Isolation Enhancement for Cylindrical Structure Millimeter-Wave Repeaters

In radio frequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter wave (mmw) repeater applications, the receiver (RX) often needs to detect small power levels while simultaneously transmitting (TX) the same signal amplified significantly without distorting the incoming signal. In some applications, this can be done with time division or frequency division duplexing techniques; however, there are full duplex repeater applications that require simultaneous transmit and receive at the same time and same frequency. These full duplex systems often face the challenge of self-interference caused by the transmitter (TX to RX isolation). This thesis focuses on enhancing the isolation between two antennas on a repeater system using different impedance surfaces. These surfaces designed to suppress the electromagnetic surface waves that propagate. For this thesis, broadband, mmw repeater systems mounted on cylinders are considered. Both numerical and analytical studies are conducted as well as fabrication and measurements are performed for cylindrical repeater applications.From a literature survey, we present a general theory on the concept of surface and generalize these impedance surfaces into three types: corrugations, pin bed, and mushroom/patch structures. Uniform depth corrugations are first considered due to their simple geometry and rich history. Theoretical approaches demonstrate how these corrugations work as an impedance surface and discuss the 2:1 frequency bandwidth limitation that is fundamental to their geometry. To overcome the bandwidth limitation, other analytical techniques are considered where the corrugations are tapered in depth such that they are engineered to choke the surface currents. This technique is shown to work consistently over wide bandwidths and is implemented onto both flat and cylinder ground planes to validate these studies and techniques. Alternatively, reactive loading of the uniform depth corrugations is shown to lead to bandwidth improvement. This eventually directs the studies to the mushroom-type impedance surfaces. These types of surfaces can be easily and accurately fabricated using printed circuit boards which can be designed on conformal substrates making them an ideal candidate for cylinder platform applications. Two types of these mushroom structures are studied in depth in this thesis and both demonstrate high isolation improvement over wide bandwidths in numerical studies and measurement results

Atmospheric Acetaldehyde: Importance of Air-Sea Exchange and a Missing Source in the Remote Troposphere.

We report airborne measurements of acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) during the first and second deployments of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom). The budget of CH3CHO is examined using the Community Atmospheric Model with chemistry (CAM-chem), with a newly-developed online air-sea exchange module. The upper limit of the global ocean net emission of CH3CHO is estimated to be 34 Tg a-1 (42 Tg a-1 if considering bubble-mediated transfer), and the ocean impacts on tropospheric CH3CHO are mostly confined to the marine boundary layer. Our analysis suggests that there is an unaccounted CH3CHO source in the remote troposphere and that organic aerosols can only provide a fraction of this missing source. We propose that peroxyacetic acid (PAA) is an ideal indicator of the rapid CH3CHO production in the remote troposphere. The higher-than-expected CH3CHO measurements represent a missing sink of hydroxyl radicals (and halogen radical) in current chemistry-climate models

