Effects of tillage systems and mechanization on work time, fuel and energy consumption for cereal cropping in Austria

The machinery stock, fuel consumption and work time are crucial economic factors for the profit potential in the arable farming sector.  The influence of five soil tillage systems (two conventional tillage systems and three conservation tillage systems) and two tractor sizes (92 kW-tractor and 59 kW-tractor) on work time, fuel and energy consumption was measured in the semi-arid region in Austria.  The tractors were equipped with a high-performance flow meter and a radar sensor to measure the fuel consumption (L h-1) and working speed (km h-1).  The conventional tillage with mouldboard plough has the highest working time and fuel consumption rate.  The replacement of plough with a cultivator, reduces the work time and fuel consumption for soil tillage as well as the energy consumption per moved soil matter to more than 50% roughly.  The highest saving effects (more than 85%) were achieved with the direct drilling without soil tillage system.  A well loaded engine in a small tractor with small implements is more fuel efficient than a worse loaded engine in a “big tractor”.  An adjusted tractor-implement combination, which is well implemented in the 59-kW mechanization, decreases the fuel consumption to up to 30% and 46%.  Due to lower field capacity in the 59-kW mechanization, the work time is higher between 2.4% and 11.7%.   Keywords: fuel consumption, mechanization, tillage system, work tim

