Relationship between fructusamine, glucose, total protein, and albumin concentrations of serum in late pregnancy and early lactation of dairy Saanen goat

The changes in serum fructosamine concentration of dairy Saanen goats during late pregnancy and early lactation and its relationship to serum glucose, total protein, and albumin concentrations was investigated. Eleven Saanen goats were selected for the study. Blood samples were collected by the jugular vein in 30, 15 and 7 days before the expected time of parturition (D-30, D-15, and D-7, respectively) and also 12 hours and 3, 7, 13, and 42 days post-partum (H+12, D+3, D+7, D+13, and D+42, respectively). The serum concentrations of fructosamine, glucose, albumin, and total protein were measured. The maximum concentration of fructosamine was at 12 hours post-partum and decreased thereafter. Serum concentration of glucose significantly increased from D-15 up to 12 hours post-partum and then decreased and stayed at the same level. The serum concentrations of albumin and total protein significantly increased during post-partum period. There were significant correlations between fructosamine and glucose concentrations at post-partum period and overall time of the study. Linear regression analysis between each sampling amount of glucose and three consecutive fructosamine concentrations revealed significant positive correlation between glucose of each sampling time with the fructosamine of first sampling time thereafter. According to the correlation between glucose and fructosamine amounts during the study, especially post-partum period in Saanen goat, fructosamine measurement could be used as a useful indicator of energy economy and probably stress in Sannen goat; but controversy between reports in ruminants needs further studies for better understanding of fructosamine as energy biomarker in ruminants

Upravljanje vjetroagregatom otporno na oštećenja kaveza asinkronog generatora

Wind turbines are usually installed on remote locations and in order to increase their economic competence malfunctions should be reduced and prevented. Faults of wind turbine generator electromechanical parts are common and very expensive. This paper proposes a fault-tolerant control strategy for variable-speed variable-pitch wind turbines in case of identified and characterised squirrel-cage generator rotor bar defect. An upgrade of the torque control loop with flux-angle-based torque modulation is proposed. In order to avoid or to postpone generator cage defects, usage of pitch controller in the low wind speed region is introduced. Presented fault-tolerant control strategy is developed taking into account its modular implementation and installation in available control systems of existing wind turbines to extend their life cycle and energy production. Practical implementation aspects such as estimation of variables used in control and estimate errors are considered and respected in operation, as well as fault-induced asymmetries. Simulation results for the case of a megawatt class wind turbine and the identified rotor bar fault are presented.Vjetroagregati se obično postavljaju na udaljene, nepristupačne lokacije te je potrebno spriječiti nastanak kvarova da bi se povećala njihova ekonomska konkurentnost. Kvarovi elektromehaničkih dijelova generatora vjetroagregata česti su i vrlo skupi. U ovom radu predstavljen je koncept upravljanja vjetroagregatima s promjenjivom brzinom vrtnje i zakretom lopatica za slučaj identificiranog i okarakteriziranog oštećenja kaveza asinkronog generatora. Predložena je nadogradnja na postojeći algoritam upravljanja momentom zasnovana na njegovoj modulaciji s obzirom na položaj magnetskog toka generatora. Da bi se izbjeglo ili usporilo širenje napuknuća kaveza generatora, predložena je primjena regulacijskog kruga za zakret lopatica i u režimu rada vjetroagregata ispod nazivne brzine vrtnje. Predstavljena strategija upravljanja razvijena je uvažavajući mogućnost modularnog nadovezivanja na postojeće metode upravljanja već postavljenih vjetroagregata s ciljem produženja njihova životnog vijeka i povećanja proizvodnje energije. Razmatrani su i uvaženi aspekti vezani uz praktičnu izvedbu, kao što je estimacija varijabli korištenih u upravljačkom algoritmu i pripadajuće pogreške estimata, kao i nesimetrije uzrokovane nastankom kvara. U radu su dani simulacijski rezultati za slučaj vjetroagregata iz megavatne klase s dijagnosticiranim napuknućem kaveza rotora

Searches for Ultra-High-Energy Photons at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory, being the largest air-shower experiment in the world, offers an unprecedented exposure to neutral particles at the highest energies. Since the start of data taking more than 18 years ago, various searches for ultra-high-energy (UHE, $E\gtrsim10^{17}\,\text{eV}$) photons have been performed: either for a diffuse flux of UHE photons, for point sources of UHE photons or for UHE photons associated with transient events like gravitational wave events. In the present paper, we summarize these searches and review the current results obtained using the wealth of data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Review article accepted for publication in Universe (special issue on ultra-high energy photons

