Signal multiplexer

Impedance transformation device for signal mixin

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Coal-Biomass to Liquid Jet Fuel Compared to Petroleum-Derived JP-8 Jet Fuel

The United States (U.S.) imported 57% of the petroleum products that it consumed in 2008. The Department of Defense (DOD) and in particular, the United States Air Force (USAF), consumes a large amount of oil to support the mission of defending the U.S. According to the USAF energy policy, by 2016, the Air Force (AF) must be prepared to cost competitively acquire 50% of its domestic aviation fuel requirement via an alternative fuel blend in which the alternative component is derived from domestic sources produced in a manner that is “greener” than fuels produced from conventional petroleum. This study employed a life cycle assessment (LCA) tool known as Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) to compare the petroleum derived jet fuel of JP-8 to the alternative jet fuel of Coal-Biomass to Liquid (CBTL) to determine which was “greener” by determining the total global warming potential (GWP) over each jet fuels’ entire life cycle. The CBTL jet fuel was determined to be “greener” for the environment with utilizing carbon capture and storage (CCS) via the Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis process when producing liquid jet fuel from coal and swithchgrass as the biomass

Jet Propellant 8 versus Alternative Jet Fuels

The Air Force is the largest user of jet fuel in the Department of Defense DOD, consuming 2.4 billion gallons per year. In light of environmental impacts associated with using nonrenewable fuel sources and national security concerns regarding dependency on foreign oil, it is no surprise that the United States is paying more attention to alternative fuels. Both DOD and Air Force energy strategies address the need to develop and produce such fuels. The DOD has made a commitment to energy security, establishing an energy initiative that strives to modernize infrastructure, increase utility and energy conservation, enhance demand reduction, and improve energy flexibility, thereby saving taxpayer dollars and reducing emissions that contribute to air pollution and global climate change. This initiative has the following four goals 1. Maintain or enhance operational effectiveness while reducing total force energy demands 2. Increase energy strategic resilience by developing alternative assured fuels and energy 3. Enhance operational and business effectiveness by institutionalizing energy considerations and solutions in DoD planning business processes 4. Establish and monitor Department-wide energy metrics

素数集合上の絶対シンプレクティック構造と絶対ワイル代数

The purpose of this paper is to give the absolute mathematics for the prime set. Absolute mathematics was introduced by N.Kurokawa in order to solve the Riemann conjecture. One of the idea for absolute mathematics is the prime differential on the rational integer Z. We analyze all possible arithmetic generalizations of symplectic and contact structures on a prime set. There are two different types of structures according to the Lagrangian subspace and Legendrian subspace. Main result is that the prime set is characterized by the Lagrangian subspace of absolute symplectic space (T*P, w). We also define a notion of the absolute Weyl algebra

Size-selective mortality during freshwater and marine life stages of steelhead related to freshwater growth in the Skagit River, Washington

Wild steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, in the Puget Sound are currently in decline, and very little is known about the early life history of these threatened fish. This study evaluated consequences of early growth and survival to smolt or adult stages in different precipitation zones of the Skagit River Basin, Washington. The objectives of this study were to determine whether significant size-selective mortality (SSM) in wild steelhead could be detected between freshwater stages and returning adults; and if so, how the magnitude of SSM varied among juveniles rearing in different precipitation zones (snow and mixed rain-snow). Wild steelhead were sampled as juveniles, smolts, and adults, and scales were measured to compare back-calculated size distributions and growth rates of rearing juveniles with individuals that survived from an earlier life stage to the smolt and adult stages. Back-calculated size-at-annulus comparisons indicated that steelhead in the snow zone were significantly larger at annulus-1 than those in the mixed zone. Steelhead sampled as adults were significantly larger than those sampled as juveniles at annuli-1, -2, and -3, and larger than those sampled as smolts at annuli-2 and -3, Steelhead sampled as smolts were larger than those sampled as juveniles at annuli-1 and -2, but smolts and juveniles were the same size at annulus-3. The disparity in size-at-age-2 and -3 between steelhead sampled at earlier and later life stages suggested that fast growth during the second or third freshwater growing seasons was vitally important for survival to adulthood, and that both freshwater and marine survival could be attributed, in part, to size attained at earlier life stages in freshwater. Efforts for recovery of threatened Puget Sound steelhead could benefit by considering SSM in freshwater environments, and identifying factors that limit growth during early life stages

