Modern microwave methods in solid state inorganic materials chemistry: from fundamentals to manufacturing

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Antibiotic use and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a population-based case–control study

Antibiotic use in 759 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients and 589 controls was compared. Neither total antibiotic use (odds ratio=0.7, 95% confidence interval=0.5–1.2), nor antibiotic use by site, was associated with total NHL, or NHL subtypes. There were no trends with frequency or age at first use (P trend=0.23 and 0.26, respectively)

Integrated motor drives: state of the art and future trends

With increased need for high power density, high efficiency and high temperature capabilities in Aerospace and Automotive applications, Integrated Motor Drives (IMD) offers a potential solution. However, close physical integration of the converter and the machine may also lead to an increase in components temperature. This requires careful mechanical, structural and thermal analysis; and design of the IMD system. This paper reviews existing IMD technologies and their thermal effects on the IMD system. The effects of the power electronics (PE) position on the IMD system and its respective thermal management concepts are also investigated. The challenges faced in designing and manufacturing of an IMD along with the mechanical and structural impacts of close physical integration is also discussed and potential solutions are provided. Potential converter topologies for an IMD like the Matrix converter, 2-level Bridge, 3-level NPC and Multiphase full bridge converters are also reviewed. Wide band gap devices like SiC and GaN and their packaging in power modules for IMDs are also discussed. Power modules components and packaging technologies are also presented

Commercial Rabbit Raising

Excerpts from the report Introduction: The recommendations in this bulletin are based largely on studies at the U.S. Rabbit Experiment Station formerly maintained at Fontana, Calif., by the Sheep and Fur Animal Research Branch, Animal Science Research Division, Agricultural Research Service. At this station, improved methods were developed for producing rabbits for meat, fur, and wool of fine quality, for insuring sanitary surroundings, and for preventing outbreaks of parasitic and other diseases. This handbook is being issued to help county agricultural agents, State colleges of agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture answer the many thousands of requests received each year from commercial and professional rabbit producers for information about rabbits

Applied machine vision of plants: a review with implications for field deployment in automated farming operations

Automated visual assessment of plant condition, specifically foliage wilting, reflectance and growth parameters, using machine vision has potential use as input for real-time variable-rate irrigation and fertigation systems in precision agriculture. This paper reviews the research literature for both outdoor and indoor applications of machine vision of plants, which reveals that different environments necessitate varying levels of complexity in both apparatus and nature of plant measurement which can be achieved. Deployment of systems to the field environment in precision agriculture applications presents the challenge of overcoming image variation caused by the diurnal and seasonal variation of sunlight. From the literature reviewed, it is argued that augmenting a monocular RGB vision system with additional sensing techniques potentially reduces image analysis complexity while enhancing system robustness to environmental variables. Therefore, machine vision systems with a foundation in optical and lighting design may potentially expedite the transition from laboratory and research prototype to robust field tool