Aerogel-based metasurfaces for perfect acoustic energy absorption

[EN] The unusual viscoelastic properties of silica aerogel plates are efficiently used to design subwavelength perfect sound absorbers. We theoretically, numerically and experimentally report a perfect absorbing metamaterial panel made of periodically arranged resonant building blocks consisting of a slit loaded by a clamped aerogel plate backed by a closed cavity. The impedance matching condition is analyzed using the Argand diagram of the reflection coefficient, i.e., the trajectory of the reflection coefficient as a function of frequency in the complex plane. The lack or excess of losses in the system can be identified via this Argrand diagram in order to achieve the impedance matching condition. The universality of this tool can be further exploited to design more complex metasurfaces for perfect sound absorption, thus allowing the rapid design of novel and efficient absorbing metamaterials.This work was funded by the RFI Le Mans Acoustique, Region Pays de la Loire. This article is based upon work from COST Action DENORMS CA15125, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). N.J. acknowledges financial support from Generalitat Valenciana through Grant No. APOSTD/2017/042. J.-P.G and V.R.G. gratefully acknowledge the ANR-RGC METARoom (No. ANR-18-CE08-0021) project and the HYPERMETA project funded under the program Etoiles Montantes of the Region Pays de la Loire. J.S-D. acknowledges the support of the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish government and the European Union FEDER through Project No. TEC2014-53088-C3-1-RFernandez-Marin, AA.; Jimenez, N.; Groby, J.; Sánchez-Dehesa Moreno-Cid, J.; Romero García, V. (2019). Aerogel-based metasurfaces for perfect acoustic energy absorption. Applied Physics Letters. 115(6):061901-1-061901-5. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5109084S061901-1061901-51156Gesser, H. D., & Goswami, P. C. (1989). Aerogels and related porous materials. Chemical Reviews, 89(4), 765-788. doi:10.1021/cr00094a003Herrmann, G., Iden, R., Mielke, M., Teich, F., & Ziegler, B. (1995). On the way to commercial production of silica aerogel. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 186, 380-387. doi:10.1016/0022-3093(95)90076-4Fricke, J., Lu, X., Wang, P., Büttner, D., & Heinemann, U. (1992). Optimization of monolithic silica aerogel insulants. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 35(9), 2305-2309. doi:10.1016/0017-9310(92)90073-2Gerlach, R., Kraus, O., Fricke, J., Eccardt, P.-C., Kroemer, N., & Magori, V. (1992). Modified SiO2 aerogels as acoustic impedance matching layers in ultrasonic devices. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 145, 227-232. doi:10.1016/s0022-3093(05)80461-2Gibiat, V., Lefeuvre, O., Woignier, T., Pelous, J., & Phalippou, J. (1995). Acoustic properties and potential applications of silica aerogels. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 186, 244-255. doi:10.1016/0022-3093(95)00049-6Ma, G., Yang, M., Xiao, S., Yang, Z., & Sheng, P. (2014). Acoustic metasurface with hybrid resonances. Nature Materials, 13(9), 873-878. doi:10.1038/nmat3994Yang, M., Meng, C., Fu, C., Li, Y., Yang, Z., & Sheng, P. (2015). Subwavelength total acoustic absorption with degenerate resonators. Applied Physics Letters, 107(10), 104104. doi:10.1063/1.4930944Romero-García, V., Theocharis, G., Richoux, O., Merkel, A., Tournat, V., & Pagneux, V. (2016). Perfect and broadband acoustic absorption by critically coupled sub-wavelength resonators. Scientific Reports, 6(1). doi:10.1038/srep19519Li, Y., & Assouar, B. M. (2016). Acoustic metasurface-based perfect absorber with deep subwavelength thickness. Applied Physics Letters, 108(6), 063502. doi:10.1063/1.4941338Jiménez, N., Huang, W., Romero-García, V., Pagneux, V., & Groby, J.-P. (2016). Ultra-thin metamaterial for perfect and quasi-omnidirectional sound absorption. Applied Physics Letters, 109(12), 121902. doi:10.1063/1.4962328Peng, X., Ji, J., & Jing, Y. (2018). Composite honeycomb metasurface panel for broadband sound absorption. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 144(4), EL255-EL261. doi:10.1121/1.5055847Yang, M., Ma, G., Yang, Z., & Sheng, P. (2013). Coupled Membranes with Doubly Negative Mass Density and Bulk Modulus. Physical Review Letters, 110(13). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.110.134301Yang, Z., Mei, J., Yang, M., Chan, N. H., & Sheng, P. (2008). Membrane-Type Acoustic Metamaterial with Negative Dynamic Mass. Physical Review Letters, 101(20). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.101.204301Lee, S. H., Park, C. M., Seo, Y. M., Wang, Z. G., & Kim, C. K. (2010). Composite Acoustic Medium with Simultaneously Negative Density and Modulus. Physical Review Letters, 104(5). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.104.054301Zhang, J., Romero-García, V., Theocharis, G., Richoux, O., Achilleos, V., & Frantzeskakis, D. (2016). Second-Harmonic Generation in Membrane-Type Nonlinear Acoustic Metamaterials. Crystals, 6(8), 86. doi:10.3390/cryst6080086Zhang, J., Romero-García, V., Theocharis, G., Richoux, O., Achilleos, V., & Frantzeskakis, D. J. (2017). Bright and gap solitons in membrane-type acoustic metamaterials. Physical Review E, 96(2). doi:10.1103/physreve.96.022214Stinson, M. R. (1991). The propagation of plane sound waves in narrow and wide circular tubes, and generalization to uniform tubes of arbitrary cross‐sectional shape. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 89(2), 550-558. doi:10.1121/1.400379Kergomard, J., & Garcia, A. (1987). Simple discontinuities in acoustic waveguides at low frequencies: Critical analysis and formulae. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 114(3), 465-479. doi:10.1016/s0022-460x(87)80017-2M. J. Powell , in Numerical Analysis ( Springer, 1978) pp. 144–157.Groby, J.-P., Huang, W., Lardeau, A., & Aurégan, Y. (2015). The use of slow waves to design simple sound absorbing materials. Journal of Applied Physics, 117(12), 124903. doi:10.1063/1.4915115Jiménez, N., Groby, J.-P., Pagneux, V., & Romero-García, V. (2017). Iridescent Perfect Absorption in Critically-Coupled Acoustic Metamaterials Using the Transfer Matrix Method. Applied Sciences, 7(6), 618. doi:10.3390/app706061

Aerogel as a Soft Acoustic Metamaterial for Airborne Sound

Soft acoustic metamaterials utilizing mesoporous structures have been proposed recently as a means for tuning the overall effective properties of the metamaterial and providing better coupling to the surrounding air. In this paper, the use of silica aerogel is examined theoretically and experimentally as part of a compact soft acoustic metamaterial structure, which enables a wide range of exotic effective macroscopic properties to be demonstrated, including negative density, density near zero, and nonresonant broadband slow-sound propagation. Experimental data are obtained on the effective density and sound speed using an air-filled acoustic impedance tube for flexural metamaterial elements, which have been investigated previously only indirectly due to the large contrast in acoustic impedance compared to that of air. Experimental results are presented for silica aerogel arranged in parallel with either one or two acoustic ports and are in very good agreement with the theoretical model.This work is supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. M. D. G., V. M. G.-C. and J. S.-D. also acknowledge the support by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, and the European Union Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through Project No. TEC2014-53088-C3-1-R. The authors wish to acknowledge Encarna G. Villora and Kiyoshi Shimamura for their help in aerogel fabrication and handling.Guild, M.; García Chocano, VM.; Sánchez-Dehesa Moreno-Cid, J.; Martin, TP.; Calvo, DC.; Orris, GJ. (2016). Aerogel as a Soft Acoustic Metamaterial for Airborne Sound. Physical Review Applied. 5(3):034012-1-034012-13. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.5.034012S034012-1034012-135

