Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.: Economic Impact of a Dairy Cooperative [This report is now at http://purl.umn.edu/180971]

This report is now at http://purl.umn.edu/180971Dairy cooperative, fluid milk, processing, distribution, history, economic impact., Livestock Production/Industries,

Structural control sensors for the CASES GTF

CASES (Controls, Astrophysics and Structures Experiment in Space) is a proposed space experiment to collect x-ray images of the galactic center and solar disk with unprecedented resolution. This requires precision pointing and suppression of vibrations in the long flexible structure that comprises the 32-m x-ray telescope optical bench. Two separate electro-optical sensor systems are provided for the ground test facility (GTF). The Boom Motion Tracker (BMT) measures eigenvector data for post-mission use in system identification. The Tip Displacement Sensor (TDS) measures boom tip position and is used as feedback for the closed-loop control system that stabilizes the boom. Both the BMT and the TDS have met acceptance specifications and were delivered to MSFC in February 1992. This paper describes the sensor concept, the sensor configuration as implemented in the GTF, and the results of characterization and performance testing

3D Simulation of Partial Discharge in High Voltage Power Networks

Open accessPartial discharge (PD) events arise inside power cables due to defects of cable’s insulation material, characterized by a lower electrical breakdown strength than the surrounding dielectric material. These electrical discharges cause signals to propagate along the cable, manifesting as noise phenomena. More significantly, they contribute to insulation degradation and can produce a disruptive effect with a consequent interruption of power network operation. PD events are, therefore, one of the best ‘early warning’ indicators of insulation degradation and, for this reason, the modeling and studying of such phenomena, together with the development of on-line PDs location methods, are important topics for network integrity assessment, and to define methods to improve the power networks’ Electricity Security. This paper presents a 3D model of PD events inside a void in epoxy-resin insulation cables for High Voltage (HV) power networks. The 3D model has been developed using the High Frequency (HF) Solver of CST Studio Suite® software. PD events of a few µs duration have been modelled and analyzed. The PD behavior has been investigated using varying electrical stress. A first study of the PD signal propagation in a power network is described

The Stellar Population of Stripped Cluster Spiral NGC 4522: A Local Analog to K+A Galaxies?

We present observations of the stripped Virgo Cluster spiral NGC 4522, a clear, nearby example of a galaxy currently undergoing ISM-ICM stripping. Utilizing SparsePak integral field spectroscopy on the WIYN 3.5m telescope and GALEX UV photometry, we present an analysis of the outer disk (r > 3 kpc) stellar population of this galaxy, beyond the HI and Halpha truncation radius. We find that the star formation in the gas-stripped outer disk ceased very recently, ~100 Myr ago, in agreement with previous claims that this galaxy is currently being stripped. At the time of this stripping, data and models suggest that the galaxy experienced a modest starburst. The stripping is occurring in a region of the cluster well outside the cluster core, likely because this galaxy is experiencing extreme conditions from a dynamic ICM due to an ongoing sub-cluster merger. The outer disk has a spectrum of a K+A galaxy, traditionally observed in high-redshift cluster galaxies. In the case of NGC 4522, a K+A spectrum is formed by simple stripping of the interstellar gas by the hot intracluster medium. These data show K+A spectra can be created by cluster processes and that these processes likely extend beyond the cluster core.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

A Target Restricted Assembly Method (TRAM) for Phylogenomics

While next generation sequencing technology can produce sequences covering the entire genome, assembly and annotation are still prohibitive steps for many phylogenomics applications. Here we describe a method of Target Restricted Assembly (TRAM) of a single lane of Illumina sequences for genes of relevance to phylogeny reconstruction, i.e. single copy protein-coding genes. This method has the potential to produce a data set of hundreds of genes using only one Illumina lane per taxon

Using electrostatic potentials to predict DNA-binding sites on DNA-binding proteins

A method to detect DNA-binding sites on the surface of a protein structure is important for functional annotation. This work describes the analysis of residue patches on the surface of DNA-binding proteins and the development of a method of predicting DNA-binding sites using a single feature of these surface patches. Surface patches and the DNA-binding sites were initially analysed for accessibility, electrostatic potential, residue propensity, hydrophobicity and residue conservation. From this, it was observed that the DNA-binding sites were, in general, amongst the top 10% of patches with the largest positive electrostatic scores. This knowledge led to the development of a prediction method in which patches of surface residues were selected such that they excluded residues with negative electrostatic scores. This method was used to make predictions for a data set of 56 non-homologous DNA-binding proteins. Correct predictions made for 68% of the data set

Habitat selection by 2 species of nectarivore: habitat quality isolines

I present a model predicting the distribution and abundance of two species of competing nectarivore exploiting nectar in two types of flower. The model uses a submodel of resource renewal and depletion, and the principle that individuals attempt to maximize individual fitness, to construct habitat isolines. The habitat isoline for a population of nectarivores is a line in an abundance phase-plane along which all individuals of the population, regardless of the habitat they are currently exploiting, have equal expected fitness. At equilibrium the habitat isoline determines the distribution of a population between two habitats given a fixed abundance of competitors. The habitat isolines for populations of two species exploiting two habitats can be used to predict the equilibrium distribution of both species. I illustrate the model using data about bumble bees foraging for nectar in flowers (Inouye 1978)

Quantum counterpart of spontaneously broken classical PT symmetry

The classical trajectories of a particle governed by the PT-symmetric Hamiltonian $H=p^2+x^2(ix)^\epsilon$ ($\epsilon\geq0$) have been studied in depth. It is known that almost all trajectories that begin at a classical turning point oscillate periodically between this turning point and the corresponding PT-symmetric turning point. It is also known that there are regions in $\epsilon$ for which the periods of these orbits vary rapidly as functions of $\epsilon$ and that in these regions there are isolated values of $\epsilon$ for which the classical trajectories exhibit spontaneously broken PT symmetry. The current paper examines the corresponding quantum-mechanical systems. The eigenvalues of these quantum systems exhibit characteristic behaviors that are correlated with those of the associated classical system.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

New Results from the MINOS Experiment

In this paper we present the latest results from the MINOS Experiment. This includes a new measurement of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters based on 3.36 x 10^20 protons-on-target of data and a first analysis of neutral current events in the Far Detector. The prospects for nu-e appearance measurements in MINOS are also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, for the Proceedings of the Neutrino 2008 Conference, Christchurch, N