Crop Updates 2006 - Weeds

This session covers thirty seven papers from different authors: 1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, Alexandra Douglas, CONVENOR – WEEDS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SPRAY TECHNOLOGY 2. Meeting the variable application goals with new application technology, Thomas M. Wolf, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre 3. Spray nozzles for grass weed control, Harm van Rees, BCG (Birchip Cropping Group) 4. Boom sprayer setups – achieving coarse droplets with different operating parameters, Bill Gordon, Bill Gordon Consulting 5. Complying with product label requirements, Bill Gordon, Bill Gordon Consulting 6. IWM a proven performer over 5 years in 33 focus paddocks, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture 7. Crop topping of wild radish in lupins and barley, how long is a piece of string? Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture 8. Determining the right timing to maximise seed set control of wild radish, Aik Cheam and Siew Lee, Department of Agriculture 9. Why weed wiping varies in success rates in broadacre crops? Aik Cheam1, Katherine Hollaway2, Siew Lee1, Brad Rayner1 and John Peirce1,1Department of Agriculture, 2Department of Primary Industries, Victoria 10. Are WA growers successfully managing herbicide resistant annual ryegrass? Rick Llewellynabc, Frank D’Emdena, Mechelle Owenb and Stephen Powlesb aCRC Australian Weed Management, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia; bWA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia. cCurrent address: CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 11. Do herbicide resistant wild radish populations look different? Michael Walsh, Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia 12. Can glyphosate and paraquat annual ryegrass reduce crop topping efficacy? Emma Glasfurd, Michael Walsh and Kathryn Steadman, Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia 13. Tetraploid ryegrass for WA. Productive pasture phase AND defeating herbicide resistant ryegrass, Stephen Powlesa, David Ferrisab and Bevan Addisonc, aWA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia; bDepartment of Agriculture, and cElders Limited 14. Long-term management impact on seedbank of wild radish with multiple resistance to diflufenican and triazines, Aik Cheam, Siew Lee, Dave Nicholson and Ruben Vargas, Department of Agriculture 15. East-west crop row orientation improves wheat and barley yields, Dr Shahab Pathan, Dr Abul Hashem, Nerys Wilkins and Catherine Borger3, Department of Agriculture, 3WAHRI, The University ofWestern Australia 16. Competitiveness of different lupin cultivars with wild radish, Dr Shahab Pathan, Dr Bob French and Dr Abul Hashem, Department of Agriculture 17. Managing herbicide resistant weeds through farming systems, Kari-Lee Falconer, Martin Harries and Chris Matthews, Department of Agriculture 18. Lupins tolerate in-row herbicides well, Peter Newman and Martin Harries, Department of Agriculture 19. Summer weeds can reduce wheat grain yield and protein, Dr Abul Hashem1, Dr Shahab Pathan1 and Vikki Osten3, 1Department Agriculture, 3Senior Agronomist, CRC for Australian Weed Management, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries 20. Diuron post-emergent in lupins, the full story, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture 21. Double incorporation of trifluralin, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture 22. Herbicide tolerance of narrow leafed and yellow lupins, Harmohinder Dhammu, David Nicholson, Department of Agriculture 23. MIG narrow leaf lupin herbicide tolerance trial, Richard Quinlan, Planfarm Pty Ltd, Trials Coordinator MIG; Debbie Allen, Research Agronomist – MIG 24. Herbicide tolerance of new albus lupins, Harmohinder Dhammu, David Nicholson, Department of Agriculture 25. Field pea x herbicide tolerance, Mark Seymour and Harmohinder Dhammu, Research Officers, and Pam Burgess, Department of Agriculture 26. Faba bean variety x herbicide tolerance, Mark Seymour and Harmohinder Dhammu, Research Officers, and Pam Burgess, Department of Agriculture 27. Herbicide tolerance of new Kabili chickpeas, Harmohinder Dhammu, Owen Coppen and Chris Roberts, Department of Agriculture 28. Timing of phenoxys application in EAG Eagle Rock, Harmohinder Dhammu, David Nicholson, Department of Agriculture 29. Herbicide tolerance of new wheat varieties, Harmohinder Dhammu, David Nicholson, Department of Agriculture 30. Lathyrus sativus x herbicide tolerance, Mark Seymour, Department of Agriculture 31. Tolerance of annual pasture species to herbicides and mixtures containing diuron, Christiaan Valentine and David Ferris, Department of Agriculture 32. The impact of herbicides on pasture legume species – a summary of scientific trial results across 8 years, Christiaan Valentine and David Ferris, Department of Agriculture 33. The impact of spraytopping on pasture legume seed set, Christiaan Valentine and David Ferris, Department of Agriculture 34. Ascochyta interaction with Broadstrike in chickpeas, H.S. Dhammu1, A.K. Basandrai2,3, W.J. MacLeod1, 3 and C. Roberts1, 1Department of Agriculture, 2CSKHPAU, Dhaulakuan, Sirmour (HP), India and 3CLIMA 35. Best management practices for atrazine in broadacre crops, John Moore, Department of Agriculture, Neil Rothnie, Chemistry Centre of WA, Russell Speed, Department of Agriculture, John Simons, Department of Agriculture, and Ted Spadek, Chemistry Centre of WA 36. Biology and management of red dodder (Cuscuta planiflolia) – a new threat to the grains industry, Abul Hashem, Daya Patabendige and Chris Roberts, Department Agriculture 37. Help the wizard stop the green invaders! Michael Renton, Sally Peltzer and Art Diggle, Department of Agricultur

