Efficiency of super capacitor banks used in regenerative breaking in hybrid electric vehicles

The aim of this project was to build a supercapacitor bank, dc to dc converter, and testing rig to perform efficiency testing for various configurations of the super capacitor bank against various hybrid electric vehicle regenerative braking profiles. A bank of 10 25F cells was constructed along with a bidirectional DC to DC converter allowing practical testing of two of the four possible bank configurations. An average of 55% and 63% end to end efficiency was found for the two configurations respectively when tested under three different scaled regenerative braking profiles. It was found that capacitor banks with a higher maximum voltage i.e. more cells in series were more efficient as there were lower input and output currents and most of losses were restricted to the converter

Fractional boundary value problems: Analysis and numerical methods

This is the author's PDF of an article published in Fractional calculus and applied analysis 2011. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comThis journal article discusses nonlinear boundary value problems.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologi

Deaf citizens as jurors in Australian courts: Participating via professional interpreters

Australian deaf citizens are currently not permitted to perform jury duty, primarily due to their inability to hear the evidence and deliberate without interpreters. Although interpreters are routinely employed to interpret for defendants or witnesses in court, current legal frameworks do not permit interpreters to enter the deliberation room as a ‘thirteenth person’, for fear that they may influence the jurors or become active participants in the decision-making. Other objections to allowing deaf citizens to act as jurors include uncertainty about their ability to participate fully in the discussions, the impact the deaf juror’s and interpreter’s presence mayhave on the dynamics of the deliberations and on turn-taking, and the logistics and cost involved. Yet, deaf citizens see it as their right to be able to perform this very important civic duty, and recent decisions at the international level indicate that excluding deaf citizens from jury duty should be considered unlawful discrimination.This article presents results from the analysis of the jury deliberations with one deaf juror and two Auslan1 interpreters, and from a focus group discussion with the eleven hearing jurors and an interview with the deaf juror about their experience.The jury deliberation is one section of a large-scale study on the participation of deaf jurors in a criminal trial with Auslan interpreters, in New South Wales

Species response to shifting and variable climates

Evidence has been accumulating that suggests some arcto-boreal plant taxa persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Alaska and adjacent Canada. In part, my dissertation investigated the spatial patterns of glacial persistence and postglacial colonization of an alder (Alnus) species complex (n = 3 taxa) from this vast region. Using high-throughput DNA sequencing, hindcast Species Distribution Modeling, and a reassessment of pollen records, I found evidence that Alnus expanded from several population nuclei (i.e. refugia) that existed during the LGM and coalesced during the Holocene to form its present range. These results challenge the unidirectional model for postglacial vegetation expansion based on several decades of palynological studies, implying that climate buffering associated with landscape heterogeneity and adaptation to millennial-scale environmental variability played important roles in driving late-Quaternary population dynamics. Results from the sampled alder species complex support the conclusion that numerous plant taxa seem to have persisted in northern refugia within Alaska despite concerns of an adverse regional climate during the LGM. Another taxa, Tamarack larch (Larix laricina), presents as another plant species that might have survived within Alaska during this period of climatic upheaval, but sparse pollen data and a lack of genetic sampling have thus far obscured any solid insights. Unlike alder, larch has a transcontinental distribution across North America with a prominent disjunction in the Yukon resulting in the isolation of Alaskan populations from the primary distribution in Canada. Range disjunctions, such as the one sampled here, serve as natural laboratories that allow us to assess the interplay of long-distance migration versus refugial persistence in biome development since the LGM. In this case, genetic analysis of chloroplast microsatellites from sampling populations on both sides of the disjunction revealed a long-standing isolation between larch in Alaska and Canada. Hindcast Species Distribution Modeling suggests suitable climate conditions for larch in Alaska during the LGM corroborating our genetic data in suggesting the presence of an Alaskan LGM refugium for larch. Overall evidence from this system suggests that either suitable LGM climate, adaptation from limited standing variation, or an interplay of both likely promoted in situ persistence of larch in Alaska. Regardless of which mechanism facilitated persistence, the results from this study indicate that long distance dispersal did not play any significant role in the modern development or maintenance of the disjunct Alaskan populations of Larix laricina. Uncovering a cluster of cryptic LGM refugia for Alnus in Alaska and adjacent Canada suggests that adaptation potentially facilitated in situ persistence for boreal taxa during rapid climate shifts. To understand the role of adaptation within the heterogeneous climate landscape of Alaska, Picea marinara (black spruce) populations were sampled from contrasted regions of local climate. Specifically, foliar samples were taken from both warmer, drier sites in the interior as well as comparatively cooler, wetter sites closer to the southern coast of Alaska. Using a combination of multivariate and univariate genotype-by-environment approaches, I investigated the relationship between genetic variability (genotyping single nucleotide polymorphism array) and downscaled climate variables for each sampling site to provide insight into possible local adaptive responses. Intersecting results from these analyses identified 9 SNPs that displayed significant associations with climate differences between these two sampling regions, which are usually interpreted as the signature of putative local adaptation to environmental selective pressure. My results also indicated long-term persistence of black spruce in interior Alaska implying that the interior populations were exposed to millennia of selective pressure for comparatively lower effective moisture than surrounding regions that also harbored black spruce during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. The genomic imprint detected in this study, consistent with ongoing adaptation to contrasted modern-day selective pressures, could also reflect long-term adaptive response to Late Quaternary environmental conditions

