Infrared thermograms applied to near-field testing

Electromagnetic fields close to radiant structures can be measured quickly using an infrared camera. Examples of induced fields by wire antennas over a detection screen at distances shorter than one wavelength are presented. The measured thermograms agree with simulations that take into account heat propagation on the detection screenPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An economic evaluation of the osmoregulation gene technology to the Australian wheat industry

Episodes of rainfall irregularity and soil moisture deficit have focused attention on the widespread limitation of water supply on winter cereal crop production in Australia. This has motivated a number of efforts at breeding for improved drought tolerance. A recent example involves a cellular adaptation which mitigates water loss through solute accumulation (osmoregulation or osmotic adjustment). An assessment of the performance of osmoregulation yield response in the presence of climate change found that wheat cultivars with this gene are unlikely to be adversely affected by hotter and drier conditions across the wheat belt. The results of an economic evaluation of potential future innovations (wheat cultivars) from the osmoregulation gene technology are that for Australia the net present value could range from $388 million to$3.6 billion, depending on the adoption of wheat cultivars with the gene. Associated benefit-cost ratios ranged from 43:1 to 390:1, and internal rates of return were 16% to 27%. Even under pessimistic assumptions the returns are quite healthy. For NSW-only adoption, internal rates of return ranged from 10% to 22%. This osmoregulation technology has the potential for inclusion in wheat cultivars bred for other purposes, and for other crops. As such it has implications for agricultural plant breeders and farmers both in Australia and overseas, and there are substantial potential spillover benefits.economic evaluation, wheat breeding, osmoregulation, Crop Production/Industries, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Active zone self-similarity of fractal sierpinski antenna verified using infra-red thermograms

The surface current distribution of a Sierpinski fractal antenna shows a self-similar behaviour determined by the self-similar properties of its geometry. The application of infra-red thermography to electromagnetic near field detection allows the experimental verification of the active region scaling of a fractal antenna operating at different bands.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Non-global logarithms in inter-jet energy flow with kt clustering requirement

Recent work in inter-jet energy flow has identified a class of leading logarithms previously not considered in the literature. These so-called non-global logarithms have been shown to have significant numerical impact on gaps-between-jets calculations at the energies of current particle colliders. Here we calculate, at fixed order and to all orders, the effect of applying clustering to the gluonic final state responsible for these logarithms for a trivial colour flow 2 jet system. Such a clustering algorithm has already been used for experimental measurements at HERA. We find that the impact of the non-global logarithms is reduced, but not removed, when clustering is demanded, a result which is of considerable interest for energy flow observable calculations.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Methylmercury Production in Denitrifying Woodchip Bioreactors

Several operational woodchip bioreactors were installed at the outlets of agricultural drainage systems located in east central Illinois. The potential for monomethylmercury (MMHg) production and export in these bioreactors was investigated from summer 2008 to summer 2010. The basic approach was to compare the chemistry of simultaneously-collected bioreactor inlet and outlet water samples in order to assess the extent of nitrate depletion, consumption of sulfate, and production of MMHg, plus other low-charge mercury species (LCHg). In making such a comparison, we implicitly assume that the reactor is near steady state, which is a reasonable approximation given hydraulic residence times on the order of hours. All mercury (Hg) speciation measurements were made using a first-generation mercury thiourea complex ion chromatography system for Hg speciation analysis, which reliably separates MMHg and HgII (mercuric mercury), but combines MMHg and a newly-discovered, unidentified Hg species of low charge (LCHg). Due to this analytical artifact, the results reported here constitute an upper bound on true Hg methylation. In no season was MMHg ever detected in inlet samples at concentrations at much above the detection limit of ~0.1 ng/L. However, levels of MMHg+LCHg over 2 ng/L were observed in the outlets during warm seasons when nitrate had become depleted within the bioreactor. Sulfate depletion was also observed in most samples with elevated [MMHg+LCHg]. The combination of sulfate depletion and MMHg production is consistent with nitrate inhibition of iron and sulfate reduction and with MMHg concentrations observed in other highly anaerobic environments, e.g., lake hypolimnia and wetland porewaters. The maximum [MMHg+LCHg] observed in any given bioreactor followed an inverse function of the bioreactor loading density, i.e., the ratio of the area drained to the area of the bioreactor pit. The function has a form similar to that observed for bioreactor denitrification efficacy and suggests that optimal bioreactor designs that permit substantial denitrification while minimizing Hg methylation are feasible. Finally, extremely high MMHg+LCHg levels were observed when stagnant water conditions occurred within the bioreactors. Thus, it is recommended that bioreactors not be built with bottom depresssional areas where stagnant water can reside, in order to avoid developing anoxic conditions where methylation occurs. For the same reasons, bioreactors should not be used simultaneously with controlled drainage (water table management) if restricting the drainage results in keeping the bioreactors flooded for long periods of time.Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (Grant No. HWR09215)Ope

