Pulse technique provides more accurate checkout of exploding bridge wire device

Exploding Bridge Wire /EBW/ is treated as a transmission line system and pulse reflection techniques are used for checking the electrical integrity of an EBW cartridge. A step voltage is propagated into the system and the reflected voltage waves are monitored

Radiative cooler

A method and radiative cooling device for use in passively cooling spaces is described. It is applicable to any level of thermal radiation in vacuum and to high-intensity thermal radiation in non-vacuum environments. The device includes an enclosure nested in a multiplicity of thin, low-emittance, highly-reflective shields. The shields are suspended in a casing in mutual angular relation and having V-shaped spaces defined therebetween for redirecting, by reflection, toward the large openings of the V-shaped spaces, thermal radiation entering the sides of the shields, and emitted to the spaces, whereby successively reduced quantities of thermal radiation are reflected by the surfaces along substantially parallel paths extended through the V-shaped spaces to a common heat sink such as the cold thermal background of space

A model of manager-induced organisational stability in post-Soviet agriculture

Agricultural transition in the former Soviet Union has, surprisingly for many observers, not led to a widespread adoption of individual farming. This article attempts to understand some previously neglected forces behind this outcome. It develops a theoretical model of farm restructuring in which managers exploit the preferences of workers for conformity within a social reference group to cement their own power. The model provides a rationale for the persistent support among workers and managers to the status-quo organisation, despite the availability of a more efficient individual farming option. Based on empirical evidence, we argue that managers have an incentive to keep horizons of workers limited by sheltering them from pro-reform influences. Polar reform equilibria are generated that are consistent with the observed spatial patterns of restructuring. The model predicts that policies aiming at the establishment of independent farms will fail unless they induce a big push in reform attitudes among workers.Agricultural transition, former Soviet Union, social interaction effects, farm restructuring., Farm Management,

Perancangan Sistem Informasi Peminjaman Toolkit Pada Laboratorium Sistem Tertanam dan Robotika Teknik Komputer Menggunakan Kerangka Kerja CodeIgniter

ABSTRAK – Laboratorium Sistem Tertanam dan Robotika merupakan sarana yang mewadahi penelitian mahasiswa Teknik Komputer Universitas Diponegoro dalam bidang sistem tertanam dan robotika. Penelitian di bidang sistem tertanam dan robotika erat kaitannya dengan perangkat keras (hardware), dimana laboratorium menyediakan perangkat keras yang dapat digunakan saat berada di laboratorium. Dalam proses penelitian, mahasiwa hanya dapat menggunakan laboratorium pada saat jam kerja dan jadwal akademik berlangsung, sementara proses penelitian tentunya harus tetap berlanjut. Keterbatasan waktu penggunaan laboratorium inilah yang menjadi latar belakang diperlukannya sebuah solusi agar mahasiswa tetap dapat melanjutkan penelitiannya di luar jam kerja bahkan ketika jadwal akademik libur dan mahasiswa dapat membawa toolkit dengan mudah. Mahasiswa dan pengurus laboratorium membutuhkan sistem informasi yang dapat menjadi penghubung antara mahasiswa yang ingin meminjam toolkit dari laboratorium dan pengurus laboratorium yang dapat mempermudah manajemen peminjaman toolkit. Dalam penelitian ini, dibuat sebuah sistem informasi peminjaman toolkit berbasis web yang dapat memberikan kemudahan akses bagi mahasiswa yang ingin melakukan peminjaman baik melalui admin ataupun pada mahasiswa lain yang memegang toolkit dan admin dapat melakukan manajemen peminjaman toolkit. Sistem informasi ini dibuat menggunakan bahasa pemrograman PHP serta basis data MySQL. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah model RAD (Rapid Aplication Development) dengan pengujian black box dan Usability

Separation of ³He and CH₄ signals on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 5°N and 51°N

Abiogenic methane may be produced in submarine hydrothermal systems by degassing of basalts or serpentinization of ultramafic outcrops. The latter process presumably releases little primordial helium and is therefore implicated by high CH4/3He ratios in vent fluids from the ultramafic-hosted Rainbow field and in methane plumes near ultramafic outcrops. We report the existence of depth-separated CH4 and 3He plumes in two segments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at 5.4°N and 51°N. In both cases, the helium plume was deeper, near the valley floor, and the methane carbon isotope ratio was heavy (d13C ˜ -14%). The plumes may issue from separate vents, where the helium is discharged near the volcanic axis and the methane is generated by serpentinization higher on the valley wall. However, at the present time the locations of the vents that produce these plumes are not known. Using a one-pass model, we investigated whether separate venting could arise from heat conduction from a primary, helium-carrying, hydrothermal circulation to a second, shallower fracture loop intersecting ultramafic rock. The model results indicate that the flow rate through the secondary loop would have to be relatively low in order for it to stay warm enough for serpentinization to proceed. In this case, some of the exothermic heat production is lost by conduction, and the temperature increase in the circulating fluid is only a fraction of that expected from a water/rock ratio of 1:1