Financial Characteristics of Companies Audited by Large Audit Firms

Purpose “ The purpose of this paper is to examine how financial characteristics associated with the choice of a big audit firm with further investigation on the agency costs of free cash flows.Design/methodology/approach “ The sample used for this work includes industrial listed companies from Germany and France. To test our hypothesis, we used a number of logit models, extending the standard model selection audit firm, to include the variables of interest. Following previous work, our dependent dummy variable is Big4 or non-Big4.Findings “ We observed that most independent variables in the German companies show similar results to previous work, but we did not have the same results for the French industry. Moreover, our findings suggest that the total debt and dividends can be an important reason for determining the choice of a large audit firm, reducing agency costs of free cash flows.Research limitations/implications “ This study has some limitations on the measurements of the cost of the audit fees and also generates opportunities for additional searching.Originality/value “ The paper provides only one aspect to explain the relationship between the problems of agency costs of free cash flow and influence in choosing a large auditing firm, which stems from investors\u27 demand for higher quality audits

Common Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Blood Biomarker Measurements in COPD

Implementing precision medicine for complex diseases such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) will require extensive use of biomarkers and an in-depth understanding of how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental variations contribute to phenotypic diversity and disease progression. A meta-analysis from two large cohorts of current and former smokers with and without COPD [SPIROMICS (N = 750); COPDGene (N = 590)] was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with measurement of 88 blood proteins (protein quantitative trait loci; pQTLs). PQTLs consistently replicated between the two cohorts. Features of pQTLs were compared to previously reported expression QTLs (eQTLs). Inference of causal relations of pQTL genotypes, biomarker measurements, and four clinical COPD phenotypes (airflow obstruction, emphysema, exacerbation history, and chronic bronchitis) were explored using conditional independence tests. We identified 527 highly significant (p 10% of measured variation in 13 protein biomarkers, with a single SNP (rs7041; p = 10−392) explaining 71%-75% of the measured variation in vitamin D binding protein (gene = GC). Some of these pQTLs [e.g., pQTLs for VDBP, sRAGE (gene = AGER), surfactant protein D (gene = SFTPD), and TNFRSF10C] have been previously associated with COPD phenotypes. Most pQTLs were local (cis), but distant (trans) pQTL SNPs in the ABO blood group locus were the top pQTL SNPs for five proteins. The inclusion of pQTL SNPs improved the clinical predictive value for the established association of sRAGE and emphysema, and the explanation of variance (R2) for emphysema improved from 0.3 to 0.4 when the pQTL SNP was included in the model along with clinical covariates. Causal modeling provided insight into specific pQTL-disease relationships for airflow obstruction and emphysema. In conclusion, given the frequency of highly significant local pQTLs, the large amount of variance potentially explained by pQTL, and the differences observed between pQTLs and eQTLs SNPs, we recommend that protein biomarker-disease association studies take into account the potential effect of common local SNPs and that pQTLs be integrated along with eQTLs to uncover disease mechanisms. Large-scale blood biomarker studies would also benefit from close attention to the ABO blood group

Study of ordered hadron chains with the ATLAS detector

La lista completa de autores que integran el documento puede consultarse en el archivo

A search for resonances decaying into a Higgs boson and a new particle X in the XH→qqbb final state with the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson ($H$) and a new particle ($X$) is reported, utilizing 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The particle $X$ is assumed to decay to a pair of light quarks, and the fully hadronic final state $XH \rightarrow q\bar q'b\bar b$ is analysed. The search considers the regime of high $XH$ resonance masses, where the $X$ and $H$ bosons are both highly Lorentz-boosted and are each reconstructed using a single jet with large radius parameter. A two-dimensional phase space of $XH$ mass versus $X$ mass is scanned for evidence of a signal, over a range of $XH$ resonance mass values between 1 TeV and 4 TeV, and for $X$ particles with masses from 50 GeV to 1000 GeV. All search results are consistent with the expectations for the background due to Standard Model processes, and 95% CL upper limits are set, as a function of $XH$ and $X$ masses, on the production cross-section of the $XH\rightarrow q\bar q'b\bar b$ resonance

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie