After the Sun: Energy Use in Blue v. Green Water for Agriculture

The purpose of this article is to highlight the difference in energy consumption between using blue water versus green water for agriculture in areas where water-intensive crops are grown in water-scarce regions. It focuses on water and energy consumption for greening the desert in United States, the world’s largest grain producer. The analysis is limited to the three largest crops by volume and value; corn, cotton, and wheat, which generate billions of dollars for the economy and use billions of gallons of water each day. The primary methodology is to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to visually represent the comparative amounts of blue water and green water used to grow water-intensive crops in water-scarce regions, by statistically mapping levels of water stress overlaid with the amounts of blue water versus green water used. It exposes where energy-intensive water practices are occurring due to a high dependence on blue water for irrigation in agriculture. The article concludes by discussing strategies to improve energy efficiency and reduce the vulnerabilities associated with overdependence on blue water such as high energy costs, low energy security, and susceptibility to aquifer reduction and ground water depletion

Cal Poly Microgrid Fixed PV Array

The Mechanical Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo would like an adjustable, fixed angle solar panel mount to help educate students on basic solar energy principles. Our team has developed a unique sawhorse design utilizing ideation techniques and design selection tools. The selected design allows for multiple panel adjustability and control of both azimuth and tilt angle. Safety concerns are addressed with action plans to mitigate risk. Concept prototypes to justify gearbox functionality and subsystem cohesion was utilized to reduce manufacturing issues. Manufacturing began in March 2020 and proceed through until the end of the month. The manufacturing of the mount was halted due to COVID-19, forcing the design to end strictly in a what-if manufacturing procedure to allow the construction of it to be done in future time

Growth of Oxide Compounds under Dynamic Atmosphere Composition

Commercially available gases contain residual impurities leading to a background oxygen partial pressure of typically several 10^{-6} bar, independent of temperature. This oxygen partial pressure is inappropriate for the growth of some single crystals where the desired oxidation state possesses a narrow stability field. Equilibrium thermodynamic calculations allow the determination of dynamic atmosphere compositions yielding such self adjusting and temperature dependent oxygen partial pressures, that crystals like ZnO, Ga2O3, or Fe{1-x}O can be grown from the melt.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, talk on CGCT-4 Sendai, May 21-24, 200

Direct Image-to-Geometry Registration Using Mobile Sensor Data

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Simulative Investigations of the Influence of Surface Indentations on Residual Stresses on Inner Raceways for Roller Element Bearings

Resource-efficient machine elements are in the focus of current research. One of the most widely used machine elements are roller bearings. Thus, the optimization of bearings and their tribological properties promises to result in significant resource savings. Special focus is set on the bearing fatigue life, which may be significantly reduced by indentations on the raceways. The reduction in fatigue life can be caused by processes such as rolling over particles or by brinelling. These processes induce local stress peaks and lead to elastic-plastic deformations of the raceways. During the subsequent operation, the pile up of material around the indentations is flattened and hence the residual stresses change. Inside these so called shoulders stress pealcs, residual stresses and hardening effects occur possibly resulting in crack initiation, crack growth under cyclic loading, and eventually spalling of material. For deeper and more sharp-edged indentations the bearing fatigue life is reduced more. To quantify the influence of an indentation on the bearing rating life a calculation model was developed based on the approach of IOANNIDES, BERGLING and GABELLI. For this, a 3D-FE model is used to calculate the three dimensional stress fields by superposition of residual and load stresses

Adenosine Type 1 (A ) Receptors Mediate Protection Against Myocardial 1 Infarction Produced by Chronic, Intermittent Ingestion of Ethanol in Dogs

Background: Chronic consumption of small amounts of ethanol protects myocardium from ischemic injury. We tested the hypothesis that adenosine type 1 (A1) receptors mediate these beneficial effects. Methods: Dogs (n=37) were fed with ethanol (1.5 g/kg) or water mixed with dry food twice per day for 12 weeks, fasted overnight before experimentation, and instrumented for measurement of hemodynamics. Dogs received intravenous drug vehicle (50% polyethylene glycol in 0.1 N sodium hydroxide and 0.9% saline over 15 min) or the selective A1 receptor antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX, 0.8 mg/kg over 15 min) and were subjected to a 60 min coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Myocardial infarct size and transmural coronary collateral blood flow were measured with triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and radioactive microspheres, respectively. Results: The area at risk (AAR) for infarction was similar between groups. Pretreatment with ethanol significantly reduced infarct size to 13±2% (n=7) of the AAR as compared to control experiments (26±2%; n=7). DPCPX abolished the protective effects of ethanol pretreatment (30±3%; n=7) but had no effect in dogs that did not receive ethanol (25±2%; n=7). No differences in transmural coronary collateral blood flow were observed between groups. Conclusions: The present findings indicate that chronic ingestion of small amounts of ethanol produces myocardial protection that persists after the discontinuation of ethanol. The results indicate that A1 receptors mediate ethanol-induced preconditioning in dogs independent of alterations in systemic hemodynamics or coronary collateral blood flow

