Surface of metal as an indicator of fatigue damage

Advances in Military Technology, Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2013The possibility of fatigue damage analysis by the extrusion/intrusion structures on the surface of aluminium alloy is shown. Quantitative characteristics of the extrusion/intrusion structures and the methods for their monitoring are substantiated. Two approaches for fatigue analysis are presented: a) direct inspection of the aircraft components, b) application of fatigue sensors

Sustainability assessment of organic dairy farms in mountainous areas of Austria

Dairy farming plays a major role in mountainous regions of Austria, mostly due to high proportion of grasslands. In general, Austria’s dairy farming faces challenges regarding sustainability, e.g. environmental impacts, but specifically for alpine areas low productivity and dependency on direct payments are lowering sustainability. Organic farming is considered as a strategy to overcome these challenges. Considering this general background, we analysed the sustainability performance and its main drivers of organic dairy farms in mountainous regions of Austria

Nutztierhaltung in den Alpenländern: Wege zu einer graslandbasierten Milch- und Fleischproduktion

Die Landwirtschaft erfüllt für die Gesellschaft wichtige wirtschaftliche, soziokulturelle und ökologische Funktionen. Gleichwohl hat sie starke negative Auswirkungen auf den Zustand der Ökosysteme. Daran konnte auch die Ökologisierung der Agrarpolitik seit Anfang der 1990er Jahre nicht prinzipiell etwas ändern. Aufgrund der großen Bedeutung von Grünland für die Landwirtschaft in der Schweiz (60 % der landwirtschaftlichen Nutzfläche) und Österreich (40 %) ist die Rolle der Wiederkäuer für eine ökologisch nachhaltige Agrar- und Ernährungspolitik besonders wichtig. Vor diesem Hintergrund haben wir analysiert, inwieweit standortgerechte, graslandbasierte regenerative Milch- und Rindfleischsysteme, die den Wettbewerb zwischen Lebens- und Futtermittelproduktion minimieren, zu einer ökologisch nachhaltigen Landnutzung beitragen können, ohne dabei die regionalen Ökosystemgrenzen zu überschreiten (Stolze et al. 2019)

Surface of metal as an indicator of fatigue damage

Advances in Military Technology, Vol. 8, No. 2, December 2013The possibility of fatigue damage analysis by the extrusion/intrusion structures on the surface of aluminium alloy is shown. Quantitative characteristics of the extrusion/intrusion structures and the methods for their monitoring are substantiated. Two approaches for fatigue analysis are presented: a) direct inspection of the aircraft components, b) application of fatigue sensors

Status of the TRIGA shipments to the INEEL from Asia

This paper will report on preparations being made for returning Training, Research, Isotope, General Atomics (TRIGA) foreign research reactor (FRR) spent fuel from South Korea and Indonesia to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The roles of US Department of Energy, INEEL, and NAC International in implementing a safe shipment are provided. Special preparations necessitated by making a shipment through a west coast port of the US to the INEEL will be explained. The institutional planning and actions needed to meet the unique political and operational environment for making a shipment from Asia to INEEL will be discussed. Facility preparation at both the INEEL and the FRRs is discussed. Cask analysis needed to properly characterize the various TRIGA configurations, compositions, and enrichments is discussed. Shipping preparations will include an explanation of the integrated team of spent fuel transportation specialists, and shipping resources needed to retrieve the fuel from foreign research reactor sites and deliver it to the INEEL

Quantitative predictions on auxin-induced polar distribution of PIN proteins during vein formation in leaves

The dynamic patterning of the plant hormone auxin and its efflux facilitator the PIN protein are the key regulator for the spatial and temporal organization of plant development. In particular auxin induces the polar localization of its own efflux facilitator. Due to this positive feedback auxin flow is directed and patterns of auxin and PIN arise. During the earliest stage of vein initiation in leaves auxin accumulates in a single cell in a rim of epidermal cells from which it flows into the ground meristem tissue of the leaf blade. There the localized auxin supply yields the successive polarization of PIN distribution along a strand of cells. We model the auxin and PIN dynamics within cells with a minimal canalization model. Solving the model analytically we uncover an excitable polarization front that triggers a polar distribution of PIN proteins in cells. As polarization fronts may extend to opposing directions from their initiation site we suggest a possible resolution to the puzzling occurrence of bipolar cells, such we offer an explanation for the development of closed, looped veins. Employing non-linear analysis we identify the role of the contributing microscopic processes during polarization. Furthermore, we deduce quantitative predictions on polarization fronts establishing a route to determine the up to now largely unknown kinetic rates of auxin and PIN dynamics.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, supplemental information included, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.

