Wireless communication system for data transfer and wireless power transmission

Powering wireless communication devices remotely is necessary when a user of the communication device has limited access to battery power or the resources necessary to constantly replace the batteries. This research is focused on remotely charging a communication device by using the power of the received signals at each antenna to dictate whether the system operates as a data transfer communication system or rectification device. The proposed communication system functions as a rectenna when the difference in power of the received signals is appreciable or as data transfer system when the received power is negligible. The WRCS system is also capable of harvesting energy that impinges the communication system. The size of the wireless communication system is designed based on the physical dimensions of the rectifier, the rectifiers impedance, as well as the operating frequency of the data transfer system. The overall objective is to maximize the power transferred to the system for storage while still being to operate effectively using the corresponding modulation system.\u2

Method of Attaching Strain Gauges to Various Materials

A method is provided to bond strain gauges to various materials. First, a tape with an adhesive backing is placed across the inside of the fixture frame. The strain gauge is flatly placed against the adhesive backing and coated with a thin, uniform layer of adhesive. The tape is then removed from the fixture frame and placed, strain gauge side down, on the material to be tested. If the material is a high reluctance material, the induction heating source is placed on the tape. If the material is a low reluctance material, a plate with a ferric side and a rubber side is placed, ferric side down, onto the tape. The induction heating source is then placed upon the rubber side. If the material is an insulator material, a ferric plate is placed on the tape. The induction heating source is then placed on the ferric plate. The inductive heating source then generates frequenty from 60 to 70 kilocycles to inductively heat either low reluctance material, ferric side, of ferric plate and provides incidental pressure of approximately five pounds per square inch to the tape for two minutes, thoroughly curing the adhesive. The induction heating source, and, if necessary, the plate or ferric plate, are then removed from the tape after one minute. The tape is then removed from the bonded strain gauge

Detection of abnormal recordings in Irish milk recorded data

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to detect abnormal recordings of milk yield, fat concentration and protein concentration in Irish milk-recorded data. The data consisted of 14,956 records from both commercial and experimental herds with 92% of the recordings recorded manually and the remainder recorded electronically. The method used in this paper was a modified version of the method employed by the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory in Maryland, USA and conformed with the guidelines outlined by the International Committee of Animal Recording. The results illustrate the effectiveness of detecting abnormal recordings in Irish milk records. The method described in this paper, defines the upper and lower limits for each production trait and these limits along with the slope parameters were used to determine if a recording was abnormal or not. Three percent of milk yield recordings, 5% of fat concentration recordings and less than 1% of protein concentration recordings were found to be abnormal. The proportion of values declared abnormal in manually recorded and electronically recorded data were examined and found to be significantly different for fat concentration

A Model for the Pastor Search Process for Free Will Baptist Churches

This project sought to help the pastor shortage in the National Association of Free Will Baptists by creating and implementing a tool to assist churches in their search for a pastor and help pastors find a new church to serve. Each church in the association is autonomous and selects its own pastor. The tool is actually two surveys that mirror each other. The churches seeking a pastor completes the church survey. And the candidate seeking a church to pastor completes the pastor survey. The tool gives information and views of ministry roles, preferences, non-negotiables, and negotiables. It is designed to help with information like Bible translation preference, musical preference, the role of pastor, church polity, decision making processes, associational involvement, views on funding Free Will Baptist ministries, agreement on the interpretation of the Free Will Baptist Treatise, and more. After the churches and the pastoral candidates complete their portions of the tool, the responses are submitted to an independent committee that reviews the survey responses. After the review, three pastors are recommended to each church and three churches are recommended to each pastor candidate. After the recommendations, the churches are encouraged to continue with the process of choosing a pastor, but now the pastor candidates and the churches have much more information about the other

Will legislative gender quotas increase female representation in Ireland? A feminist institutionalism analysis

