Increasing wheat yields through breeding

With the current \u27cost price\u27 sueeze facing Australia\u27s farmers, the development of new higher yielding varieties is moe important that ever. By growing higher yielding varieties, farmers can increase their returns at virtuakky no additional cost: for example a wheat variety that produces 5 per cent extra yield from 1 t/ha crop returns about an additional $8/ha. Farmers can therefore increase their production by growing improved varieties

Increasing protein content of wheat by breeding

The most efficient means of increasing protein content of WesternAustralian wheat is by breeding new varieties with higher inherent protein in their grain. But is this possible without sacrificing yeild or other desirable characteristics

The force method to calculate stress intensity factors for arbitrary meshes

The force method is a simple and accurate technique to obtain the stress intensity factors (SIF) for both modes I, II and also mixed I+II modes of fracture. The method uses the summation of internal nodal forces in the vicinity of the crack tip to compute SIFs. Recently, de Morais1 showed that the force method is able to yield accurate SIF values from FE models constructed with regular meshes of linear elements. In this paper, the force method is applied successfully to general finite element meshes, in such a way that it can be used on crack propagation algorithms with arbitrary crack paths

Heterologously-expressed and Liposome-reconstituted Human Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 4 Channel (TRPM4) is a Functional Tetramer

Mutation, irregular expression and sustained activation of the Transient Receptor Potential Channel, type Melastatin 4 (TRPM4), have been linked to various cardiovascular diseases. However, much remains unknown about the structure of this important ion channel. Here, we have purified a heterologously expressed TRPM4-eGFP fusion protein and investigated the oligomeric state of TRPM4-eGFP in detergent micelles using crosslinking, native gel electrophoresis, multi-angle laser light scattering and electron microscopy. Our data indicate that TRPM4 is tetrameric, like other TRP channels studied to date. Furthermore, the functionality of liposome reconstituted TRPM4-eGFP was examined using electrophysiology. Single-channel recordings from TRPM4-eGFP proteoliposomes showed inhibition of the channel using Flufenamic acid, a well-established inhibitor of TRPM4, suggesting that the channels are functional upon reconstitution. Our characterisation of the oligomeric structure of TRPM4 and the ability to reconstitute functional channels in liposomes should facilitate future studies into the structure, function and pharmacology of this therapeutically relevant channel

Interplay of Mott Transition and Ferromagnetism in the Orbitally Degenerate Hubbard Model

A slave boson representation for the degenerate Hubbard model is introduced. The location of the metal to insulator transition that occurs at commensurate densities is shown to depend weakly on the band degeneracy M. The relative weights of the Hubbard sub-bands depend strongly on M, as well as the magnetic properties. It is also shown that a sizable Hund's rule coupling is required in order to have a ferromagnetic instability appearing. The metal to insulator transition driven by an increase in temperature is a strong function of it.Comment: 5 pages, revtex, 5 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Resonant-Cavity-Induced Phase Locking and Voltage Steps in a Josephson Array

We describe a simple dynamical model for an underdamped Josephson junction array coupled to a resonant cavity. From numerical solutions of the model in one dimension, we find that (i) current-voltage characteristics of the array have self-induced resonant steps (SIRS), (ii) at fixed disorder and coupling strength, the array locks into a coherent, periodic state above a critical number of active Josephson junctions, and (iii) when $N_a$ active junctions are synchronized on an SIRS, the energy emitted into the resonant cavity is quadratic with $N_a$. All three features are in agreement with a recent experiment [Barbara {\it et al}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 82}, 1963 (1999)]}.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures included. Submitted to PRB Rapid Com

Rapid attribution of the August 2016 flood-inducing extreme precipitation in south Louisiana to climate change