Cultivos de cobertura y gestión del agua del suelo de barbecho

Los cultivos de cobertura (CC) en sistemas agrícolas simplificados de la Pampa Ondulada son una alternativa para asegurar sistemas ambientalmente más sustentables, que provean diversos servicios ecosistémicos. Entre los principales beneficios se reconoce un mejor aprovechamiento de los recursos, fundamentalmente una mayor eficiencia en el uso del agua. El objetivo del trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de diferentes CC sobre la gestión del agua del suelo durante el período de barbecho invernal. Se realizó un ensayo en el campo experimental de la Universidad Nacional de Luján bajo siembra directa. Los tratamientos fueron: avena (A), avena-vicia (A-V), avena fertilizada (AF) con N, vicia (V) y testigo sin CC (T). Los CC se sembraron en dos fechas diferentes: 07/04/21 y 03/06/21 y se secaron el 27/10/21. El diseño fue en bloques completos al azar con tres repeticiones. Se determinó el agua disponible (AD) del suelo a la siembra y secado de los CC, acu mulado de 0-40 cm. Se calculó el costo hídrico (CH), uso consuntivo (UC), la producción de biomasa aérea y la eficiencia en la utilización del agua (EUA). Los diferentes CC presentaron diferencias en el AD al secado, en la producción de biomasa y en la EUA. La avena sembrada en segunda fecha fue más eficiente (105.4 kg MS mm-1) que la sembrada en primera fecha (54,6 kg MS mm-1). Similar comportamiento mostró la avena-vicia. La fertilización nitrogenada resultó efectiva para las condiciones del ensayo, como estrategia para equiparar la producción de biomasa de segunda fecha de siembra con la de primera fecha. Se concluyó que la inclusión de estas especies invernales como CC se presentan como una alternativa viable para mejorar la gestión del agua en los sistemas agrícolas simplificados de la región pampeana, aún en condiciones de baja oferta hídrica.Fil: Bonvecchi, Virginia B. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología. Edafología; ArgentinaFil: Nivoida, N. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología. Edafología; ArgentinaFil: Irigoin, Julieta. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento Tecnología; ArgentinaFil: Bulos, L. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología. Edafología; ArgentinaFil: Petrasek, M.R. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología. Edafología; ArgentinaFil: Ramírez, J.A. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología. Edafología; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, G. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología. Edafología; Argentin

Alignment between PIN1 Polarity and Microtubule Orientation in the Shoot Apical Meristem Reveals a Tight Coupling between Morphogenesis and Auxin Transport

Morphogenesis during multicellular development is regulated by intercellular signaling molecules as well as by the mechanical properties of individual cells. In particular, normal patterns of organogenesis in plants require coordination between growth direction and growth magnitude. How this is achieved remains unclear. Here we show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, auxin patterning and cellular growth are linked through a correlated pattern of auxin efflux carrier localization and cortical microtubule orientation. Our experiments reveal that both PIN1 localization and microtubule array orientation are likely to respond to a shared upstream regulator that appears to be biomechanical in nature. Lastly, through mathematical modeling we show that such a biophysical coupling could mediate the feedback loop between auxin and its transport that underlies plant phyllotaxis

Determining the neurotransmitter concentration profile at active synapses

Establishing the temporal and concentration profiles of neurotransmitters during synaptic release is an essential step towards understanding the basic properties of inter-neuronal communication in the central nervous system. A variety of ingenious attempts has been made to gain insights into this process, but the general inaccessibility of central synapses, intrinsic limitations of the techniques used, and natural variety of different synaptic environments have hindered a comprehensive description of this fundamental phenomenon. Here, we describe a number of experimental and theoretical findings that has been instrumental for advancing our knowledge of various features of neurotransmitter release, as well as newly developed tools that could overcome some limits of traditional pharmacological approaches and bring new impetus to the description of the complex mechanisms of synaptic transmission