Spacecube V2.0 Micro Single Board Computer

A single board computer system radiation hardened for space flight includes a printed circuit board having a top side and bottom side; a reconfigurable field programmable gate array (FPGA) processor device disposed on the top side; a connector disposed on the top side; a plurality of peripheral components mounted on the bottom side; and wherein a size of the single board computer system is not greater than approximately 7 cm.times.7 cm

Demographic, Clinical, and Behavioral Determinants of 7-Year Weight Change Trajectories in Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Patients.

BACKGROUND: Weight change trajectories after weight-loss surgery may vary significantly. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the weight trajectories of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients and identified the distinct clinical, behavioral, and demographic features of patients by trajectory. SETTING: Data from 2918 RYGB patients from a comprehensive medical center between January 2004 and November 2016 were included. METHODS: This retrospective, observational study used data for RYGB patients up to year 7 postsurgery. Group-based trajectory models were fitted for percentage weight change. Variables evaluated by trajectory included age, sex, diagnoses, medications, smoking, presurgical body mass index, preoperative weight loss, and early postoperative weight loss. RESULTS: Of 3215 possible patients, 2918 (90.8%) were included (mean age = 46.2 ± 11.2 yr, body mass index = 46.9 ± 7.9 kg/m CONCLUSION: Select clinical, demographic, and behavioral factors may increase or decrease the chance for better weight loss after RYGB

Radiation Hardened 10BASE-T Ethernet Physical Layer (PHY)

Embodiments may provide a radiation hardened 10BASE-T Ethernet interface circuit suitable for space flight and in compliance with the IEEE 802.3 standard for Ethernet. The various embodiments may provide a 10BASE-T Ethernet interface circuit, comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a transmitter circuit connected to the FPGA, a receiver circuit connected to the FPGA, and a transformer connected to the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit. In the various embodiments, the FPGA, transmitter circuit, receiver circuit, and transformer may be radiation hardened

Salivary Metabolomic Signatures and Body Mass Index in Italian Adolescents: A Pilot Study

Context: Obesity surveillance is scarce in adolescents, and little is known on whether salivary metabolomics data, emerging minimally invasive biomarkers, can characterize metabolic patterns associated with overweight or obesity in adolescents. Objective: This pilot study aims to identify the salivary molecular signatures associated with body mass index (BMI) in Italian adolescents. Methods: Saliva samples and BMI were collected in a subset of n = 74 young adolescents enrolled in the Public Health Impact of Metal Exposure study (2007-2014). A total of 217 untargeted metabolites were identified using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Robust linear regression was used to cross-sectionally determine associations between metabolomic signatures and sex-specific BMI-for-age z-scores (z-BMI). Results: Nearly 35% of the adolescents (median age: 12 years; 51% females) were either obese or overweight. A higher z-BMI was observed in males compared to females (P = .02). One nucleoside (deoxyadenosine) and 2 lipids (18:0-18:2 phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl-phosphoethanolamine) were negatively related to z-BMI (P < .05), whereas 2 benzenoids (3-hydroxyanthranilic acid and a phthalate metabolite) were positively associated with z-BMI (P < .05). In males, several metabolites including deoxyadenosine, as well as deoxycarnitine, hyodeoxycholic acid, N-methylglutamic acid, bisphenol P, and trigonelline were downregulated, while 3 metabolites (3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, theobromine/theophylline/paraxanthine, and alanine) were upregulated in relation to z-BMI (P < .05). In females, deoxyadenosine and dipalmitoyl-phosphoethanolamine were negatively associated with z-BMI while deoxycarnitine and a phthalate metabolite were positively associated (P < .05). A single energy-related pathway was enriched in the identified associations in females (carnitine synthesis, P = .04). Conclusion: Salivary metabolites involved in nucleotide, lipid, and energy metabolism were primarily altered in relation to BMI in adolescents

Toxokinetik und -dynamik ausgewahlter individueller chlorierter Biphenyle

SchluBbericht zum Forschungsvorhaben 03F0551