Surface runoff water quality in a managed three zone riparian buffer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowrance, Richard; Sheridan, Joseph M

2005-01-01

Managed riparian forest buffers are an important conservation practice but there are little data on the water quality effects of buffer management. We measured surface runoff volumes and nutrient concentrations and loads in a riparian buffer system consisting of (moving down slope from the field) a grass strip, a managed forest, and an unmanaged forest. The managed forest consisted of sections of clear-cut, thinned, and mature forest. The mature forest had significantly lower flow-weighted concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, total Kjeldahl N (TKN), sediment TKN, total N (nitrate + TKN), dissolved molybdate reactive P (DMRP), total P, and chloride. The average buffer represented the conditions along a stream reach with a buffer system in different stages of growth. Compared with the field output, flow-weighted concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, DMRP, and total P decreased significantly within the buffer and flow-weighted concentrations of TKN, total N, and chloride increased significantly within the buffer. All loads decreased significantly from the field to the middle of the buffer, but most loads increased from the middle of the buffer to the sampling point nearest the stream because surface runoff volume increased near the stream. The largest percentage reduction of the incoming nutrient load (at least 65% for all nutrient forms) took place in the grass buffer zone because of the large decrease (68%) in flow. The average buffer reduced loadings for all nutrient species, from 27% for TKN to 63% for sediment P. The managed forest and grass buffer combined was an effective buffer system.

Effects of moisture, elevated temperature, and fatigue loading on the behavior of graphite/epoxy buffer strip panels with center cracks

Science.gov (United States)

Bigelow, C. A.

1988-01-01

The effects of fatigue loading combined with moisture and heat on the behavior of graphite epoxy panels with either Kevlar-49 or S-glass buffer strips were studied. Buffer strip panels, that had a slit in the center to represent damage, were moisture conditioned or heated, fatigue loaded, and then tested in tension to measure their residual strength. The buffer strips were parallel to the loading direction and were made by replacing narrow strips of the 0 deg graphite plies with Kevlar-49 epoxy or S-glass epoxy on a 1-for-1 basis. The panels were subjected to a fatigue loading spectrum. One group of panels was preconditioned by soaking in 60 C water to produce a 1 percent weight gain then tested at room temperature. One group was heated to 82 C during the fatigue loading. Another group was moisture conditioned and then tested at 82 C. The residual strengths of the buffer panels were not highly affected by the fatigue loading, the number of repetitions of the loading spectrum, or the maximum strain level. The moisture conditioning reduced the residual strengths of the S-glass buffer strip panel by 10 to 15 percent below the ambient results. The moisture conditioning did not have a large effect on the Kevlar-49 panels.

Grass buffers for playas in agricultural landscapes: A literature synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Melcher, Cynthia P.; Skagen, Susan K.

2005-01-01

We summarize current knowledge about grass buffers for protecting small, isolated wetlands in agricultural contexts, including information relevant to protecting playas from runoff containing sediments, nutrients, pesticides, and other contaminants, and information on how buffers may affect densities and productivity of grassland birds. Land-uses surrounding the approximately 60,000 playas within the Playa Lakes Region (PLR), including intensive agriculture, feedlots, and oil extraction, can contribute to severe degradation of playas. Farming and grazing can lead to significant sedimentation in nearby playas, eliminating their ability to hold water, support the region’s biodiversity, or adequately recharge aquifers. Contaminants further degrade habitats and threaten the water quality of underlying aquifers, including the Ogallala Aquifer.

Effects of buffer strips and grazing management on soil loss from pastures

Science.gov (United States)

Intensive grazing pressure can cause soil erosion from pastures causing increased sediment loading to aquatic systems. The objectives of this work were to determine the long-term effects of grazing management and buffer strips on soil erosion from pastures fertilized with broiler litter. Field stud...

Contour hedgerows and grass strips in erosion and runoff control in semi-arid Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kinama, J.M.; Stigter, C.J.; Ong, C.K.; Ng'ang'a, J.K.; Gichuki, F.N.

2007-01-01

Most early alley cropping studies in semi-arid Kenya were on fairly flat land while there is an increase in cultivated sloping land. The effectiveness of aging contour hedgerows and grass strips for erosion control on an about 15% slope of an Alfisol was compared. The five treatments were Senna

Buffer strip effect on terbuthylazine, desethyl-terbuthylazine and S-metolachlor runoff from maize fields in Northern Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Milan, Marco; Vidotto, Francesco; Piano, Serenella; Negre, Michèle; Ferrero, Aldo

2013-01-01

The effectiveness of a 6 m wide vegetative buffer strip for reducing runoff of S-metolachlor, terbuthylazine and desethyl-terbuthylazine was studied in 2007-2008 in Northern Italy. Two cultivated fields, with and without the buffer strip, were compared. Residues of the chemicals were investigated in runoff water collected after runoff events and their dissipation in the soil was studied. The highest concentration of the chemicals in water occurred in samples collected from the unbuffered field at the first runoff events. Losses of terbuthylazine and S-metolachlor in runoff waters were particularly high in 2007 (2.6% and 0.9% of the amount applied, respectively). Soil half-life of terbuthylazine and S-metolachlor ranged between 12.1 and 8.9 days and 16 and 7 days, respectively. The presence of desethyl-terbuthylazine was related to parent compound degradation. The buffer strip allowed an important reduction of chemical content in water (> 90%), in particular during the first runoff events.

Impact of cornstalk buffer strip on hillslope soil erosion and its hydrodynamic understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Soil erosion is still a serious concern on the Loess Plateau despite extensive soil conservation measures. Cornstalk buffer strip is not well utilized on the Loess Plateau, and there is little information on the hydrodynamic understanding of this soil erosion control practice. A simulated rainfall e...

Structural and functional characteristics of buffer strip vegetation in an agricultural landscape - high potential for nutrient removal but low potential for plant biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hille, Sandra; Andersen, Dagmar Kappel; Kronvang, Brian; Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette

2018-07-01

Vegetated buffer strips constitute a transition zone between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and provide several ecosystem services. Buffer strips are often applied as a mitigation measure against diffuse pollution in agricultural areas, primarily because they may retain nutrients and in this way help protect the aquatic environment. Additionally, they can improve biodiversity in an otherwise homogenous landscape and may therefore have a value in their own right. In the present study, we characterized the structural and functional features of the vegetation in Danish buffer strips using a nationwide dataset to explore: i) their floristic quality in terms of species diversity and conservation value and ii) based on their functional characteristics, their potential to retain nutrients. Moreover, we analyzed how the structural and functional characteristics varied along gradients in the environmental features of the catchment. We found that the floristic quality of the buffer vegetation was generally low, exhibiting an average of only 3.3% of the number of species of conservation interest. Instead, Danish buffer strips were dominated by widespread and productive species that are tolerant of anthropogenic impacts in the catchment. The abundance of highly productive plant species was positively related to high intensity land use, whereas the abundance of stress-tolerant plant species was positively related to low intensity land use. The high productivity of the buffer strips implies a large bio-storage potential, and these areas might therefore offer an opportunity to remove nutrients by harvesting the plant biomass. We discuss how Danish buffer strips could be exploited via appropriate management (e.g. harvesting) to maximize nutrient retention and at the same time improve floristic quality. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long-term effects of grazing management and buffer strips on soil erosion from pastures

Science.gov (United States)

High grazing pressure can lead to soil erosion in pastures by compacting soil and increasing runoff and sediment delivery to waterways. Limited information exists on the effects of grazing management and best management practices (BMPs), such as buffer strips, on soil erosion from pastures. The obje...

Riparian buffer strips as a multifunctional management tool in agricultural landscapes: Introduction to the special collection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stutter, M.I.; Chardon, W.J.; Kronvang, B.

2012-01-01

Catchment riparian areas are considered key zones to target mitigation measures aimed at interrupting the movement of diffuse substances from agricultural land to surface waters. Hence, unfertilized buffer strips have become a widely studied and implemented “edge of field” mitigation measure assumed

Environmental Modeling, The Buffer Priority layers for Phosphorus / Sediment) Removal identify priority forest/grass buffer opportunities by subwatershed. Land use, hydrology, soil, and landscape characteristics were analyzed to rank buffer opportunities with high P/sed removal., Published in 2014, Smaller than 1:100000 scale, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — Environmental Modeling dataset current as of 2014. The Buffer Priority layers for Phosphorus / Sediment) Removal identify priority forest/grass buffer opportunities...

Experiences gained from implementing mandatory buffer strips in Denmark: how can we enhance their ecosystem services?