Theory of superconductor with kappa close to 1/sqrt{2}

As was firstly shown by E. Bogomolny, the critical Ginzburg-Landay (GL) parameter kappa =1/sqrt{2} at which a superconductor changes its behavior from type-I to type-II, is the special highly degenerate point where Abrikosov vortices do not interact and therefore all vortex states have the same energy. Developing a secular perturbation theory we studied how this degeneracy is lifted when kappa is slightly different from 1\sqrt{2} or when the GL theory is extended to the higher in T-Tc terms. We constructed a simple secular functional, that depends only on few experimentally measurable phenomenological parameters and therefore is quite efficient to study the vortex state of superconductor in this transitional region of kappa. Basing on this, we calculated such vortex state properties as: critical fields, energy of the normal-superconductor interface, energy of the vortex lattice, vortex interaction energy etc. and compared them with previous results that were based on bulky solutions of GL equations.Comment: Revtex, 14 pages, 4 postscript pictures embedded in the tex

Insulin/IGF and Sex Hormone Axes in Human Endometrium and Associations with Endometrial Cancer Risk Factors

Given an ordered set of points and an ordered set of geometric objects in the plane, we are interested in finding a non-crossing matching between point-object pairs. In this paper, we address the algorithmic problem of determining whether a non-crossing matching exists between a given point-object pair. We show that when the objects we match the points to are finite point sets, the problem is NP-complete in general, and polynomial when the objects are on a line or when their size is at most 2. When the objects are line segments, we show that the problem is NP-complete in general, and polynomial when the segments form a convex polygon or are all on a line. Finally, for objects that are straight lines, we show that the problem of finding a min-max non-crossing matching is NP-complete. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Dietary phenethylisothiocyanate attenuates bowel inflammation in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phenethylisothiocyanate (PEITC) is produced by Brassica food plants. PEO is a <b>P</b>EITC <b>E</b>ssential <b>O</b>il containing >95% natural PEITC. PEITC is known to produce various health benefits but its effect in alleviation of ulcerative colitis signs is unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In two efficacy studies (acute and chronic) oral administration of PEO was effective at remitting acute and chronic signs of ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. Disease activity, histology and biochemical characteristics were measured in the treated animals and were compared with appropriate controls. PEO treatment significantly improved body weights and stool consistency as well as decreased intestinal bleeding. PEO treatment also reduced mucosal inflammation, depletion of goblet cells and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Attenuation of proinflammatory interleukin1β production was observed in the colons of PEO-treated animals. Expression analyses were also carried out for immune function related genes, transcription factors and cytokines in lipopolysaccharide-activated mouse macrophage cells. PEO likely affects an intricate network of immune signaling genes including a novel concentration dependent reduction of total cellular Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 (STAT1) as well as nuclear phosphorylated-STAT1 (activated form of STAT1). A PEO-concentration dependent decrease of mRNA of C-X-C motif ligand 10 (a STAT1 responsive chemokine) and Interleukin 6 were also observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PEO might be a promising candidate to develop as a treatment for ulcerative colitis patients. The disease attenuation by PEO is likely associated with suppression of activation of STAT1 transcription and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines.</p

Tratamento de dados climáticos de Santa Maria, RS, para análise de desempenho térmico de edificações

Resumo O tratamento e a disponibilização de dados climáticos para projeto de edificações são importantes para seu desempenho térmico e eficiência energética. O Ano Climático de Referência (TRY), o Ano Meteorológico Típico (TMY2), a carta bioclimática, arquivos EPW e CVS, diagrama de ventos e o dia típico de projeto são os tratamentos mais comuns. Para Santa Maria - RS, algumas destas sistematizações já existiam, porém para um período de oito anos. O objetivo do estudo foi tratar e analisar dados climáticos para Santa Maria, complementando estudos anteriores, ampliando a base de dados para doze anos e atualizando seu tratamento. O estudo baseou-se em bibliografia científica e metodologias que vêm sendo empregadas por vários pesquisadores. Os resultados apontam maior desconforto por frio. A radiação solar é bem distribuída ao longo do ano, indicando aquecimento solar passivo, no inverno, e sombreamento, no verão. O arquivo TMY2 gerado no estudo tem comportamento similar ao TRY-INMET (2012) e apresenta diferenças mais significativas quando comparado ao SWERA. Observou-se a importância das orientações norte e nordeste, para aquecimento solar, e leste, para ventilação. Os métodos apresentados podem ser aplicados a outras localidades com dados horários disponíveis