A transgenic Camelina sativa seed oil effectively replaces fish oil as a dietary source of eicosapentaenoic acid in mice

Background: Fish currently supplies only 40% of the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) required to allow all individuals globally to meet the minimum intake recommendation of 500 mg/d. Therefore, alternative sustainable sources are needed. Objective: The main objective was to investigate the ability of genetically engineered Camelina sativa (20% EPA) oil (CO) to enrich tissue EPA and DHA relative to an EPA-rich fish oil (FO) in mammals. Methods: Six-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed for 10 wk either a palm oil–containing control (C) diet or diets supplemented with EPA-CO or FO, with the C, low-EPA CO (COL), high-EPA CO (COH), low-EPA FO (FOL), and high-EPA FO (FOH) diets providing 0, 0.4, 3.4, 0.3, and 2.9 g EPA/kg diet, respectively. Liver, muscle, and brain were collected for fatty acid analysis, and blood glucose and serum lipids were quantified. The expression of selected hepatic genes involved in EPA and DHA biosynthesis and in modulating their cellular impact was determined. Results: The oils were well tolerated, with significantly greater weight gain in the COH and FOH groups relative to the C group (P < 0.001). Significantly lower (36–38%) blood glucose concentrations were evident in the FOH and COH mice relative to C mice (P < 0.01). Hepatic EPA concentrations were higher in all EPA groups relative to the C group (P < 0.001), with concentrations of 0.0, 0.4, 2.9, 0.2, and 3.6 g/100 g liver total lipids in the C, COL, COH, FOL, and FOH groups, respectively. Comparable dose-independent enrichments of liver DHA were observed in mice fed CO and FO diets (P < 0.001). Relative to the C group, lower fatty acid desaturase 1 (Fads1) expression (P < 0.005) was observed in the COH and FOH groups. Higher fatty acid desaturase 2 (Fads2), peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor α (Ppara), and peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ (Pparg) (P < 0.005) expressions were induced by CO. No impact of treatment on liver X receptor α (Lxra) or sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (Srebp1c) was evident. Conclusions: Oil from transgenic Camelina is a bioavailable source of EPA in mice. These data provide support for the future assessment of this oil in a human feeding trial

A synthetic wheat l-system to accurately detect and visualise wheat head anomalies

Greater knowledge of wheat crop phenology and growth and improvements in measurement are beneficial to wheat agronomy and productivity. This is constrained by a lack of public plant datasets. Collecting plant data is expensive and time consuming and methods to augment this with synthetic data could address this issue. This paper describes a cost-effective and accurate Synthetic Wheat dataset which has been created by a novel L-system, based on technological advances in cameras and deep learning. The dataset images have been automatically created, categorised, masked and labelled, and used to successfully train a synthetic neural network. This network has been shown to accurately recognise wheat in pasture images taken from the Global Wheat dataset, which provides for the ongoing interest in the phenotyping of wheat characteristics around the world. The proven Mask R-CNN and Detectron2 frameworks have been used, and the created network is based on the public COCO format. The research question is “How can L-system knowledge be used to create an accurate synthetic wheat dataset and to make cost-effective wheat crop measurements?”

