This thesis will describe specific routes for both melt and solid-state processing of polymers in scCO2-mediated environments. The primary goal is to analyze the influence of scCO2 on the final properties of polymers as well as to design novel processing routes using scCO2 that could allow access to well-defined structures and novel materials, and processing of “intractable” polymers. Most of the fiber-drawing studies of polymers in scCO2 have focused on permeable conditions, where the plasticization process of scCO 2 dominates the interaction and the effect of the imposed hydrostatic pressure is negligible.1–3 In this thesis, the interactions of scCO2 with solid state polymers under non-permeable conditions are investigated through the drawing behavior of highly crystalline, highly oriented, polymorphic fibers (UHMWPE) within this environment. The high-pressure environment appears to stabilize the crystal structure of the fiber, which in this case is the major component. As a consequence, scCO2-treated samples display a constant mechanical and thermal response compared to air-drawn samples that show significant temperature dependence in their behavior. In addition, the interactions of scCO2 with polymers in the melt are analyzed by designing a modified processing system that allows to process polymers in scCO2. Using this system, the foaming process of polyethylene in scCO2 is studied, and scCO2-assisted polymer processing is then applied to high molecular weight polymers, including fluoropolymers and high molecular weight polyolefins, as a novel processing-route. The success of this method is based on the effect of scCO2 on the melting behavior of semicrystalline polymers, along with its large plasticizing properties observed primarily in fluoropolymers. Finally, the feasibility of preparing polymer-clay nanocomposites by this route using a variety of approaches is also studied. The use of polymers with controlled hydrophilicity, as well as the introduction of chemically designed hydrophilic polymers or compatibilizers that enhance the interaction between the polymer and the clay have been used to understand the effect of scCO2 on the melt intercalation process as well as on the final structure and morphology of these systems

Understanding trade pathways to target biosecurity surveillance

Increasing trends in global trade make it extremely difficult to prevent the entry of all potential invasive species (IS). Establishing early detection strategies thus becomes an important part of the continuum used to reduce the introduction of invasive species. One part necessary to ensure the success of these strategies is the determination of priority survey areas based on invasion pressure. We used a pathway-centred conceptual model of pest invasion to address these questions: what role does global trade play in invasion pressure of plant ecosystems and how could an understanding of this role be used to enhance early detection strategies? We concluded that the relative level of invasion pressure for destination ecosystems can be influenced by the intensity of pathway usage (import volume and frequency), the number and type of pathways with a similar destination, and the number of different ecological regions that serve as the source for imports to the same destination. As these factors increase, pressure typically intensifies because of increasing a) propagule pressure, b) likelihood of transporting pests with higher intrinsic invasion potential, and c) likelihood of transporting pests into ecosystems with higher invasibility. We used maritime containerized imports of live plants into the contiguous U.S. as a case study to illustrate the practical implications of the model to determine hotspot areas of relative invasion pressure for agricultural and forest ecosystems (two ecosystems with high potential invasibility). Our results illustrated the importance of how a pathway-centred model could be used to highlight potential target areas for early detection strategies for IS. Many of the hotspots in agricultural and forest ecosystems were within major U.S. metropolitan areas. Invasion ecologists can utilize pathway-centred conceptual models to a) better understand the role of human-mediated pathways in pest establishment, b) enhance current methodologies for IS risk analysis, and c) develop strategies for IS early detection-rapid response programs

Inferencia del origen del bovino Criollo Cubano a través del análisis de patri- y matrilinajes

Antes de descubrimiento, no existían bovinos en América. Los primeros, fueron introducidos en la Antillas Mayores (La Española, Puerto Rico, Jamaica y Cuba), y desde allí trasladados al resto de Latinoamérica. Actualmente, existen en Cuba alrededor de 1300 bovinos Criollos, concentrados principalmente en la región oriental. Con el objetivo de analizar el origen materno de esta raza y detectar eventos contemporáneos de flujo génico por vía paterna, se analizó un fragmento de 240 pb del D-loop mitocondrial (mtADN) y 5 microsatélites del cromosoma Y (BTY), en 36 hembras y 21 machos respectivamente. La diversidad genética se estimó mediante el número de haplotipos, el número de sitios polimórficos, el número de diferencias nucleotídicas entre pares de secuencias y el índice de diversidad nucleotídica, mientras que el análisis filogenético se realizó utilizando el método de median joining network. Dicho análisis permitió detectar 15 haplotipos mitocondriales (10 del haplogrupo europeo T3, 3 del africano T1, 1 del cercano oriente T2 y 1 ambiguo T1-T3) y 3 haplotipos en el BTY, ambos del haplogrupo cebuíno Y3. En el mtADN se detectaron 23 sitios polimórficos con una diversidad nucleotídica de 0,014 y 3,36 diferencias medias entre pares de secuencias. En conclusión, la población de bovinos Criollos Cubanos presentó una composición haplotípica mitocondrial comparable a la de otras razas criollas y mediterráneas, hecho que concuerda con su origen histórico. El BTY evidenció altos niveles de introgresion paterna de genes del zebú.Cattle was absent from America before the discovery. Initially, bovine were brought to Greater Antilles (La Española, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba islands), and in the course of a few years, they were taken from Caribbean islands to the rest of Latin America. Nowadays, Cuban Creole cattle population is about 1300 heads, mainly located in the eastern region of the island. With the aim of analyzing the maternal origin of Cuban Creole cattle and detect possible contemporaneous, male mediated, gene flow, a 240 pb fragment of mitochondrial D-loop (mtDNA) and five microsatellites of Y chromosome (BTY) were studied in 36 dams and 21 sires, respectively. Genetic diversity was evaluated through number of haplotypes, mean number of pairwise differences and nucleotide diversity. The phylogenetic analysis was performed using a median joining. A total of 15 mtDNA haplotypes were detected in the studied population (10 from the European haplogroup T3, 3 from the African T1, 1 from the Nearern East T2, and 1 ambiguous T1-T3). The number of polymorphic sites, the mean nucleotide diversity, and the mean number of pairwise differences were 23, 0.014 and 3.36, respectively. Two patrilinages were detected, both belonging to the Y3 Zebu haplogroup. In conclusion, Cuban Creole cattle population had a mtDNA haplotypic composition similar to the observed in Creole and Mediterranean breeds, what is in concordance with its historical origin. Y chromosome analysis evidenced a male mediated process of zebu introgression.Fil: Liron, Juan Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Acosta, A.. Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria. Laboratorio de Genética Molecular; CubaFil: Rogberg Muñoz, Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Uffo, O.. Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria. Laboratorio de Genética Molecular; CubaFil: Posik, Diego Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, J.. Ministerio de la Agricultura. Dirección Nacional de Genética; CubaFil: Peral Garcia, Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Giovambattista, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentin

Towards a spin foam model description of black hole entropy

We propose a way to describe the origin of black hole entropy in the spin foam models of quantum gravity. This stimulates a new way to study the relation of spin foam models and loop quantum gravity.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Magnetoresistance in Thin Permalloy Film (10nm-thick and 30-200nm-wide) Nanocontacts Fabricated by e-Beam Lithography

In this paper we show spin dependent transport experiments in nanoconstrictions ranging from 30 to 200nm. These nanoconstrictions were fabricated combining electron beam lithography and thin film deposition techniques. Two types of geometries have been fabricated and investigated. We compare the experimental results with the theoretical estimation of the electrical resistance. Finally we show that the magnetoresistance for the different geometries does not scale with the resistance of the structure and obtain drops in voltage of 20mV at 20Oe.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by AP

Continuous coprocessing of biomass with waste plastic by fast and catalytic pyrolysis

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