A Catalog of the Highest-energy Cosmic Rays Recorded during Phase I of Operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory

A catalog containing details of the highest-energy cosmic rays recorded through the detection of extensive air-showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory is presented with the aim of opening the data to detailed examination. Descriptions of the 100 showers created by the highest-energy particles recorded between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2020 are given for cosmic rays that have energies in the range 78 EeV to 166 EeV. Details are also given of a further nine very-energetic events that have been used in the calibration procedure adopted to determine the energy of each primary. A sky plot of the arrival directions of the most energetic particles is shown. No interpretations of the data are offered

Constraining the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays across and above the ankle with the spectrum and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory

In this work we present the interpretation of the energy spectrum and mass composition data as measured by the Pierre Auger Collaboration above $6 \times 10^{17}$ eV. We use an astrophysical model with two extragalactic source populations to model the hardening of the cosmic-ray flux at around $5\times 10^{18}$ eV (the so-called "ankle" feature) as a transition between these two components. We find our data to be well reproduced if sources above the ankle emit a mixed composition with a hard spectrum and a low rigidity cutoff. The component below the ankle is required to have a very soft spectrum and a mix of protons and intermediate-mass nuclei. The origin of this intermediate-mass component is not well constrained and it could originate from either Galactic or extragalactic sources. To the aim of evaluating our capability to constrain astrophysical models, we discuss the impact on the fit results of the main experimental systematic uncertainties and of the assumptions about quantities affecting the air shower development as well as the propagation and redshift distribution of injected ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs).Comment: Submitted to JCA

Constraining models for the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with a novel combined analysis of arrival directions, spectrum, and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The combined fit of the measured energy spectrum and shower maximum depth distributions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is known to constrain the parameters of astrophysical models with homogeneous source distributions. Studies of the distribution of the cosmic-ray arrival directions show a better agreement with models in which a fraction of the flux is non-isotropic and associated with the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A or with catalogs such as that of starburst galaxies. Here, we present a novel combination of both analyses by a simultaneous fit of arrival directions, energy spectrum, and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The model takes into account a rigidity-dependent magnetic field blurring and an energy-dependent evolution of the catalog contribution shaped by interactions during propagation. We find that a model containing a flux contribution from the starburst galaxy catalog of around 20% at 40 EeV with a magnetic field blurring of around 20° for a rigidity of 10 EV provides a fair simultaneous description of all three observables. The starburst galaxy model is favored with a significance of 4.5σ (considering experimental systematic effects) compared to a reference model with only homogeneously distributed background sources. By investigating a scenario with Centaurus A as a single source in combination with the homogeneous background, we confirm that this region of the sky provides the dominant contribution to the observed anisotropy signal. Models containing a catalog of jetted active galactic nuclei whose flux scales with the γ-ray emission are, however, disfavored as they cannot adequately describe the measured arrival directions

Constraining the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays across and above the ankle with the spectrum and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory

In this work we present the interpretation of the energy spectrum and mass composition data as measured by the Pierre Auger Collaboration above 6 × 1017 eV. We use an astrophysical model with two extragalactic source populations to model the hardening of the cosmic-ray flux at around 5 × 1018 eV (the so-called "ankle"feature) as a transition between these two components. We find our data to be well reproduced if sources above the ankle emit a mixed composition with a hard spectrum and a low rigidity cutoff. The component below the ankle is required to have a very soft spectrum and a mix of protons and intermediate-mass nuclei. The origin of this intermediate-mass component is not well constrained and it could originate from either Galactic or extragalactic sources. To the aim of evaluating our capability to constrain astrophysical models, we discuss the impact on the fit results of the main experimental systematic uncertainties and of the assumptions about quantities affecting the air shower development as well as the propagation and redshift distribution of injected ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs)

A Catalog of the Highest-energy Cosmic Rays Recorded during Phase I of Operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory

A catalog containing details of the highest-energy cosmic rays recorded through the detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory is presented with the aim of opening the data to detailed examination. Descriptions of the 100 showers created by the highest-energy particles recorded between 2004 January 1 and 2020 December 31 are given for cosmic rays that have energies in the range 78–166 EeV. Details are also given on a further nine very energetic events that have been used in the calibration procedure adopted to determine the energy of each primary. A sky plot of the arrival directions of the most energetic particles is shown. No interpretations of the data are offered