Science.gov (United States)

Kronvang, Brian; Hoffmann, Carl Christian; Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette; Hille, Sandra; Rubæk, Gitte; Heckrath, Goswin; Gertz, Flemming; Jensen, Henning; Feuerback, Peter; Strand, John; Stutter, Marc

2015-04-01

The Danish Parliament adopted in June 2012 a Buffer Strip Act that required 10 m mandatory buffer strips (BSs) to be established along all watercourses and lakes with a surface area greater than 100 m2 from 1st September 2012. The main reasons for deploying BSs was to reduce nitrate-N leaching and phosphorus (P) loss via surface runoff from adjoining fields from the approximately 50,000 ha of BSs as no farming activities were allowed in the BS concerning use of fertilizer, spreading of manure, spraying with pesticides, etc. Reductions in nutrient losses to watercourses are needed for minimizing the eutrophication effects in lakes and coastal waters. Buffer strips are among the most well studied and frequently adapted mitigation measure for reducing sediment and P losses to surface waters via surface runoff. It has, however, been questioned if BSs can also reduce N losses. The international literature gives an overwhelming support to their functioning for reduction in sediment and especially particulate P losses. However, their functioning for dissolved P and nitrogen is more questionable when comparing studies from the international literature. In Denmark, many farmers were against the introduction of BSs as a general mitigation measure for several reasons. The most used argument in the public debate was that BSs in general are not very efficient for reducing N and P losses to surface waters which was originally the argument behind the BS Act from the Ministries of Environment and Food and Agriculture. A desk study had been made prior to the adaptation of the law that showed 10 m BSs to be able to reduce the N loading with 40-50 kg N ha-1 of BS and 0.04-0.4 kg P ha-1 BS. The total reduction from the BSs established in Denmark in 2012 would then amount to 2,000-2,500 tonnes N and 2-20 tonnes P. The intense public debate in Denmark made the Parliament to adopt a new BS law in June 2014 to be implemented in August 2014 that reduced the total areas with mandatory BSs

Evaluating grass strips trapping efficiency of sediments and herbicides

Science.gov (United States)

Burguet, Maria; Guzmán, Gema; de Luna, Elena; Taguas, Encarnación V.; Gómez, José Alfonso

2016-04-01

Water erosion and associated offsite contamination are major environmental risks in many Mediterranean crops such as olives or vineyards (Beaufoy, 2001; Gómez et al., 2011). The use of cover crops has been prescribed as a mitigation measure for both problems because permanent cover crops have demonstrated to reduce sediment and agrochemical loads (e.g. Gómez, 2009a, b). However, large uncertainty remains about its effectiveness degree to reduce sediment and agrochemical contribution to streams due to the limited number of available studies, and the large variability observed under field conditions (Taguas et al., 2012). Furthermore, the determination of sediment and herbicide sources using suitable sediment tracing/fingerprinting properties has been noted as one tool to evaluate the effectiveness and functioning of vegetated filters at the catchment scale (Koiter et al., 2013). The objectives of the present study were twofold: [1] to explore the combined use of natural and simulated rainfall and magnetic iron oxide in understanding the performance of vegetation strips on runoff and soil and herbicide losses at plot scale and, [2] to evaluate the effectiveness degree of vegetation strips in buffering sediment and herbicide from bare soil areas under different conditions compared to a control situation with no strips. This study encompasses six rainfall simulations under four different soil managements combining the use of a magnetic iron oxide as a sediment tracer to obtain a better understanding of the vegetation strips trapping efficiency. Three runoff plots of 6 m × 14 m were established in a 20% hillslope under a Fluvisol alluvial terrace. Each of the plots contained three bare strips tagged with magnetic iron oxide and three strips with Lolium multiflorum L. The soil management simulated scenarios were: immediately after sowing the vegetation cover (June 2011cover crop), with settled vegetation cover (June 2012cover crop), after 5 cm of deep ploughing

Environmental Modeling, The Buffer Priority layers for Nitrogen Removal identify priority forest/grass buffer sites by subwatershed. Land use, hydrology, soil, and landscape characteristics were analyzed to rank opportunities with high nitrogen removal potential., Published in 2014, Smaller than 1:100000 scale, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — Environmental Modeling dataset current as of 2014. The Buffer Priority layers for Nitrogen Removal identify priority forest/grass buffer sites by subwatershed. Land...

Dynamics and mitigation of six pesticides in a "Wet" forest buffer zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Passeport, Elodie; Richard, Benjamin; Chaumont, Cédric; Margoum, Christelle; Liger, Lucie; Gril, Jean-Joël; Tournebize, Julien

2014-04-01

Pesticide pollution is one of the main current threats on water quality. This paper presents the potential and functioning principles of a "Wet" forest buffer zone for reducing concentrations and loads of glyphosate, isoproturon, metazachlor, azoxystrobin, epoxiconazole, and cyproconazole. A tracer injection experiment was conducted in the field in a forest buffer zone at Bray (France). A fine time-scale sampling enabled to illustrate that interactions between pesticides and forest buffer substrates (soil and organic-rich litter layer), had a retarding effect on molecule transfer. Low concentrations were observed for all pesticides at the forest buffer outlet thus demonstrating the efficiency of "Wet" forest buffer zone for pesticide dissipation. Pesticide masses injected in the forest buffer inlet directly determined concentration peaks observed at the outlet. Rapid and partially reversible adsorption was likely the major process affecting pesticide transfer for short retention times (a few hours to a few days). Remobilization of metazachlor, isoproturon, desmethylisoproturon, and AMPA was observed when non-contaminated water flows passed through the forest buffer. Our data suggest that pesticide sorption properties alone could not explain the complex reaction mechanisms that affected pesticide transfer in the forest buffer. Nevertheless, the thick layer of organic matter litter on the top of the forest soil was a key parameter, which enhanced partially reversible sorption of pesticide, thus retarded their transfer, decreased concentration peaks, and likely increased degradation of the pesticides. Consequently, to limit pesticide pollution transported by surface water, the use of already existing forest areas as buffer zones should be equally considered as the most commonly implemented grass buffer strips.

Finite Element Simulation of Total Nitrogen Transport in Riparian Buffer in an Agricultural Watershed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaosheng Lin

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Riparian buffers can influence water quality in downstream lakes or rivers by buffering non-point source pollution in upstream agricultural fields. With increasing nitrogen (N pollution in small agricultural watersheds, a major function of riparian buffers is to retain N in the soil. A series of field experiments were conducted to monitor pollutant transport in riparian buffers of small watersheds, while numerical model-based analysis is scarce. In this study, we set up a field experiment to monitor the retention rates of total N in different widths of buffer strips and used a finite element model (HYDRUS 2D/3D to simulate the total N transport in the riparian buffer of an agricultural non-point source polluted area in the Liaohe River basin. The field experiment retention rates for total N were 19.4%, 26.6%, 29.5%, and 42.9% in 1,3,4, and 6m-wide buffer strips, respectively. Throughout the simulation period, the concentration of total N of the 1mwide buffer strip reached a maximum of 1.27 mg/cm3 at 30 min, decreasing before leveling off. The concentration of total N about the 3mwide buffer strip consistently increased, with a maximum of 1.05 mg/cm3 observed at 60 min. Under rainfall infiltration, the buffer strips of different widths showed a retention effect on total N transport, and the optimum effect was simulated in the 6mwide buffer strip. A comparison between measured and simulated data revealed that finite element simulation could simulate N transport in the soil of riparian buffer strips.

Sediment measurement and transport modeling: impact of riparian and filter strip buffers.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriasi, Daniel N; Steiner, Jean L; Arnold, Jeffrey G

2011-01-01

Well-calibrated models are cost-effective tools to quantify environmental benefits of conservation practices, but lack of data for parameterization and evaluation remains a weakness to modeling. Research was conducted in southwestern Oklahoma within the Cobb Creek subwatershed (CCSW) to develop cost-effective methods to collect stream channel parameterization and evaluation data for modeling in watersheds with sparse data. Specifically, (i) simple stream channel observations obtained by rapid geomorphic assessment (RGA) were used to parameterize the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model stream channel variables before calibrating SWAT for streamflow and sediment, and (ii) average annual reservoir sedimentation rate, measured at the Crowder Lake using the acoustic profiling system (APS), was used to cross-check Crowder Lake sediment accumulation rate simulated by SWAT. Additionally, the calibrated and cross-checked SWAT model was used to simulate impacts of riparian forest buffer (RF) and bermudagrass [ (L.) Pers.] filter strip buffer (BFS) on sediment yield and concentration in the CCSW. The measured average annual sedimentation rate was between 1.7 and 3.5 t ha yr compared with simulated sediment rate of 2.4 t ha yr Application of BFS across cropped fields resulted in a 72% reduction of sediment delivery to the stream, while the RF and the combined RF and BFS reduced the suspended sediment concentration at the CCSW outlet by 68 and 73%, respectively. Effective riparian practices have potential to increase reservoir life. These results indicate promise for using the RGA and APS methods to obtain data to improve water quality simulations in ungauged watersheds. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

A design aid for sizing filter strips using buffer area ratio

Science.gov (United States)

M.G. Dosskey; M.J. Helmers; D.E. Eisenhauer

2011-01-01

Nonuniform field runoff can reduce the effectiveness of filter strips that are a uniform size along a field margin. Effectiveness can be improved by placing more filter strip where the runoff load is greater and less where the load is smaller. A modeling analysis was conducted of the relationship between pollutant trapping efficiency and the ratio of filter strip area...

Effectiveness of the cross-compliance standard 5.2 'buffer strips' on protecting freshwater against diffuse nitrogen pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruna Gumiero

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Sette Fasce Tampone, realizzate secondo le indicazioni tecniche contenute nello standard di condizionalità 5.2, in diversi ambiti e contesti climatici, sono state monitorate per un periodo biennale, al fine di quantificare la loro efficienza nella rimozione di azoto inorganico disciolto. Tale azoto è costituito per lo più da molecole di azoto nitrico che vengono veicolate principalmente tramite deflussi sub-superficiali da zone soggette a diverse pratiche colturali verso i corpi idrici superficiali adiacenti. Ad eccezione di due casi: i siti di Lodi e Metaponto, in tutti i sistemi monitorati è stata confermata la presenza di deflussi trasversali ai sistemi tampone, permanenti o temporanei, in grado di veicolare inquinanti e con portate variabili fra 919 e 8.590 m3/anno per 100 m lineari di FT. Le differenze di portata sono imputabili principalmente alla diversa superficie dei bacini agricoli afferenti ai sistemi tampone, che nei casi analizzati occupano superfici variabili fra il 3,6 ed il 33,3% del bacino agricolo. Sulla base dei bilanci di massa è emerso che dai campi coltivati giungono ai sistemi tampone percentuali variabili fra l’1,6 ed il 29,4% dell’azoto inorganico applicato. Ad eccezione dei sistemi in cui i maggiori deflussi non hanno alcuna interazione con la rizosfera (deflussi profondi oppure non attraversano la Fascia Tampone, in tutti gli altri siti si registra un effetto di riduzione dell’azoto fra entrata ed uscita, con percentuali variabili fra il 33 ed il 62 %. Percentuali di abbattimento non elevate sono giustificate dallo scarso grado di maturazione dei siti monitorati, in molti casi recentemente convertiti a Fascia Tampone. Ancora una volta si conferma l’estrema eterogeneità delle risposte di questi sistemi ed il ruolo prioritario delle forzanti idrologiche nel determinarne l’efficacia.Seven buffer strips (BS adjacent to fresh water bodies, realized according to the technical data contained in the standard 5

Effectiveness of the cross-compliance Standard 5.2 'buffer strips' on protecting freshwater against diffuse nitrogen pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruna Gumiero

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Sette Fasce Tampone, realizzate secondo le indicazioni tecniche contenute nello Standard di condizionalità 5.2, in diversi ambiti e contesti climatici, sono state monitorate per un periodo biennale, al fine di quantificare la loro efficienza nella rimozione di azoto inorganico disciolto. Tale azoto è costituito per lo più da molecole di azoto nitrico che vengono veicolate principalmente tramite deflussi sub-superficiali da zone soggette a diverse pratiche colturali verso i corpi idrici superficiali adiacenti. Ad eccezione di due casi: i siti di Lodi e Metaponto, in tutti i sistemi monitorati è stata confermata la presenza di deflussi trasversali ai sistemi tampone, permanenti o temporanei, in grado di veicolare inquinanti e con portate variabili fra 919 e 8.590 m3/anno per 100 m lineari di FT. Le differenze di portata sono imputabili principalmente alla diversa superficie dei bacini agricoli afferenti ai sistemi tampone, che nei casi analizzati occupano superfici variabili fra il 3,6 ed il 33,3% del bacino agricolo. Sulla base dei bilanci di massa è emerso che dai campi coltivati giungono ai sistemi tampone percentuali variabili fra l’1,6 ed il 29,4% dell’azoto inorganico applicato. Ad eccezione dei sistemi in cui i maggiori deflussi non hanno alcuna interazione con la rizosfera (deflussi profondi oppure non attraversano la Fascia Tampone, in tutti gli altri siti si registra un effetto di riduzione dell’azoto fra entrata ed uscita, con percentuali variabili fra il 33 ed il 62 %. Percentuali di abbattimento non elevate sono giustificate dallo scarso grado di maturazione dei siti monitorati, in molti casi recentemente convertiti a Fascia Tampone. Ancora una volta si conferma l’estrema eterogeneità delle risposte di questi sistemi ed il ruolo prioritario delle forzanti idrologiche nel determinarne l’efficacia. Seven buffer strips (BS adjacent to fresh water bodies, realized according to the technical data contained in the Standard 5

Designing bioenergy crop buffers to mitigate nitrous oxide emissions and water quality impacts from agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalakrishnan, G.; Negri, C. M.

2010-12-01

corn fields. The bioenergy crops used in this study were miscanthus, switchgrass and native prairie grasses. Results indicated that growing bioenergy crops in buffer strips mitigated nutrient runoff and reduced nitrate concentrations in groundwater to below EPA’s mandated drinking water limit (10 mg/l). Additionally, nitrous oxide emissions in these systems were reduced by 50-90% when compared to corn fields without the bioenergy buffer strips. While all the bioenergy crop buffers had significant positive environmental benefits, switchgrass performed the best with respect to minimizing nutrient runoff and nitrous oxide emissions. The findings of this research have important implications with respect to land management for agriculture and bioenergy.

Weed control and persistence of two oxyfluorfen formulations in olive groves under non tillage conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, M J; Farsaoui, K; de Prado, R

2004-01-01

To obtain profitable yields in olive groves, residual preemergence herbicides are applied in October or November before the winter rains, and before the winter annual weeds germinate. Simazine, one of the herbicides most used for weed control in olive groves, has recently been banned. Oxyfluorfen is presented as a good alternative to simazine in olive fields. Experiments were carried out in 2002 and 2003 to evaluate the behaviour of two oxyfluorfen formulations, 2XL and G4F, at 480 g a.i. ha(-1) for three different soil management systems with three replications (1. bare soil; 2. bare soil and grassed buffer strips, chemically controlled and 3. bare soil and grassed buffer strips with controlled mowing; under non tillage conditions in all three cases). The most important species that survived 2XL and G4F treatments was Sagina apetala ARD. Oxyfluorfen residues were evaluated throughout 158 days after the applications. Three soil samples from each plot were collected, mixed and air dried. The herbicide extractions were made with methanol and the residues were analyzed by HPLC. We found no differences between the two formulations, but results showed that recoveries of oxyfluorfen were higher in plots with chemically controlled buffer grassed strips than in the other soil management types.

The use of 0.01M phosphate buffered saline as detection buffer for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Insufficient supply of manufacture's buffers/diluents in relation to the number of strips per kit has been found to have negative impact on patients' results. Some laboratories personnel tend to use diluents from other rapid tests manufacturers such as Bioline, Unigold as well as malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT). This study ...

Agroforestry buffers for nonpoint source pollution reductions from agricultural watersheds.

Science.gov (United States)

Udawatta, Ranjith P; Garrett, Harold E; Kallenbach, Robert

2011-01-01

Despite increased attention and demand for the adoption of agroforestry practices throughout the world, rigorous long-term scientific studies confirming environmental benefits from the use of agroforestry practices are limited. The objective was to examine nonpoint-source pollution (NPSP) reduction as influenced by agroforestry buffers in watersheds under grazing and row crop management. The grazing study consists of six watersheds in the Central Mississippi Valley wooded slopes and the row crop study site consists of three watersheds in a paired watershed design in Central Claypan areas. Runoff water samples were analyzed for sediment, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) for the 2004 to 2008 period. Results indicate that agroforestry and grass buffers on grazed and row crop management sites significantly reduce runoff, sediment, TN, and TP losses to streams. Buffers in association with grazing and row crop management reduced runoff by 49 and 19%, respectively, during the study period as compared with respective control treatments. Average sediment loss for grazing and row crop management systems was 13.8 and 17.9 kg ha yr, respectively. On average, grass and agroforestry buffers reduced sediment, TN, and TP losses by 32, 42, and 46% compared with the control treatments. Buffers were more effective in the grazing management practice than row crop management practice. These differences could in part be attributed to the differences in soils, management, and landscape features. Results from this study strongly indicate that agroforestry and grass buffers can be designed to improve water quality while minimizing the amount of land taken out of production. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

Riparian buffer zones as pesticide filters of no-till crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguiar, Terencio R; Bortolozo, F R; Hansel, F A; Rasera, K; Ferreira, M T

2015-07-01

Several studies have pointed to the potential benefits of riparian vegetation as buffer zones for agricultural and industrial pollutants harmful to aquatic ecosystems. However, other studies have called into question its use as an ecological filter, questioning the widths and conditions for which they are effective as a filter. In this work, we have investigated the buffering capacity of the riparian one to retain pesticides in the water-saturated zone, on 27 sites composed by riparian buffer zones with different vegetation structure (woody, shrubs, or grass vegetation) and width (12, 36, and 60 m). Five pesticides were analyzed. The effectiveness of the filtering was largely influenced by the width and vegetation type of the buffer zone. In general, decreasing pesticide removal followed in this order wood > shrubs > grass. The 60 m woody buffer zone was the most effective in the removal of all the pesticides. Only atrazine was detected in this case (0.3 μg L(-1)). Furthermore, a linear correlation (R (2) > 0.97) was observed in their removal for all compounds and buffer zones studied. Thus, preserving the woody vegetation in the riparian zone is important for watershed management and groundwater quality in the no-tillage system in temperate climate.

Reversing land degradation through grasses: a systematic meta-analysis in the Indian tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, Debashis; Srivastava, Pankaj; Giri, Nishita; Kaushal, Rajesh; Cerda, Artemi; Meherul Alam, Nurnabi

2017-02-01

Although intensive agriculture is necessary to sustain the world's growing population, accelerated soil erosion contributes to a decrease in the environmental health of ecosystems at local, regional and global scales. Reversing the process of land degradation using vegetative measures is of utmost importance in such ecosystems. The present study critically analyzes the effect of grasses in reversing the process of land degradation using a systematic review. The collected information was segregated under three different land use and land management situations. Meta-analysis was applied to test the hypothesis that the use of grasses reduces runoff and soil erosion. The effect of grasses was deduced for grass strip and in combination with physical structures. Similarly, the effects of grasses were analyzed in degraded pasture lands. The overall result of the meta-analysis showed that infiltration capacity increased approximately 2-fold after planting grasses across the slopes in agricultural fields. Grazing land management through a cut-and-carry system increased conservation efficiencies by 42 and 63 % with respect to reduction in runoff and erosion, respectively. Considering the comprehensive performance index (CPI), it has been observed that hybrid Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) and sambuta (Saccharum munja) grass seem to posses the most desirable attributes as an effective grass barrier for the western Himalayas and Eastern Ghats, while natural grass (Dichanthium annulatum) and broom grass (Thysanolaena maxima) are found to be most promising grass species for the Konkan region of the Western Ghats and the northeastern Himalayan region, respectively. In addition to these benefits, it was also observed that soil carbon loss can be reduced by 83 % with the use of grasses. Overall, efficacy for erosion control of various grasses was more than 60 %; hence, their selection should be based on the production potential of these grasses under given edaphic and agro

Microbial community diversity in agroforestry and grass vegetative filter strips

Science.gov (United States)

Vegetative filter strips (VFS) have long been promoted as a soil conservation practice that yields many additional environmental benefits. Most previous studies have focused primarily on the role of vegetation and/or soil physical properties in these ecosystem services. Few studies have investigated...

