Novel horn antenna reduces side lobes, improves radiation pattern

A horn antenna, combining two propagation modes at selected power ratios, reduces side lobes, and improves the radiation characteristics. Noise and unwanted signals are considerably suppressed

Cassegrainian antenna subflector flange for suppressing ground noise Patent

Cassegrain antenna subreflector flange for suppressing ground noise and increasing antenna transmitting efficienc

Evaluation of the implementation process of urban road pricing schemes in the United Kingdom and Italy

This paper is based upon detailed research that has taken place in the UK and Italy, on the implementation strategies for urban road pricing schemes. In the UK, both in London and Durham, the Road User Charging schemes required new legislation, and were implemented rapidly. The time from announcement to implementation took three years and the schemes were introduced after short periods of intensive planning, consultations and stakeholder networking. In Italy, the situation has been very different. The road pricing schemes in Rome and Genoa were not introduced under specific legislation but rather evolved from access control zones originally implemented in historic urban centres. The incremental introduction of the Italian road pricing experiments has taken approximately ten years. The paper undertakes a comparison of these different strategies to introduce urban road pricing and the lessons they contain for the development of similar measures elsewhere. The comparison of the different implementing experiences is undertaken using Strategic Policy Niche Management, a method designed to explore, among other factors, the dynamics of the stakeholder networks involved in planning, introducing, marketing and managing radical urban Travel Demand Management policies

The Design and Development of a Multi-Disciplinary Project in Embedded Systems Design

As has been noted over the past ten years, “The wall between computer science and electrical engineering has kept the potential of embedded systems at bay. It is time to build a new scientific foundation with embedded systems design as the cornerstone, which will ensure a systematic and even-handed integration of the two fields.”[1] In Baylor University’s School of Engineering & Computer Science, the Embedded Systems course in the Department of Computer Science, and the Embedded Systems Design course in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have been offered independent of each other in the recent past. In the past year, however, this is beginning to change, with plans developing to combine the project portion of the two courses into one multi-disciplinary group project. This paper will document the two courses – scope and sequence, as well as emphasis, equipment used, and delivery style – highlighting the need for a new and innovative approach at the systematic integration of software and hardware in the design and development of a mutli-disciplinary group project. The beta test of this group project is occurring in the fall 2017 semester, with full first-time full-scale deployment during the spring 2018 semester. The results of this beta test will be discussed, and the lessons learned and planned modifications to the course will be considered.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Implications of HGV charging for the UK

Road transport taxation in Europe is undergoing a major and radical shift away from fixed charges and fuel duties towards pricing according to distance travelled and externalities produced. Implementation is underway in some states, change being led by national schemes for the freight sector only. The UK is considering such a system for implementation by 2008, to use global positioning system technology. The paper reviews the current developments and considers charging scenarios, including a scenario for covering the full external costs of the UK freight industry. Implications for taxation policy are considered, including whether the doctrine of revenue neutrality is consistent with 'sustainable mobility'. Consideration is given to a transition strategy which could bridge between the current level and structure of prices and a future, more economically efficient approach

Managing Intellectual Property to Foster Agricultural Development

Over the past decades, consideration of IPRs has become increasingly important in many areas of agricultural development, including foreign direct investment, technology transfer, trade, investment in innovation, access to genetic resources, and the protection of traditional knowledge. The widening role of IPRs in governing the ownership of—and access to—innovation, information, and knowledge makes them particularly critical in ensuring that developing countries benefit from the introduction of new technologies that could radically alter the welfare of the poor. Failing to improve IPR policies and practices to support the needs of developing countries will eliminate significant development opportunities. The discussion in this note moves away from policy prescriptions to focus on investments to improve how IPRs are used in practice in agricultural development. These investments must be seen as complementary to other investments in agricultural development. IPRs are woven into the context of innovation and R&D. They can enable entrepreneurship and allow the leveraging of private resources for resolving the problems of poverty. Conversely, IPRs issues can delay important scientific advancements, deter investment in products for the poor, and impose crippling transaction costs on organizations if the wrong tools are used or tools are badly applied. The central benefit of pursuing the investments outlined in this note is to build into the system a more robust capacity for strategic and flexible use of IPRs tailored to development goals

Green-Technology Automobiles: Can modern innovations save the environment and consumers\u27 pockets

Cars of the past are notorious for poor fuel efficiency and high carbon emissions. With the presence of hybrid technology, along with a variety of other green innovations, many of these negative side effects can be mitigated. The purpose of this study is to answer the question: how do green technology vehicles compare with similar models that exclude such innovations in relation to efficiency and price? A total of 47 green-tech vehicles were identified and compared against their base model counterparts. Vehicle weight, horsepower, fuel efficiency and other variables were matched within pairs (green-tech vs. base) and between car types (sedans, SUVs and trucks). Regardless of vehicle type and green-tech, weight proved to be an influential factor, showing that as curb weight increased, fuel efficiency decreased. Compared to the base models, green-tech luxury vehicles also exhibited few improvements in fuel efficiency with disproportionately high growth in price. Non-luxury green-tech sedans ranging from 2500lbs to 4000lbs showed the largest improvements in efficiency while also maintaining an average MSRP of $28996±1089, producing a green-tech vehicle that is economically affordable. The impressive results from this category of vehicles suggest that consumer investment in non-luxury green sedans may not only help to save money in fuel consumption, but also save the environment