n-Culturals, the next cross-cultural challenge: introducing a multicultural mentoring model program

This article advances current conceptualizations of multicultural identities by identifying constituent elements of multicultural identity as knowledge, identification, internalization, and commitment. This new conceptualization is labeled n-Culturalism and posits that there are individuals who operate at the intersection of multiple cultures by maintaining salience of their multiple cultural identities. We illustrate that n-Culturals are assets to organizations because they are creative synthesizers that are able to facilitate organizational goals and can also serve as models for others who are struggling in a multicultural environment. This article provides some solutions to managing multicultural challenges in organizations, such as conflicting values and identities. It also offers solutions on how individuals and organizations can leverage their identities in relation to the multiculturalism continuum to achieve desired workplace outcomes. Further, we introduce the multicultural mentor modeling program for organizations, which, if implemented, can help struggling multiculturals to address challenges in their social cognition and to develop appropriate and effective behaviors in and outside of the workplace

Changing the International Justice Landscape: Perspectives on Deaf Citizenship and Jury Service

In Australia and other countries with adversarial court systems, such as Ireland and the United Kingdom, deaf people have not typically been permitted to serve as jurors because of a prohibition against having a sign language interpreter in the jury room. The United States is one country where there is an exception in that deaf people frequently serve as jurors in several states. We know that deaf people can understand courtroom discourse via sign language interpreters, but there has been no evidence as to how deaf people can participate in the jury deliberation process, or the impact of having a sign language interpreter present as “stranger” in the jury room. This had never been tested until this study, funded by the Australian Research [End Page 240] Council Linkage Program scheme, which is the first of its kind internationally to investigate whether deaf people can realistically participate as a juror in a trial and in the jury deliberation process. The project took the form of a simulated mock trial in a district court in Sydney with: a real jury; real police informants; current practicing lawyers; and a recently retired judge of the court. The results of this project will demonstrate whether the prohibition of a stranger (i.e., a sign language interpreter) in the jury room should be overturned. It will also explore the extent to which a deaf person can participate in jury deliberations via sign language interpretation, and how this study will pioneer domestic and international law reform. This article will: briefly track the prior research that led to this study and the current case law affecting the area; share the results of interviews with mock-trial participants and the stakeholder focus groups on their perspectives on the feasibility of deaf people serving as jurors; and present recommendations for the inclusion of deaf people as jurors

Opening up the politics of standard setting through Discourse Theory: The case of IFRS for SMEs

Purpose: This paper investigates an element of the internal politics of standard setting by reference to the International Accounting Standards Board’s [IASB] movement to the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities [IFRS for SMEs]. We examine the politics of the IASB’s expertise in technocratic governance by focusing on how the IASB defined SMEs, gave the standard a title and issued a guide for micro-entities. Methodology: Our narrative case study focuses on central ‘moments’ in the development of IFRS for SMEs. We employ Laclau and Mouffe’s condensation, displacement and overdetermination to illustrate embedded politics in articulating IFRS for SMEs. Findings: We extend literature on the internal politics of standard setting, such as agenda setting, by examining the condensing of disagreements between experts and political pressures and processes into central decision moments in IFRS for SMEs. We illustrate these moments as overdetermined, manifesting in an act of displacement through the production of a micro-entity guide. This form of politics is hidden due to the IASB’s attempt to protect their technocratic neutrality through fixing meaning. Originality/value: We make three contributions. First, overdetermination through condensation and displacement illustrates the embedded nature of politics in regulatory settings, such as the IASB. Second, we provide a theoretical explanation of the IASB’s movement from listed entities to IFRS for SMEs, drawing on Laclau and Mouffe. Third, we reinforce the necessity of interrogating the internal politics of standard setting to challenge claims of technocracy