Buffers for biomass production in temperate European agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christen, Benjamin; Dalgaard, Tommy

2013-01-01

, environmental pressures from intensive agriculture and policy developments. Use of conservation buffers by farmers outside of designated schemes is limited to date, but the increasing demand for bioenergy and the combination of agricultural production with conservation calls for a much wider implementation....... This paper reviews the biophysical knowledge on buffer functioning and associated ecosystem services. It describes how a three-zone buffer design, with arable fields buffered in combination by grassland, short rotation forestry (SRF) or coppice (SRC) and undisturbed vegetation along water courses, can...... be incorporated into farming landscapes as productive conservation elements and reflects on the potential for successful implementation. Land use plays a much greater role in determining catchment hydrology than soil type: shelterbelts or buffer strips have markedly higher infiltration capacity than arable...

Effectiveness of the GAEC cross-compliance standard Short-term measures for runoff water control on sloping land (temporary ditches and grass strips in controlling soil erosion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paolo Bazzoffi

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The agronomic measures made obligatory by the cross-compliance Standard Temporary measures for runoff water control on sloping land included in the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF decree on cross compliance until 2008, and by Standard 1.1 Creation of temporary ditches for the prevention of soil erosion in the 2009 decree, certainly appear to be useful for the control of soil erosion and runoff. The efficacy of temporary drainage ditches and of grass strips in controlling runoff and erosion has been demonstrated in trials conducted in field test plots in Italy. When level temporary drainage ditches are correctly built, namely with an inclination of not more than 2.5% in relation to the maximum hillslope gradient, they allow the suspended sediment eroded upstream to settle in the ditches, retaining the material carried away on the slope and, as a result, reducing the quantity of sediment delivered to the hydrographic network. In particular, among all the results, the erosion and runoff data in a trial conducted in Guiglia (Modena showed that in corn plots, temporary drainage ditches reduced soil erosion by 94%, from 14.4 Mg ha-1 year-1 (above the limit established by the NRCS-USDA of 11.2 Mg ha-1 year-1 to 0.8 Mg ha-1 year-1 (within the NRCS limit and also within the more restrictive limit established by the OECD of 6.0 Mg ha-1 year-1. With respect to the grass buffer strips the most significant research was carried out in Volterra. This research demonstrated their efficacy in reducing erosion from 8.15 Mg ha-1 to 1.6 Mg ha-1, which is approximately 5 times less than the erosion observed on bare soil. The effectiveness of temporary drainage ditches was also assessed through the application of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE erosion model to 60 areas under the control of the Agency for Agricultural Payments (AGEA in 2009, comparing the risk of erosion in these sample areas by simulating the presence and

Mechanistic modeling & effectiveness of buffer strips for pesticide regulatory frameworks

Science.gov (United States)

Vegetative Filter Strips (VFS) have been used as an effective conservation practice in agricultural areas for controlling and mitigate the effect of sediment, nutrients and pesticides loads into water bodies. In addition to the agricultural sector, another important use of VFS for controlling plague...

Improving Water Quality With Conservation Buffers

Science.gov (United States)

Lowrance, R.; Dabney, S.; Schultz, R.

2003-12-01

Conservation buffer technologies are new approaches that need wider application. In-field buffer practices work best when used in combination with other buffer types and other conservation practices. Vegetative barriers may be used in combination with edge-of-field buffers to protect and improve their function and longevity by dispersing runoff and encouraging sediment deposition upslope of the buffer. It's important to understand how buffers can be managed to help reduce nutrient transport potential for high loading of nutrients from manure land application sites, A restored riparian wetland buffer retained or removed at least 59 percent of the nitrogen and 66 percent of the phosphorus that entered from an adjacent manure land application site. The Bear Creek National Restoration Demonstration Watershed project in Iowa has been the site of riparian forest buffers and filter strips creation; constructed wetlands to capture tile flow; stream-bank bioengineering; in-stream structures; and controlling livestock grazing. We need field studies that test various widths of buffers of different plant community compositions for their efficacy in trapping surface runoff, reducing nonpoint source pollutants in subsurface waters, and enhancing the aquatic ecosystem. Research is needed to evaluate the impact of different riparian grazing strategies on channel morphology, water quality, and the fate of livestock-associated pathogens and antibiotics. Integrating riparian buffers and other conservation buffers into these models is a key objective in future model development.

Genetic compatibility determines endophyte-grass combinations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kari Saikkonen

Full Text Available Even highly mutually beneficial microbial-plant interactions, such as mycorrhizal- and rhizobial-plant exchanges, involve selfishness, cheating and power-struggles between the partners, which depending on prevailing selective pressures, lead to a continuum of interactions from antagonistic to mutualistic. Using manipulated grass-endophyte combinations in a five year common garden experiment, we show that grass genotypes and genetic mismatches constrain genetic combinations between the vertically (via host seeds transmitted endophytes and the out-crossing host, thereby reducing infections in established grass populations. Infections were lost in both grass tillers and seedlings in F(1 and F(2 generations, respectively. Experimental plants were collected as seeds from two different environments, i.e., meadows and nearby riverbanks. Endophyte-related benefits to the host included an increased number of inflorescences, but only in meadow plants and not until the last growing season of the experiment. Our results illustrate the importance of genetic host specificity and trans-generational maternal effects on the genetic structure of a host population, which act as destabilizing forces in endophyte-grass symbioses. We propose that (1 genetic mismatches may act as a buffering mechanism against highly competitive endophyte-grass genotype combinations threatening the biodiversity of grassland communities and (2 these mismatches should be acknowledged, particularly in breeding programmes aimed at harnessing systemic and heritable endophytes to improve the agriculturally valuable characteristics of cultivars.

Distributed Modeling of soil erosion and deposition affected by buffer strips

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khademalrasoul, Ataalah; Heckrath, Goswin Johann; Iversen, Bo Vangsø

bodies. Buffer zones can be efficient in terms of retaining sediment and phosphorus transported by water erosion. This study aimed at parameterizing a spatial distributed erosion model to evaluate the effect of different buffer zone properties and dimension. It was our hypothesis that the placement...... was surveyed during the runoff season. In addition, organic carbon and phosphorous contents as well as bulk density were determined in soils of eroding and depositional sites. General buffer zone properties were recorded. Here we present results from scenario analyses comparing measured sediment deposition......Soil degradation and environmental impacts due to water erosion are a growing concern globally. Large parts of Denmark are covered by gently rolling moraine landscape with moderately to locally highly erodible soils where water erosion causes off-site problems in the form of eutrophication of water...

Effect of grass cover on water and pesticide transport through undisturbed soil columns, comparison with field study (Morcille watershed, Beaujolais)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dousset, S., E-mail: sylvie.dousset@limos.uhp-nancy.f [Nancy-Universite, CNRS, LIMOS, BP 70239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Thevenot, M. [Universite de Lille 1, CNRS, Geosystemes, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq (France); Schrack, D. [INRA-SAD ASTER, 88500 Mirecourt (France); AFSSA, Laboratoire d' Etudes et de Recherches en Hydrologie, 54000 Nancy (France); Gouy, V.; Carluer, N. [UR Milieux Aquatiques, Ecologie et Pollution, Cemagref, 69336 Lyon Cedex (France)

2010-07-15

The purpose of this work is to assess the effectiveness of two grass covers (buffer zone and grass-covered inter-row), to reduce pesticide leaching, and subsequently to preserve groundwater quality. Lower amounts of pesticides leached through grass-cover soil columns (2.7-24.3% of the initial amount) than the bare soil columns (8.0-55.1%), in correspondence with their sorption coefficients. Diuron was recovered in higher amounts in leachates (8.9-32.2%) than tebuconazole (2.7-12.9%), in agreement with their sorption coefficients. However, despite having a sorption coefficient similar to that of diuron, more procymidone was recovered in the leachates (10.2-55.1%), probably due to its facilitated transport by dissolved organic matter. Thus even in this very permeable soil, higher organic matter contents associated with grass-cover reduce the amount of pesticide leaching and limit the risk of groundwater contamination by the pesticides. The results of diuron and tebuconazole transfer through undisturbed buffer zone soil columns are in agreement with field observations on the buffer zone. - Grass-covered soils reduce the amount of pesticide leaching, due mainly to their higher organic matter contents, thereby reducing the risk of groundwater contamination.

Effect of grass cover on water and pesticide transport through undisturbed soil columns, comparison with field study (Morcille watershed, Beaujolais)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dousset, S.; Thevenot, M.; Schrack, D.; Gouy, V.; Carluer, N.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this work is to assess the effectiveness of two grass covers (buffer zone and grass-covered inter-row), to reduce pesticide leaching, and subsequently to preserve groundwater quality. Lower amounts of pesticides leached through grass-cover soil columns (2.7-24.3% of the initial amount) than the bare soil columns (8.0-55.1%), in correspondence with their sorption coefficients. Diuron was recovered in higher amounts in leachates (8.9-32.2%) than tebuconazole (2.7-12.9%), in agreement with their sorption coefficients. However, despite having a sorption coefficient similar to that of diuron, more procymidone was recovered in the leachates (10.2-55.1%), probably due to its facilitated transport by dissolved organic matter. Thus even in this very permeable soil, higher organic matter contents associated with grass-cover reduce the amount of pesticide leaching and limit the risk of groundwater contamination by the pesticides. The results of diuron and tebuconazole transfer through undisturbed buffer zone soil columns are in agreement with field observations on the buffer zone. - Grass-covered soils reduce the amount of pesticide leaching, due mainly to their higher organic matter contents, thereby reducing the risk of groundwater contamination.