A stationary low pressure system and elevated levels of precipitable water provided a nearly continuous source of precipitation over Louisiana, United States (US), starting around 10 August 2016. Precipitation was heaviest in the region broadly encompassing the city of Baton Rouge, with a 3-day maximum found at a station in Livingston, LA (east of Baton Rouge), from 12 to 14 August 2016 (648.3 mm, 25.5 inches). The intense precipitation was followed by inland flash flooding and river flooding and in subsequent days produced additional backwater flooding. On 16 August, Louisiana officials reported that 30 000 people had been rescued, nearly 10 600 people had slept in shelters on the night of 14 August and at least 60 600 homes had been impacted to varying degrees. As of 17 August, the floods were reported to have killed at least 13 people. As the disaster was unfolding, the Red Cross called the flooding the worst natural disaster in the US since Super Storm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on 24 October 2012. Before the floodwaters had receded, the media began questioning whether this extreme event was caused by anthropogenic climate change. To provide the necessary analysis to understand the potential role of anthropogenic climate change, a rapid attribution analysis was launched in real time using the best readily available observational data and high-resolution global climate model simulations. The objective of this study is to show the possibility of performing rapid attribution studies when both observational and model data and analysis methods are readily available upon the start. It is the authors' aspiration that the results be used to guide further studies of the devastating precipitation and flooding event. Here, we present a first estimate of how anthropogenic climate change has affected the likelihood of a comparable extreme precipitation event in the central US Gulf Coast. While the flooding event of interest triggering this study occurred in south Louisiana, for the purposes of our analysis, we have defined an extreme precipitation event by taking the spatial maximum of annual 3-day inland maximum precipitation over the region of 29–31° N, 85–95° W, which we refer to as the central US Gulf Coast. Using observational data, we find that the observed local return time of the 12–14 August precipitation event in 2016 is about 550 years (95 % confidence interval (CI): 450–1450). The probability for an event like this to happen anywhere in the region is presently 1 in 30 years (CI 11–110). We estimate that these probabilities and the intensity of extreme precipitation events of this return time have increased since 1900. A central US Gulf Coast extreme precipitation event has effectively become more likely in 2016 than it was in 1900. The global climate models tell a similar story; in the most accurate analyses, the regional probability of 3-day extreme precipitation increases by more than a factor of 1.4 due to anthropogenic climate change. The magnitude of the shift in probabilities is greater in the 25 km (higher-resolution) climate model than in the 50 km model. The evidence for a relation to El Niño half a year earlier is equivocal, with some analyses showing a positive connection and others none

Dynamics of a Josephson Array in a Resonant Cavity

We derive dynamical equations for a Josephson array coupled to a resonant cavity by applying the Heisenberg equations of motion to a model Hamiltonian described by us earlier [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 63}, 144522 (2001); Phys. Rev. B {\bf 64}, 179902 (E)]. By means of a canonical transformation, we also show that, in the absence of an applied current and dissipation, our model reduces to one described by Shnirman {\it et al} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 79}, 2371 (1997)] for coupled qubits, and that it corresponds to a capacitive coupling between the array and the cavity mode. From extensive numerical solutions of the model in one dimension, we find that the array locks into a coherent, periodic state above a critical number of active junctions, that the current-voltage characteristics of the array have self-induced resonant steps (SIRS's), that when $N_a$ active junctions are synchronized on a SIRS, the energy emitted into the resonant cavity is quadratic in $N_a$, and that when a fixed number of junctions is biased on a SIRS, the energy is linear in the input power. All these results are in agreement with recent experiments. By choosing the initial conditions carefully, we can drive the array into any of a variety of different integer SIRS's. We tentatively identify terms in the equations of motion which give rise to both the SIRS's and the coherence threshold. We also find higher-order integer SIRS's and fractional SIRS's in some simulations. We conclude that a resonant cavity can produce threshold behavior and SIRS's even in a one-dimensional array with appropriate experimental parameters, and that the experimental data, including the coherent emission, can be understood from classical equations of motion.Comment: 15 pages, 10 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Redesign of plates by large admissible perturbations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76482/1/AIAA-12089-360.pd