Thermodynamics of the ATPase Cycle of GlcV, the Nucleotide-Binding Domain of the Glucose ABC Transporter of Sulfolobus solfataricus

ATP-binding cassette transporters drive the transport of substrates across the membrane by the hydrolysis of ATP. They typically have a conserved domain structure with two membrane-spanning domains that form the transport channel and two cytosolic nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) that energize the transport reaction. Binding of ATP to the NBD monomer results in formation of a NBD dimer. Hydrolysis of the ATP drives the dissociation of the dimer. The thermodynamics of distinct steps in the ATPase cycle of GlcV, the NBD of the glucose ABC transporter of the extreme thermoacidophile Sulfolobus solfataricus, were studied by isothermal titration calorimetry using the wild-type protein and two mutants, which are arrested at different steps in the ATP hydrolytic cycle. The G144A mutant is unable to dimerize, while the E166A mutant is defective in dimer dissociation. The ATP, ADP, and AMP-PNP binding affinities, stoichiometries, and enthalpies of binding were determined at different temperatures. From these data, the thermodynamic parameters of nucleotide binding, NBD dimerization, and ATP hydrolysis were calculated. The data demonstrate that the ATP hydrolysis cycle of isolated NBDs consists of consecutive steps where only the final step of ADP release is energetically unfavorable.

Boosting the Performance of PC-based Software Routers with FPGA-enhanced Network Interface Cards

The research community is devoting increasing attention to software routers based on off-the-shelf hardware and open-source operating systems running on the personalcomputer (PC) architecture. Today's high-end PCs are equipped with peripheral component interconnect (PCI) shared buses enabling them to easily fit into the multi-gigabit-per-second routing segment, for a price much lower than that of commercial routers. However, commercially-available PC network interface cards (NICs) lack programmability, and require not only packets to cross the PCI bus twice, but also to be processed in software by the operating system, strongly reducing the achievable forwarding rate. It is therefore interesting to explore the performance of customizable NICs based on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) logic devices we developed and assess how well they can overcome the limitations of today's commercially-available NIC

Strategic toolkits: seniority, usage and performance in the German SME machinery and equipment sector

This paper examines the strategic tool kit, from a human resource management (HRM) perspective, in terms of usage and impact. Research to date has tended to consider usage, assuming to a certain extent that knowledge and understanding of particular tools suggest that practitioners value them. The research on which this paper is based builds upon the idea that usage indicates satisfaction, but develops the usage theme to investigate which decision-makers are actually engaged in both tool appliance and the strategic process. Of particular interest to the researchers are the educational background, age and seniority of the decision-makers. In addition, potential links with HRM and organizational performance are also explored. The context of the research, the German machinery and equipment sector, provides an insight into the industry's ability to sustain growth in face of increasing international competition. The paper calls for a greater awareness, from a human resource perspective, and utilization of strategic management practice and associated decision-making aids