Informed by insights from feminist institutionalism, this article considers the effect of various aspects of the Irish political system on women’s candidate selection and election, and discusses the extent to which the new gender quota law will be facilitated by these processes. In studying Ireland the article highlights a relatively under-studied case in the comparative literature on gender and politics. It also contributes to the burgeoning field of feminist institutionalism research by examining the mechanisms surrounding female candidate recruitment, selection and election to assess the likely impact of gender quotas on women’s political representation in Ireland. Taking Ireland’s relatively unique PR-STV electoral system as the primary institutional context, we argue that the electoral system interacts with cultural factors to determine female candidacy opportunities and suggest that the biggest challenge to the effective implementation of legislative gender quotas in Ireland are informal mechanisms such as masculinised party cultures, societal gendered legacies and pre-existing informal rules surrounding incumbency and localism. However, we advise if party leaders and selectorates are willing to fully embrace gender quotas and integrate them into their candidate nomination processes, there is evidence to suggest that this will have a positive effect on increasing women’s political representation in Ireland

Airborne Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from a Concentrated Swine Feeding Operation

The use of nontherapeutic levels of antibiotics in swine production can select for antibiotic resistance in commensal and pathogenic bacteria in swine. As a result, retail pork products, as well as surface and groundwaters contaminated with swine waste, have been shown to be sources of human exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, it is unclear whether the air within swine operations also serves as a source of exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. To investigate this issue, we sampled the air within a concentrated swine feeding operation with an all-glass impinger. Samples were analyzed using a method for the isolation of Enterococcus. A total of 137 presumptive Enterococcus isolates were identified to species level using standard biochemical tests and analyzed for resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin, virginiamycin, tetracycline, and vancomycin using the agar dilution method. Thirty-four percent of the isolates were confirmed as Enterococcus, 32% were identified as coagulase-negative staphylococci, and 33% were identified as viridans group streptococci. Regardless of bacterial species, 98% of the isolates expressed high-level resistance to at least two antibiotics commonly used in swine production. None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic that has never been approved for use in livestock in the United States. In conclusion, high-level multidrug-resistant Enterococcus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and viridans group streptococci were detected in the air of a concentrated swine feeding operation. These findings suggest that the inhalation of air from these facilities may serve as an exposure pathway for the transfer of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens from swine to humans

The crux of the matter: did the ABC's Catalyst program change statin use in Australia?

This article argues that the ABC’s Catalyst program criticising statins affected people’s willingness to take these drugs. Abstract Objectives: To examine the impact of a two-part special edition of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation\u27s science journalism program Catalyst (titled Heart of the matter), aired in October 2013, that was critical of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (“statins”). Design, setting and participants: Population-based interrupted time-series analysis of a 10% sample of Australian long-term concessional beneficiaries who were dispensed statins under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (about 51% of all people who were dispensed a statin between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2014); dispensing of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) was used as a comparator. Main outcome measures: Change in weekly dispensings and discontinuation of use of statins and PPIs, adjusting for seasonal and long-term trends, overall and (for statins only) stratified by the use of cardiovascular and diabetes medicines. Results: In our sample, 191 833 people were dispensed an average of 26 946 statins weekly. Following the Catalyst program, there was a 2.60% (95% CI, 1.40%–3.77%; P < 0.001) reduction in statin dispensing, equivalent to 14 005 fewer dispensings Australia-wide every week. Dispensing decreased by 6.03% (95% CI, 3.73%–8.28%; P < 0.001) for people not dispensed other cardiovascular and diabetes medicines and 1.94% (0.42%–3.45%; P = 0.01) for those dispensed diabetes medicines. In the week the Catalyst program aired, there was a 28.8% (95% CI, 15.4%–43.7%; P < 0.001) increase in discontinuation of statin use, which decayed by 9% per week. An estimated 28 784 additional Australians ceased statin treatment. Discontinuation occurred regardless of the use of other cardiovascular and diabetes medicines. There were no significant changes in PPI use after the Catalyst program. Conclusions: Following airing of the Catalyst program, there was a temporary increase in discontinuation and a sustained decrease in overall statin dispensing. Up until 30 June 2014, there were 504 180 fewer dispensings of statins, and we estimate this to have affected 60 897 people

Is local office a springboard for women to Dáil Éireann?

Previous research has found the single transferable vote electoral system is relatively friendly to women candidates. Despite this, female representation in the Irish Parliament remains substantially lower than in most other democracies. Drawing on pipeline theory and localism, we assess the impact of local office-holding on the success of male and female major party candidates in the 2007 and 2011 Irish general elections. We find previous experience in local office is a key springboard to higher office for men and women, and when women serve in local government the likelihood of election increases significantly