Effects of Terrestrial Buffer Zones on Amphibians on Golf Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Puglis, Holly J.; Boone, Michelle D.

2012-01-01

A major cause of amphibian declines worldwide is habitat destruction or alteration. Public green spaces, such as golf courses and parks, could serve as safe havens to curb the effects of habitat loss if managed in ways to bolster local amphibian communities. We reared larval Blanchard's cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi) and green frogs (Rana clamitans) in golf course ponds with and without 1 m terrestrial buffer zones, and released marked cricket frog metamorphs at the golf course ponds they were reared in. Larval survival of both species was affected by the presence of a buffer zone, with increased survival for cricket frogs and decreased survival for green frogs when reared in ponds with buffer zones. No marked cricket frog juveniles were recovered at any golf course pond in the following year, suggesting that most animals died or migrated. In a separate study, we released cricket frogs in a terrestrial pen and allowed them to choose between mown and unmown grass. Cricket frogs had a greater probability of using unmown versus mown grass. Our results suggest that incorporating buffer zones around ponds can offer suitable habitat for some amphibian species and can improve the quality of the aquatic environment for some sensitive local amphibians. PMID:22761833

Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) Finding of No Practicable Alternative (FONPA): Construct of a New Fire Station, Demolition of Buildings 530 and 606 and Relocation of the Hazardous Cargo Area at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-18

vegetated (grass) buffer with a perimeter filter strip. Palustrine emergent marsh (PEM) wetlands are characterized by erect, rooted , herbaceous...Rosa woodsii) are common in the under story in this area. Wood nettle (Laportea canadensis), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), beggars’ ticks (Bidens

Effect of grass cover on water and pesticide transport through undisturbed soil columns, comparison with field study (Morcille watershed, Beaujolais).

Science.gov (United States)

Dousset, S; Thévenot, M; Schrack, D; Gouy, V; Carluer, N

2010-07-01

The purpose of this work is to assess the effectiveness of two grass covers (buffer zone and grass-covered inter-row), to reduce pesticide leaching, and subsequently to preserve groundwater quality. Lower amounts of pesticides leached through grass-cover soil columns (2.7-24.3% of the initial amount) than the bare soil columns (8.0-55.1%), in correspondence with their sorption coefficients. Diuron was recovered in higher amounts in leachates (8.9-32.2%) than tebuconazole (2.7-12.9%), in agreement with their sorption coefficients. However, despite having a sorption coefficient similar to that of diuron, more procymidone was recovered in the leachates (10.2-55.1%), probably due to its facilitated transport by dissolved organic matter. Thus even in this very permeable soil, higher organic matter contents associated with grass-cover reduce the amount of pesticide leaching and limit the risk of groundwater contamination by the pesticides. The results of diuron and tebuconazole transfer through undisturbed buffer zone soil columns are in agreement with field observations on the buffer zone. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agroforestry practices, runoff, and nutrient loss: a paired watershed comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Udawatta, Ranjith P; Krstansky, J John; Henderson, Gray S; Garrett, Harold E

2002-01-01

A paired watershed study consisting of agroforestry (trees plus grass buffer strips), contour strips (grass buffer strips), and control treatments with a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation was used to examine treatment effects on runoff, sediment, and nutrient losses. During the (1991-1997) calibration and subsequent three-year treatment periods, runoff was measured in 0.91- and 1.37-m H-flumes with bubbler flow meters. Composite samples were analyzed for sediment, total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate, and ammonium. Calibration equations developed to predict runoff, sediment, and nutrients losses explained 66 to 97% of the variability between treatment watersheds. The contour strip and agroforestry treatments reduced runoff by 10 and 1% during the treatment period. In both treatments, most runoff reductions occurred in the second and third years after treatment establishment. The contour strip treatment reduced erosion by 19% in 1999, while erosion in the agroforestry treatment exceeded the predicted loss. Treatments reduced TP loss by 8 and 17% on contour strip and agroforestry watersheds. Treatments did not result in reductions in TN during the first two years of the treatment period. The contour strip and agroforestry treatments reduced TN loss by 21 and 20%, respectively, during a large precipitation event in the third year. During the third year of treatments, nitrate N loss was reduced 24 and 37% by contour strip and agroforestry treatments. Contour strip and agroforestry management practices effectively reduced nonpoint-source pollution in runoff from a corn-soybean rotation in the clay pan soils of northeastern Missouri.

Silicon μ-strip detectors with SVX chip readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brueckner, W.; Dropmann, F.; Godbersen, M.; Konorov, I.; Koenigsmann, K.; Newsom, C.; Paul, S.; Povh, B.; Russ, J.; Timm, S.; Vorwalter, K.; Werding, R.

1994-01-01

A new silicon strip detector has been designed and constructed for a fixed target experiment at CERN. The system of about 30 000 channels is equipped with SVX chips and read out via a double buffer into Fastbus memory. Construction and performance during the actual data taking run are discussed. ((orig.))

A review of vegetated buffers and a meta-analysis of their mitigation efficacy in reducing nonpoint source pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xuyang; Liu, Xingmei; Zhang, Minghua; Dahlgren, Randy A; Eitzel, Melissa

2010-01-01

Vegetated buffers are a well-studied and widely used agricultural management practice for reducing nonpoint-source pollution. A wealth of literature provides experimental data on their mitigation efficacy. This paper aggregated many of these results and performed a meta-analysis to quantify the relationships between pollutant removal efficacy and buffer width, buffer slope, soil type, and vegetation type. Theoretical models for removal efficacy (Y) vs. buffer width (w) were derived and tested against data from the surveyed literature using statistical analyses. A model of the form Y = K x (1-e(-bxw)), (0 pollutant removal, where K reflects the maximum removal efficacy of the buffer and b reflects its probability to remove any single particle of pollutant in a unit distance. Buffer width alone explains 37, 60, 44, and 35% of the total variance in removal efficacy for sediment, pesticides, N, and P, respectively. Buffer slope was linearly associated with sediment removal efficacy either positively (when slope 10%). Buffers composed of trees have higher N and P removal efficacy than buffers composed of grasses or mixtures of grasses and trees. Soil drainage type did not show a significant effect on pollutant removal efficacy. Based on our analysis, a 30-m buffer under favorable slope conditions (approximately 10%) removes more than 85% of all the studied pollutants. These models predicting optimal buffer width/slope can be instrumental in the design, implementation, and modeling of vegetated buffers for treating agricultural runoff.

Riparian buffer zones on selected rivers in Lower Silesia - an important conservation practice and the management strategy in urban planning

Science.gov (United States)

Adamska, Maryna

2013-09-01

Buffer zones are narrow strips of land lying along the surface water, covered with appropriately selected vegetation. They separate aquatic ecosystems from the direct impact of agricultural land and reduce the movement of nutrients in the environment. In 2008 the European Commission established requirements for the implementation of buffer strips along water courses. Poland committed to the enforcement of these requirements until 1 January 2012. This was one of the reasons of this study. The subject of the analysis included the following rivers in Lower Silesia: Smortawa, Krynka, Czarna Woda and the selected transects of Ślęza and Nysa Łużycka. Detailed studies were designed to estimate the buffer zones occurring on these watercourses and assess these zones’ structure. This will be used to develop clear criteria for the selection of the width of these zones based on land use land management. It can be used in the implementation of executive acts at different levels of space management. Field research consisted of inventory the extent of riparian buffer strips on selected water courses and photographic documentation. Species composition of the vegetation forming a buffer zone was identified by using Braun-Blanquet method. There was lack of continuity of the riparian buffer zones on investigated rivers. Buffer zones should have carefully formulated definition and width because they are element of the significant ecological value, they perform important environmental protective functions and they are also the subject of Community law.

DIFFERENTIAL PULSE ANODIC STRIPPING VOLTAMMETRY FOR DETERMINATION OF SOME HEAVY METALS IN URANIUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saryati Saryati

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The direct determination of some metals impurity in uranium by using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV method at a hanging mercury drop electrode and in a carbonate buffer media was developed. It was found that the carbonate buffer show the strongest affinity for uranium and gives the best separation between the DPASV peaks of heavy metals impurities. The carbonate concentration markedly affects the oxidation and reduction the major and the minor constituents of the uranium samples. In 0.1 M carbonate buffer solution pH 10, copper, bismuth, thalium, lead, cadmium, zinc, could be determined without the removal of the uranium matrix. Recovery and relative standard deviation (RSD of this method was in the range of 174% - 85.2% for recovery and 36.8% - 1.2% for RSD. The larger error of analytical result was obtained for Zn at low concentration. In general, the analytic results error and RSD decreased with increasing metals concentration.   Keywords: heavy metal determination, differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry, uranium

Buffer substitution in malaria rapid diagnostic tests causes false-positive results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van den Ende Jef

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs are kits that generally include 20 to 25 test strips or cassettes, but only a single buffer vial. In field settings, laboratory staff occasionally uses saline, distilled water (liquids for parenteral drugs dilution or tap water as substitutes for the RDT kit's buffer to compensate for the loss of a diluent bottle. The present study assessed the effect of buffer substitution on the RDT results. Methods Twenty-seven RDT brands were run with EDTA-blood samples of five malaria-free subjects, who were negative for rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibodies. Saline, distilled water and tap water were used as substitute liquids. RDTs were also run with distilled water, without adding blood. Results were compared to those obtained with the RDT kit's buffer and Plasmodium positive samples. Results Only eight cassettes (in four RDT brands showed no control line and were considered invalid. Visible test lines occurred for at least one malaria-free sample and one of the substitutes in 20/27 (74% RDT brands (saline: n = 16; distilled water: n = 17; and tap water: n = 20, and in 15 RDTs which were run with distilled water only. They occurred for all Plasmodium antigens and RDT formats (two-, three- and four-band RDTs. Clearance of the background of the strip was excellent except for saline. The aspects (colour, intensity and crispness of the control and the false-positive test lines were similar to those obtained with the RDT kits' buffer and Plasmodium positive samples. Conclusion Replacement of the RDT kit's dedicated buffer by saline, distilled water and tap water can cause false-positive test results.

The effect of ochre applied to buffer zones on soluble phosphorus retention during combined surface and subsurface flow conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Habibiandehkordi, R.; Quinton, J.; Surridge, B.

2012-12-01

Despite invention of a wide range of mitigating measures, diffuse phosphorus (P) pollution from agricultural lands still remains a major threat to the water resources. Thus, reducing P inputs along with improving the effectiveness of current best management practices (BMPs) is necessary to avoid eutrophication. Buffer zones are considered to be among the BMPs to control diffuse P pollution. However, these features are less effective in controlling soluble P loss with a retention range of -71 to +95% which is generally governed by the process of infiltration. Moreover, the soil in buffer strip system can be saturated over a course of time thereby enriching surface and subsurface runoff with soluble P. The aim of this study is to evaluate effectiveness of ochre applied to buffer strips in reducing the loss of soluble P during coupled surface and subsurface flow conditions. Batch experiments showed a maximum P retention capacity of 17.2 g kg-1 for ochre collected from a mine water treatment plant in Capehouse, UK without any risk of P desorption or releasing trace elements to the environment. The preliminarily results of flume experiments confirms the suitability of ochre to be used as a soil amendment in conjunction with buffer strips for tackling soluble P loss.

Soil quality indicator responses to row crop, grazed pasture, and agroforestry buffer management

Science.gov (United States)

Incorporation of trees and establishment of grass buffers within agroecosystems are management practices shown to enhance soil quality. Soil enzyme activities and water stable aggregates (WSA) have been identified as sensitive soil quality indicators to evaluate early responses to soil management. ...

Growth and nutritional evaluation of napier grass hybrids as forage for ruminants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Turano

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Napier grass is a perennial, tropical C-4 grass that can produce large amounts of forage. However, low temperatures and drought stress limit its productivity and nutritive value as a forage. To overcome these limitations, pearl millet × napier grass hybrids (PMN were developed. It was hypothesized that PMN hybrids were more drought-tolerant, produced higher yields, and had higher nutritive value than napier grass varieties. The yield and nutritive value of 4 napier grass varieties (Bana grass, Mott, MB4 and N51 and 4 PMN hybrids (PMN2, PMN3, 5344 and 4604 were determined with or without irrigation in a strip plot design in Hawaii. Hybrid PMN3 outperformed napier grass varieties and the other hybrids for yield, while 5344 showed higher nutritional content and digestibility than most other grasses. Dry matter yields during the 110-day study period ranged from 10.3 to 32.1 t/ha without irrigation and 19.6 to 55.8 t/ha with irrigation, indicating that moisture stress was limiting performance in raingrown pastures. Only hybrids PMN3 and PMN2 and variety MB4 showed significant growth responses to irrigation. Further work is needed to evaluate the hybrids in a range of environments over much longer periods to determine if these preliminary results can be reproduced over the long term. Similarly, feeding studies with animals are needed to determine if the in vitro data for digestibility are reflected in superior performance for the promising hybrids.Keywords: Biomass, cattle, in vitro digestion, nutrient content, Pennisetum, tropical grasses.DOI: 10.17138/TGFT(4168-178

Biomass and volume yield after 6 years in multiclonal hybrid poplar riparian buffer strips

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fortier, Julien [Centre d' etude de la foret (CEF), Universite du Quebec a Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Institut des sciences de l' environnement, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Gagnon, Daniel [Centre d' etude de la foret (CEF), Universite du Quebec a Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Institut des sciences de l' environnement, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Fiducie de recherche sur la foret des Cantons-de-l' Est, 1 rue Principale, St-Benoit-du-Lac, Quebec (Canada); Truax, Benoit; Lambert, France [Fiducie de recherche sur la foret des Cantons-de-l' Est, 1 rue Principale, St-Benoit-du-Lac, Quebec (Canada)

2010-07-15

In this paper the potential of five hybrid poplar clones (Populus spp.) to provide biomass and wood volume in the riparian zone is assessed in four agroecosystems of southern Quebec (Canada). For all variables measured, significant Site effects were detected. Survival, biomass yield and volume yield were highest at the Bromptonville site. After 6 years of growth, total aboveground biomass production (stems + branches + leaves) reached 112.8 tDM/ha and total leafless biomass production (stems + branches) reached 101.1 tDM/ha at this site, while stem wood volume attained 237.5 m{sup 3}/ha. Yields as low as 14.2 tDM/ha for total biomass and 24.8 m{sup 3}/ha for total stem volume were also observed at the Magog site. Highest yields were obtained on the most fertile sites, particularly in terms of NO{sub 3} supply rate. Mean stem volume per tree was highly correlated with NO{sub 3} supply rate in soils (R{sup 2} = 0.58, p < 0.001). Clone effects were also detected for most of the variables measured. Total aboveground biomass and total stem volume production were high for clone 3729 (Populus nigra x P. maximowiczii) (73.1 tDM/ha and 134.2 m{sup 3}/ha), although not statistically different from clone 915311 (P. maximowiczii x P. balsamifera). However, mean whole-tree biomass (including leaves) was significantly higher for clone 3729 (38.8 kgDM/tree). Multifunctional agroforestry systems such as hybrid poplar riparian buffer strips are among the most sustainable ways to produce a high amount of biomass and wood in a short time period, while contributing to alleviate environmental problems such as agricultural non-point source pollution. (author)

Perennial Grass and Native Wildflowers: A Synergistic Approach to Habitat Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shereen S. Xavier

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Marginal agricultural land provides opportunities to diversify landscapes by producing biomass for biofuel, and through floral provisioning that enhances arthropod-mediated ecosystem service delivery. We examined the effects of local spatial context (adjacent to woodland or agriculture and irrigation (irrigation or no irrigation on wildflower bloom and visitation by arthropods in a biofeedstocks-wildflower habitat buffer design. Twenty habitat buffer plots were established containing a subplot of Napier grass (Pennisetum perpureum Schumach for biofeedstock, three commercial wildflower mix subplots, and a control subplot containing spontaneous weeds. Arthropods and flowers were visually observed in quadrats throughout the season. At the end of the season we measured soil nutrients and harvested Napier biomass. We found irrespective of buffer location or irrigation, pollinators were observed more frequently early in the season and on experimental plots with wildflowers than on weeds in the control plots. Natural enemies showed a tendency for being more common on plots adjacent to a wooded border, and were also more commonly observed early in the season. Herbivore visits were infrequent and not significantly influenced by experimental treatments. Napier grass yields were high and typical of first-year yields reported regionally, and were not affected by location context or irrigation. Our results suggest habitat management designs integrating bioenergy crop and floral resources provide marketable biomass and habitat for beneficial arthropods.

Prairie revegetation of a strip mine in Illinois: fifteen years after establishment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corbett, E.A.; Anderson, R.C.; Rodgers, C.S. [Illinois State University, Normal, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences

1996-12-01

The long-term success of prairie planting on a former strip mine in northeastern Illinois was investigated. The site was reclaimed and planted with prairie species in the 1970s. Total biomass increased over time, largely as a result of an increase in biomass of non-prairie species. Biomass of prairie species remained unchanged because of an increase in Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) offsetting decreases in Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass).

Apex simulation: environmental benefits of agroforestry and grass buffers for corn-soybean watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

The Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender (APEX) model is used to simulate the effects of vegetative filter strips on runoff and pollutant loadings from agricultural watersheds. A long-term paired watershed study under corn (Zea mays L-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation with agroforestr...

APEX simulation: environmental benefits of agroforestry and grass buffers on corn-soybean watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

The Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender (APEX) model has the ability to simulate the effects of vegetative filter strips on runoff and pollutant loadings from agricultural watersheds. The objectives of this study were to calibrate and validate the APEX model for three adjacent watersheds and...

Pesticide sorption and desorption from soils having different land use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismael Madrigal Monárrez

2008-09-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out within the framework of a multidisciplinary project for evaluating buffer zones for combating pesticide contamination of surface water. Such areas are effective in removing pesticides transported by run-off; however, little information is available about the fate of the pesticides so intercepted. Two herbicides having contrasting properties (isoproturon, moderately hydrophobic (log Kow = 2.5, diflufenican, strongly hydrophobic (log K ow = 4.9 and isopropylaniline (an isoproturon metabolite were used for characterising sorption and desorption from soil having three different land uses: grass buffer strip, woodland and cultivated plot. The experiments were carried out in controlled laboratory conditions using isoproturon labelled with 14C in the benzene ring. The results demonstrated that diflufenican and isopropilaniline retention was more significant than isoproturon in three soils. The three molecules’ Kd values revealed that isoproturon and diflufenicanil retention was more important in woodland soil where carbon content was more significant (ZB 0-2: Kd IPU = 15.1 Ls kg-1; Kd DFF = 169.2 Ls kg-1. Isopropilanilina Kd was higher in grass buffer strip soil (BE 0-2: Kd IPA = 53.1 L kg-1. These differences were related to different organic matter content and nature according to the type of land use.