Investigation of Polyurea-Crosslinked Silica Aerogels as a Neuronal Scaffold: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Polymer crosslinked aerogels are an attractive class of materials for future implant applications particularly as a biomaterial for the support of nerve growth. The low density and nano-porous structure of this material combined with large surface area, high mechanical strength, and tunable surface properties, make aerogels materials with a high potential in aiding repair of injuries of the peripheral nervous system. however, the interaction of neurons with aerogels remains to be investigated. METHODOLOGY: In this work the attachment and growth of neurons on clear polyurea crosslinked silica aerogels (PCSA) coated with: poly-L-lysine, basement membrane extract (BME), and laminin1 was investigated by means of optical and scanning electron microscopy. After comparing the attachment and growth capability of neurons on these different coatings, laminin1 and BME were chosen for nerve cell attachment and growth on PCSA surfaces. The behavior of neurons on treated petri dish surfaces was used as the control and behavior of neurons on treated PCSA discs was compared against it. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that: 1) untreated PCSA surfaces do not support attachment and growth of nerve cells, 2) a thin application of laminin1 layer onto the PCSA discs adhered well to the PCSA surface while also supporting growth and differentiation of neurons as evidenced by the number of processes extended and b3-tubulin expression, 3) three dimensional porous structure of PCSA remains intact after fixing protocols necessary for preservation of biological samples and 4) laminin1 coating proved to be the most effective method for attaching neurons to the desired regions on PCSA discs. This work provides the basis for potential use of PCSA as a biomaterial scaffold for neural regeneration

Hygienization by anaerobic digestion: Comparison between evaluation by cultivation and quantitative real-time PCR

In order to assess hygienization by anaerobic digestion, a comparison between evaluation by cultivation and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) including optimized DNA extraction and quantification was carried out for samples from a full-scale fermenter cascade (F1, mesophilic; F2, thermophilic; F3, mesophilic). The system was highly effective in inactivating (pathogenic) viable microorganisms, except for spore-formers. Conventionally performed cultivation underestimated viable organisms particularly in F2 and F3 by a factor of at least 10 as shown by data from extended incubation times, probably due to the rise of sublethally injured (active but not cultivable) cells. Incubation should hence be extended adequately in incubation-based hygiene monitoring of stressed samples, in order to minimize contamination risks. Although results from qPCR and cultivation agreed for the equilibrated compartments, considerably higher qPCR values were obtained for the fermenters. The difference probably corresponded to DNA copies from decayed cells that had not yet been degraded by the residual microbial activity. An extrapolation from qPCR determination to the quantity of viable organisms is hence not justified for samples that had been exposed to lethal stress

Using quantitative real-time PCR to determine the hygienic status of cattle manure

We developed a suitable system of DNA extraction and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for the specific and sensitive quantification of pathogens and other relevant (indicator) organisms in recalcitrant material such as cattle manure. PCR inhibition by coextraction of humic compounds was minimized in this system, resulting in detection sensitivity of one target DNA copy per reaction well. Data from qPCR analysis for Escherichia coli agreed with cultivation based results, but orders of magnitude more fecal enterococci, Enterobacteriaceae and Campylobacter jejuni, were determined by qPCR than by cultivation. These bacteria may have been in a potentially hazardous active but non-cultivable state. The qPCR system is much less time consuming than conventional cultivation, highly specific, can detect non-cultivable organisms, provides high measurement throughput, and is cost attractive. It should be considered as an alternative in various application areas for (prescribed routine) cultivation based assays, e.g. for biosafety and hygiene monitoring

Quantification of Cryptosporidium parvum in anaerobic digesters treating manure by (reverse-transcription) quantitative real-time PCR, infectivity and excystation tests

The survival of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in anaerobic digesters treating manure was investigated for mesophilic, thermophilic, and a combined treatment (mesophilic-thermophilic-mesophilic) under different retention times of oocysts in the reactors. C. parvum DNA was extracted with an optimised protocol, and its amount determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Results indicated noteworthy differences in DNA content after the different treatments. DNA was not degraded during the process. However, excystation and infectivity tests showed a reduction of viable oocyst numbers of ≥2 and ≥5 log units after the thermophilic treatment in two different experiments. Thus qPCR-targeting DNA can overestimate the number of oocysts that survive and remain viable after anaerobic digestion. However, targeting DNA is suitable to indicate the presence or absence of oocysts. Reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) targeting C. parvum hsp70 mRNA successfully indicated the presence of viable fraction of oocysts