Influence of Isoflurane on Left Atrial Function in Dogs With Pacing-Induced Cardiomyopathy: Evaluation With Pressure-Volume Relationships

Objective The actions of volatile anesthetics on left ventricular (LV) function in normal and failing hearts have been previously evaluated, but the effects of these agents on left atrial (LA) function in the presence of LV dysfunction are unknown. The hypothesis was tested that isoflurane alters LA mechanics evaluated with pressure-volume relations. Design Prospective. Setting Laboratory. Participants Barbiturate-anesthetized dogs (n = 8) were instrumented for measurement of aortic, LA, and LV pressures (micromanometers), and LA volume (epicardial orthogonal sonomicrometers) after 3 weeks of rapid ventricular pacing (220 beats/min). Interventions LA myocardial contractility (Ees) was assessed with end-systolic pressure-volume relations. LA stroke work and reservoir function were assessed by A and V loop area, respectively, from the steady-state pressure-volume diagram. LA-LV coupling was determined by the ratio of Ees to LV elastance (ELV). Dogs received 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 minimum alveolar concentration isoflurane in a random manner, and LA function was determined after a 20-minute equilibration at each dose. Measurements and main results Isoflurane significantly (p \u3c 0.05) decreased heart rate, mean arterial pressure, LV end-systolic pressure, and LV +dP/dtmax. Isoflurane produced dose-related reductions in Ees and Ees/ELV. Declines in LA stroke work, emptying fraction, reservoir volume, V loop area, and the active LA contribution to LV filling also occurred. Conclusions The results indicate that isoflurane depresses LA myocardial contractility, impairs LA-LV coupling, and reduces active LA contribution to LV filling in dogs with pacing-induced cardiomyopathy. The impact of isoflurane on LA function in the presence of LV dysfunction has profound effects on cardiac performance

Performance Evaluation of Whole Body Counting Facilities in the Marshall Islands (2002-2005)

The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) has recently implemented a series of strategic initiatives to address long-term radiological surveillance needs at former U.S. nuclear test sites in the Marshall Islands (https://eed.llnl.gov/mi/). Local atoll governments have been actively engaged in developing shared responsibilities for protecting the health and safety of resettled and resettling population at risk from exposure to elevated levels of residual fallout contamination in the environment. Under the program, whole body counting facilities have been established at three locations in the Marshall Islands. These facilities are operated and maintained by Marshallese technicians with scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) providing technical support services including data quality assurance and performance testing. We have also established a mirror whole body counting facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a technician training center. The LLNL facility also allows program managers to develop quality assurance and operational procedures, and test equipment and corrective actions prior to deployment at remote stations in the Marshall Islands. This document summarizes the results of external performance evaluation exercises conducted at each of the facilities (2002-2005) under the umbrella of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Intercomparison Studies Program (ISP). The ISP was specifically designed to meet intercomparison requirements of the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy Laboratory Accreditation Program (DOELAP). In this way, the Marshall Islands Radiological Surveillance Program has attempted to establish quality assurance measures in whole body counting that are consistent with standard requirements used to monitor DOE workers in the United States. Based on ANSI N13.30, the acceptable performance criteria for relative measurement bias and precision for radiobioassay service laboratory quality control, performance evaluation, and accreditation is -25% to +50% and less than or equal to 40%, respectively

Exploiting transient protein states for the design of small-molecule stabilizers of mutant p53

The destabilizing p53 cancer mutation Y220C creates an extended crevice on the surface of the protein that can be targeted by small-molecule stabilizers. Here, we identify different classes of small molecules that bind to this crevice and determine their binding modes by X-ray crystallography. These structures reveal two major conformational states of the pocket and a cryptic, transiently open hydrophobic subpocket that is modulated by Cys220. In one instance, specifically targeting this transient protein state by a pyrrole moiety resulted in a 40-fold increase in binding affinity. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that both open and closed states of this subsite were populated at comparable frequencies along the trajectories. Our data extend the framework for the design of high-affinity Y220C mutant binders for use in personalized anticancer therapy and, more generally, highlight the importance of implementing protein dynamics and hydration patterns in the drug-discovery process