Is All Urban Green Space the Same? A Comparison of the Health Benefits of Trees and Grass in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Colleen E; Clougherty, Jane E; Shmool, Jessie L C; Kubzansky, Laura D

2017-11-18

Living near vegetation, often called "green space" or "greenness", has been associated with numerous health benefits. We hypothesized that the two key components of urban vegetation, trees and grass, may differentially affect health. We estimated the association between near-residence trees, grass, and total vegetation (from the 2010 High Resolution Land Cover dataset for New York City (NYC)) with self-reported health from a survey of NYC adults (n = 1281). We found higher reporting of "very good" or "excellent" health for respondents with the highest, compared to the lowest, quartiles of tree (RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.06-1.44) but not grass density (relative risk (RR) = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.86-1.17) within 1000 m buffers, adjusting for pertinent confounders. Significant positive associations between trees and self-reported health remained after adjustment for grass, whereas associations with grass remained non-significant. Adjustment for air pollutants increased beneficial associations between trees and self-reported health; adjustment for parks only partially attenuated these effects. Results were null or negative using a 300 m buffer. Findings imply that higher exposure to vegetation, particularly trees outside of parks, may be associated with better health. If replicated, this may suggest that urban street tree planting may improve population health.

Adsorptive stripping voltammetric methods for determination of aripiprazole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derya Aşangil

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Anodic behavior of aripiprazole (ARP was studied using electrochemical methods. Charge transfer, diffusion and surface coverage coefficients of adsorbed molecules and the number of electrons transferred in electrode mechanisms were calculated for quasi-reversible and adsorption-controlled electrochemical oxidation of ARP at 1.15 V versus Ag/AgCl at pH 4.0 in Britton–Robinson buffer (BR on glassy carbon electrode. Voltammetric methods for direct determination of ARP in pharmaceutical dosage forms and biological samples were developed. Linearity range is found as from 11.4 μM (5.11 mg/L to 157 μM (70.41 mg/L without stripping mode and it is found as from 0.221 μM (0.10 mg/L to 13.6 μM (6.10 mg/L with stripping mode. Limit of detection (LOD was found to be 0.11 μM (0.05 mg/L in stripping voltammetry. Methods were successfully applied to assay the drug in tablets, human serum and human urine with good recoveries between 95.0% and 104.6% with relative standard deviation less than 10%. Keywords: Adsorptive stripping voltammetry, Aripiprazole, Electrochemical behavior, Human serum and urine, Pharmaceuticals

Effects of conventional and grass-feeding systems on the nutrient composition of beef.

Science.gov (United States)

Leheska, J M; Thompson, L D; Howe, J C; Hentges, E; Boyce, J; Brooks, J C; Shriver, B; Hoover, L; Miller, M F

2008-12-01

The objectives of this study were to determine the nutrient composition of grass-fed beef in the United States for inclusion in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, and to compare the fatty acid composition of grass-fed and conventionally fed (control) beef. Ground beef (GB) and strip steaks (SS) were collected on 3 separate occasions from 15 grass-fed beef producers that represented 13 different states, whereas control beef samples were collected from 3 regions (Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas) of the United States on 3 separate occasions. Concentrations of minerals, choline, vitamin B(12), and thiamine were determined for grass-fed beef samples. Grass-fed GB samples had less Mg, P, and K (P < 0.05), and more Na, Zn, and vitamin B(12) (P < 0.05) than SS samples. Fat color, marbling, and pH were assessed for grass-fed and control SS. Subjective evaluation of the SS indicated that grass-fed beef had fat that was more yellow in color than control beef. Percentages of total fat, total cholesterol, and fatty acids along with trans fatty acids and CLA were determined for grass-fed and control SS and GB. Grass-fed SS had less total fat than control SS (P = 0.001), but both grass-fed and control SS were considered lean, because their total fat content was 4.3% or less. For both GB and SS, grass-fed beef had significantly less (P = 0.001 and P = 0.023, respectively) content of MUFA and a greater content of SFA, n-3 fatty acids, CLA, and trans-vaccenic acid than did the control samples. Concentrations of PUFA, trans fatty acids, n-6 fatty acids, and cholesterol did not differ between grass-fed and control ground beef. Trans-vaccenic acid (trans-11 18:1) made up the greatest concentration of the total trans fats in grass-fed beef, whereas CLA accounted for approximately 15% of the total trans fats. Although the fatty acid composition of grass-fed and conventionally fed beef was different, conclusions on the possible effects of these differences on human

Strip interpolation in silicon and germanium strip detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wulf, E. A.; Phlips, B. F.; Johnson, W. N.; Kurfess, J. D.; Lister, C. J.; Kondev, F.; Physics; Naval Research Lab.

2004-01-01

The position resolution of double-sided strip detectors is limited by the strip pitch and a reduction in strip pitch necessitates more electronics. Improved position resolution would improve the imaging capabilities of Compton telescopes and PET detectors. Digitizing the preamplifier waveform yields more information than can be extracted with regular shaping electronics. In addition to the energy, depth of interaction, and which strip was hit, the digitized preamplifier signals can locate the interaction position to less than the strip pitch of the detector by looking at induced signals in neighboring strips. This allows the position of the interaction to be interpolated in three dimensions and improve the imaging capabilities of the system. In a 2 mm thick silicon strip detector with a strip pitch of 0.891 mm, strip interpolation located the interaction of 356 keV gamma rays to 0.3 mm FWHM. In a 2 cm thick germanium detector with a strip pitch of 5 mm, strip interpolation of 356 keV gamma rays yielded a position resolution of 1.5 mm FWHM

Enhanced dispersion and removal of ammonia emitted from a poultry house with a vegetative environmental buffer

Science.gov (United States)

Vegetative environmental buffers (VEBs), composed of tolerant trees, shrubs, and tall grasses, can be used to control and reduce the transport of ammonia (NH3) emissions from animal feeding operations (AFOs). However, the effectiveness of VEBs has not been quantitated. Here, we measure the dispersio...

AgBufferBuilder: A geographic information system (GIS) tool for precision design and performance assessment of filter strips

Science.gov (United States)

M. G. Dosskey; S. Neelakantan; T. G. Mueller; T. Kellerman; M. J. Helmers; E. Rienzi

2015-01-01

Spatially nonuniform runoif reduces the water qua1iry perfortnance of constant- width filter strips. A geographic inlormation system (Gls)-based tool was developed and tested that ernploys terrain analysis to account lor spatially nonuniform runoffand produce more ellbctive filter strip designs.The computer program,AgBufTerBuilder, runs with ATcGIS versions 10.0 and 10...

EnviroAtlas - Paterson, NJ - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the Atlas Area. EnviroAtlas defines vegetated buffer for this community as trees and forest and grass and herbaceous. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Phosphorus mitigation during springtime runoff by amendments applied to grassed soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Uusi-Kämppä, J; Turtola, E; Närvänen, A; Jauhiainen, L; Uusitalo, R

2012-01-01

Permanent grass vegetation on sloping soils is an option to protect fields from erosion, but decaying grass may liberate considerable amounts of dissolved reactive P (DRP) in springtime runoff. We studied the effects of freezing and thawing of grassed soil on surface runoff P concentrations by indoor rainfall simulations and tested whether the peak P concentrations could be reduced by amending the soil with P-binding materials containing Ca or Fe. Forty grass-vegetated soil blocks (surface area 0.045 m, depth 0.07 m) were retrieved from two permanent buffer zones on a clay and loam soil in southwest Finland. Four replicates were amended with either: (i) gypsum from phosphoric acid processing (CaSO × 2HO, 6 t ha), (ii) chalk powder (CaCO, 3.3 t ha), (iii) Fe-gypsum (6 t ha) from TiO processing, or (iv) granulated ferric sulfate (Fe[SO], 0.7 t ha), with four replicates serving as untreated controls. Rainfall (3.3 h × 5 mm h) was applied on presaturated samples set at a slope of 5% and the surface runoff was analyzed for DRP, total dissolved P (TDP), total P (TP), and suspended solids. Rainfall simulation was repeated twice after the samples were frozen. Freezing and thawing of the samples increased the surface runoff DRP concentration of the control treatment from 0.19 to 0.46 mg L, up to 2.6-3.7 mg L, with DRP being the main P form in surface runoff. Compared with the controls, surface runoff from soils amended with Fe compounds had 57 to 80% and 47 to 72% lower concentrations of DRP and TP, respectively, but the gypsum and chalk powder did not affect the P concentrations. Thus, amendments containing Fe might be an option to improve DRP retention in, e.g., buffer zones. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Use of Fuzzy rainfall-runoff predictions for claypan watersheds with conservation buffers in Northeast Missouri

Science.gov (United States)

Anomaa Senaviratne, G. M. M. M.; Udawatta, Ranjith P.; Anderson, Stephen H.; Baffaut, Claire; Thompson, Allen

2014-09-01

Fuzzy rainfall-runoff models are often used to forecast flood or water supply in large catchments and applications at small/field scale agricultural watersheds are limited. The study objectives were to develop, calibrate, and validate a fuzzy rainfall-runoff model using long-term data of three adjacent field scale row crop watersheds (1.65-4.44 ha) with intermittent discharge in the claypan soils of Northeast Missouri. The watersheds were monitored for a six-year calibration period starting 1991 (pre-buffer period). Thereafter, two of them were treated with upland contour grass and agroforestry (tree + grass) buffers (4.5 m wide, 36.5 m apart) to study water quality benefits. The fuzzy system was based on Mamdani method using MATLAB 7.10.0. The model predicted event-based runoff with model performance coefficients of r2 and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient (NSC) values greater than 0.65 for calibration and validation. The pre-buffer fuzzy system predicted event-based runoff for 30-50 times larger corn/soybean watersheds with r2 values of 0.82 and 0.68 and NSC values of 0.77 and 0.53, respectively. The runoff predicted by the fuzzy system closely agreed with values predicted by physically-based Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender model (APEX) for the pre-buffer watersheds. The fuzzy rainfall-runoff model has the potential for runoff predictions at field-scale watersheds with minimum input. It also could up-scale the predictions for large-scale watersheds to evaluate the benefits of conservation practices.