Evaluation of the effect of tyrothricin on beta-hemolytic streptococci in salva. Part I: The effect of salvia upon bacteria. Part II: Effect of tyrothricin on the New York 5 strain of Streptococcus pyogenes in saliva

Part II of thesis by Brancato, Noyes, and Swift. Part I of thesis by Swift. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityThe antibacterial effect of saliva has been known for many years. Still the exact nature of the antagonistic action of saliva upon bacteria is as yet unsettled. Most workers agree, however, that the salivary bacterial inhibitory action is brought about in at least six ways: The first antibacterial effect is changes in pH, which affect the growth of oral organisms. Furthermore, this change in pH is dependent on diet and on the type of organisms in the oral cavity. The second is the mechanical factors involved, for saliva not only flushes bacteria from the mouth, but dilutes the number of organisms as well. The third is the antibacterial action of the cellular components in saliva. The leukocytes in saliva have a phagocytic action, and the non-phagocytic epithelial cells slough off in sheets, carrying with them thousands of organisms which have lodged in the partially turned edges of the necrotic cells . The fourth antibacterial action is ascribed to the presence of immune bodies in the saliva which lyse or agglutinate the oral bacteria. The fifth is the presence of oral bacteria which are antagonistic to new invaders. And the sixth is the presence of enzymes that lyse some oral bacteria or alter their cell membranes thereby inhibiting further growth. In recent years a great deal of investigation has been made to ascribe the enzymatic effect as the chief antibacterial agent in saliva; however, contradictory work has been done to try to attribute the chief antibacterial action of salivary cocci. Indeed the antibacterial effect of saliva is not always present, for the bacteriostatic effect of saliva is variable from day to day and from individual to individual. The only way of reducing the number of oral bacteria is to add to the saliva an antibiotic. Tyrothricin was used. In an attempt to delineate the range of concentration of tyrothricin per ml. effective against the New York 5 strain of Streptococcus pryogenes in saliva, this experiment was carried out. It was molded after the unpublished work of Belding concerning the effect of tyrothricin on the Oxford Strain of Staphylococcus aureus in saliva. The required inoculum of approximately one million organisms per ml was obtained by growing cultures of the streptococci under uniform conditions and setting up a table of the absorbances and viable cell counts, from which dilution factors for further cultures could be estimated. Controls were set up for determining possible inhibition of tyrothricin and/or test organisms by the various diluting fluids including saliva. Final concentrations per ml of 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 µg of tyrothricin integrated with saliva and an approximated number of streptococci were plated out after 30 and 60 minutes exposure periods and were counted after 24 and 48 hours of incubation at 37°C. Whereas 1 µg per ml of tyrothricin reduced markedly the number of streptococci suspended in water during a 30 minute exposure period and 10 µg per ml, under similar conditions, caused complete inhibition, 10 µg per ml of the antibiotic was ineffective against this test organism suspended in saliva during a 30 minute exposure period but caused about an 80 per cent reduction in viable organisms during 60 minutes exposure. The length of the exposure period necessary for effective inhibition varied inversely with the concentration of tyrothricin per ml, 100 µg per ml causing a 98 per cent reduction of viable organisms during an exposure period of 1 minute. For the 30 minute exposure period, the quantity of tyrothricin effective against this strain of streptococci mixed in saliva would fall in the 10 µg - 25 µg per ml range and for shorter exposure periods, the concentration per ml would have to be greater. Cultures completely negative during 24 hours incubation at 37°C, showed a typical growth during 48 hours. This is considered indicative of the bacteriostatic action of tyrothricin which, prolonged, resulted in the death of large numbers of the streptococci. The results which were obtained in these experiments serve chiefly to point out the way for further work and to form a basis for the general conclusions listed below: 1. The action of tyrothricin on bacteria is inhibited by saliva to a large degree. 2. The minimal amounts of tyrothricin necessary to produce complete inhibition of growth of Streptococcus pyogenes in saliva is between 25 and 50 µg per ml acting for 30 minutes. 3. There is an effective reduction of Streptococcus pyogenes in saliva by concentrations of tyrothricin between 10 and 25 µg per ml acting for 30 minutes. 4. Tyrothricin acts immediately upon contact with Streptococcus pyogenes. 5. The action of tyrothricin on Streptococcus pyogenes in saliva is apparently bacteriostatic and not of a permanent nature as manifested by growth of atypical colonies during 48 hours incubation. 6. Tyrothricin above a concentration of 50 µg per ml had a definite reducing effect on the bacterial population of this saliva. 7. Saliva also has a bactericidal or bacteriostatic (or both) action against Streptococcus pyogenes