Small but long koch fractal monopole

A small but long wire fractal antenna based on the Koch curve is presented. Experimental and numerical results show that the antenna improves the features of a common linear monopole. The radiation resistance is increased and the Q is reduced at each fractal iteration, approaching the fundamental limit on small antennas.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Evaluation of strengthening techniques of traditional masonry buildings: case study of a four-building aggregate

Increasing appraisal of the durability, conservation state, and changeable use and function of old buildings in urban centers relies a great deal on the structural safety evaluation of vertical load capacity and the ability to resist horizontal forces. The need to assess seismic vulnerability, particularly of traditional masonry buildings, is a key issue. Evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of old buildings is essential in the definition of strengthening needs and minimization of damage from seismic actions in the safeguarding of built heritage. A three-dimensional model was developed for an aggregate of four traditional masonry buildings located in the old city center of Coimbra, in Portugal. The finite element modeling of these buildings has aimed to identify structural fragility, understand the damages detected, and evaluate the global structural safety of these types of buildings. The primary results obtained in this case study helped to interpret the structural damage and stress distribution, and verified global stability and its consequences. Different strengthening techniques to improve the global behavior of these buildings were modeled and analyzed. A comparison of the efficiencies of strengthening strategies is also discussed. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000164. (C) 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers

Research Notes : Reaction of soybean c ultivars to Temik (aldicarb) and inheritance of the reaction

Temik (aldicarb) is a systemic insecticide not connnonly used in soybeans. Soybean researchers in general have problems to control spider mites in greenhouses. Temik proved to be an excellent product to control these pests

The Influence of Changing Hours of Work on Women’s Life-Satisfaction

This paper asks whether moving to part-time work makes women happy. Previous research on labour supply has assumed that as workers freely choose their optimal working hours on the basis of their innate preferences and the hourly wage rate, outcome reflects preference. This paper tests this assumption by measuring the impact of changes in working-hours on life satisfaction in two countries (the UK and Germany using the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey). We find decreases in working-hours bring about positive and significant improvement on well-being for women

Intergenerational linkages in consumption patterns and the geographical distribution of surnames

We specially thank Luis Ubeda for his very useful suggestions and comments. We also thank Klaus Desmet, Jaime Kahhat, Javier Ruiz-Castillo, Christian Schultz and two anonymous refereesThis paper attempts to detect the existence of links in consumption patterns between generations. Preferences over consumption goods may be determined by the preferences of parents and/or by preferences arising from the environment. We propose an indirect methodology to overcome the lack of data on consumption choices of dynasties, i.e., parents and their adult offspring. This new approach is based on the analysis of the correlation between the geographical distributions of surnames and consumption choices.We show that there is no signifi cant intergenerational link on consumption patterns for non food goods. Our results also suggest that there is a link between parents' and children's preferences over food itemsAuthors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish MEC through grants ECO2008-05721, ECO2011-29751, ECO 2010-19596 and ECO2010-19830. Romeu also acknowledges financial support from Fundación SENECA 11998Publicad

Adjuvants : an essential component of neisseria vaccines

Adjuvants may be classified into delivery systems and immune potentiator or modulator molecules based on their mechanism of action. Neisseria vaccines containing traditional adjuvants such as aluminium salts have existed for long time, but meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups, particularly serogroup B, continues to be a global health problem. Novel strategies have applied in silico and recombinant technologies to develop "universal" antigens (e.g. proteins, peptides and plasmid DNA) for vaccines, but these antigens have been shown to be poorly immunogenic even when alum adjuvanted, implying a need for better vaccine design. In this work we review the use of natural, detoxified, or synthetic molecules in combination with antigens to activate the innate immune system and to modulate the adaptive immune responses. In the main, antigenic and imune potentiator signals are delivered using nano-, micro-particles, alum, or emulsions. The importance of interaction between adjuvants and antigens to activate and target dendritic cells, the bridge between the innate and adaptive immune systems, will be discussed. In addition, nasal vaccine strategies based on the development of mucosal adjuvants and Neisseria derivatives to eliminate the pathogen at the site of infection provide promising adjuvants effective not only against respiratory pathogens, but also against pathogens responsible for enteric and sexually transmitted diseases

Research Notes : Calico mosaic of soybeans: Sources of resistance and inheritance of reaction

Calico mosaic of soybean is caused by the alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) (Almeida et al., 1981). Soybean plants infected with AMV were first reported in the USA by Allington et al. (1969), in soybean fields close to alfalfa fields. The presence of AMV in Brazil was reported by Costa et al. (1980), who demonstrated in their study that soybean was a good differential host for the virus