Buffers for biomass production in temperate European agriculture: A review and synthesis on function, ecosystem services and implementation

OpenAIRE

Christen, Ben; Dalgaard, Tommy

2013-01-01

In addition to their potential for biomass production, buffer strips on agricultural land have been shown to protect surface water quality by reducing erosion and nutrient leaching, and can play a key role in nature and flood protection, and the design of bioenergy landscapes resilient to climate changes, and the environmental pressures from intensive agriculture. Use of conservation buffers by farmers outside of designated schemes is very limited to date, but the increasing demand for bioene...

Biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in hybrid poplar buffers, herbaceous buffers and natural woodlots in the riparian zone on agricultural land.

Science.gov (United States)

Fortier, Julien; Truax, Benoit; Gagnon, Daniel; Lambert, France

2015-05-01

In many temperate agricultural areas, riparian forests have been converted to cultivated land, and only narrow strips of herbaceous vegetation now buffer many farm streams. The afforestation of these riparian zones has the potential to increase carbon (C) storage in agricultural landscapes by creating a new biomass sink for atmospheric CO2. Occurring at the same time, the storage of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in plant biomass, is an important water quality function that may greatly vary with types of riparian vegetation. The objectives of this study were (1) to compare C, N and P storage in aboveground, belowground and detrital biomass for three types of riparian vegetation cover (9-year-old hybrid poplar buffers, herbaceous buffers and natural woodlots) across four agricultural sites and (2) to determine potential vegetation cover effects on soil nutrient supply rate in the riparian zone. Site level comparisons suggest that 9-year-old poplar buffers have stored 9-31 times more biomass C, 4-10 times more biomass N, and 3-7 times more biomass P than adjacent non managed herbaceous buffers, with the largest differences observed on the more fertile sites. The conversion of these herbaceous buffers to poplar buffers could respectively increase C, N and P storage in biomass by 3.2-11.9 t/ha/yr, 32-124 kg/ha/yr and 3.2-15.6 kg/ha/yr, over 9 years. Soil NO3 and P supply rates during the summer were respectively 57% and 66% lower in poplar buffers than in adjacent herbaceous buffers, potentially reflecting differences in nutrient storage and cycling between the two buffer types. Biomass C ranged 49-160 t/ha in woodlots, 33-110 t/ha in poplar buffers and 3-4 t/ha in herbaceous buffers. Similar biomass C stocks were found in the most productive poplar buffer and three of the four woodlots studied. Given their large and varied biomass C stocks, conservation of older riparian woodlots is equally important for C balance management in farmland. In addition, the

EnviroAtlas - Austin, TX - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. Vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest and Grass & Herbaceous. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Treatment of Alkaline Stripped Effluent in Aerated Constructed Wetlands: Feasibility Evaluation and Performance Enhancement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keli He

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Ammonium stripping has gained increasing interest for nitrogen recovery in anaerobically digested effluents. However, the stripped effluents often still do not meet discharge standards, having high pH and residual pollutants. Constructed wetlands (CWs are an easy to operate ecosystem and have a long history of application in treatment of wastewaters with extreme pH, such as acid mine drainage. However, knowledge of the mechanistic details involved in the use of CWs to treat high alkaline drainage, such as stripped effluent, is insufficient. This study explored the feasibility and effectiveness of using three sub-surface horizontal flow CWs to treat high alkaline stripped effluent (pH > 10. Two intensification strategies—intermittent aeration and effluent recirculation—were evaluated to enhance nitrogen depuration performance. The results show that the treatment of alkaline stripped effluent is feasible due to the high buffering capacity of the wetlands. Effluent recirculation combined with intermittent artificial aeration improves nitrogen removal, with 71% total nitrogen (TN removal. Ammonia volatilization from the surface of the wetlands in high alkaline conditions only contributed to 3% of the total removed ammonium. The microbial abundance and activity had significant diversity for the various enhancement strategies used in the constructed wetland systems. Anammox is an important process for nitrogen removal in CWs treating alkaline stripped effluent, and possible enhancements of this process should be investigated further.

Performance of Grass Filter Strip in Copper and Zinc Removal in Surface and Subsurface Runoff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huo Weijie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Three filter strips were conducted on self-designed soil bins. Taking a filter strip with no vegetation as contrast, the effectiveness of vegetation and soil conditions on heavy metals (including copper and zinc removal efficiencies were investigated by simulated runoff experiment. The results showed that the adsorbed state is the main existing form of heavy metal. For surface runoff, most of total copper and total zinc are trapped in first 4m and it is ineffective to increase the distance beyond 4m for removal. Vegetation has no significant effect on total copper and total zinc removal, while the soil with higher content of organic matter is contributing to total Zn interception. For subsurface runoff, the removal efficiencies of total copper and total zinc can reach to above 95.38% and both vegetation and soil conditions have no significant effects. Vegetation is contributing to copper ion and zinc ion removal significantly. Soil condition is only a significant factor to zinc ion, with higher content of organic matter as a contributing factor.

resistance of napier grass clones to napier grass stunt disease

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) is the major livestock fodder under intensive and semi-intensive systems in East Africa. However, the productivity of the grass is constrained by Napier grass Stunt Disease. (NSD). The purpose of this study was to identify Napier grass clones with resistance to NSD.

Resistance of Napier grass clones to Napier grass Stunt Disease ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) is the major livestock fodder under intensive and semi-intensive systems in East Africa. However, the productivity of the grass is constrained by Napier grass Stunt Disease (NSD). The purpose of this study was to identify Napier grass clones with resistance to NSD.

Evaluation of a mechanistic algorithm to calculate the influence of a shallow water table on hydrology sediment and pesticide transport through vegetative filter strips

Science.gov (United States)

Lauvernet, C.; Munoz-Carpena, R.; Carluer, N.

2012-04-01

Natural or introduced areas of vegetation, also known as vegetative filter strips (VFS), are a common environmental control practice to protect surface water bodies from human influence. In Europe, VFS are placed along the water network to protect from agrochemical drift during applications, in addition to runoff control. Their bottomland placement next to the streams often implies the presence of a seasonal shallow water table which can have a profound impact on the efficiency of the buffer zone (Lacas et al. 2005). A physically-based algorithm describing ponded infiltration into soils bounded by a water table, proposed by Salvucci and Enthekabi (1995), was further developed to simulate VFS dynamics by making it explicit in time, account for unsteady rainfall conditions, and by coupling to a numerical overland flow and transport model (VFSMOD) (Munoz-Carpena et al., submitted). In this study, we evaluate the importance of the presence of a shallow water table on filter efficiency (reductions in runoff, sediment and pesticide mass), in the context of all other input factors used to describe the system. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) was used to rank the important input factors and the presence of interactions, as well as the contribution of the important factors to the output variance. GSA of VSFMOD modified for shallow water table was implemented on 2 sites selected in France because they represent different agro-pedo-climatic conditions for which we can compare the role of the factors influencing the performance of grassed buffer strips for surface runoff, sediment and pesticide removal. The first site at Morcille watershed in the Beaujolais wineyard (Rhône-Alpes) contains a very permeable sandy-clay with water table depth varying with the season (very deep in summer and shallow in winter), with a high slope (20 to 30%), and subject to strong seasonal storms (semi-continental, Mediterranean climate). The second site at La Jailliere (Loire-Atlantique, ARVALIS

Elephant grass clones for silage production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rerisson José Cipriano dos Santos

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Ensiling warm-season grasses often requires wilting due to their high moisture content, and the presence of low-soluble sugars in these grasses usually demands the use of additives during the ensiling process. This study evaluated the bromatological composition of the fodder and silage from five Pennisetum sp. clones (IPA HV 241, IPA/UFRPE Taiwan A-146 2.114, IPA/UFRPE Taiwan A-146 2.37, Elephant B, and Mott. The contents of 20 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC silos, which were opened after 90 days of storage, were used for the bromatological analysis and the evaluation of the pH, nitrogen, ammonia, buffer capacity, soluble carbohydrates, and fermentation coefficients. The effluent losses, gases and dry matter recovery were also calculated. Although differences were observed among the clones (p < 0.05 for the concentrations of dry matter, insoluble nitrogen in acid detergents, insoluble nitrogen in neutral detergents, soluble carbohydrates, fermentation coefficients, and in vitro digestibility in the forage before ensiling, no differences were observed for most of these variables after ensiling. All of the clones were efficient in the fermentation process. The IPA/UFRPE TAIWAN A-146 2.37 clone, however, presented a higher dry matter concentration and the best fermentation coefficient, resulting in a better silage quality, compared to the other clones.

EnviroAtlas - Des Moines, IA - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. Vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest and Grass & Herbaceous. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/EnviroAtlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - Cleveland, OH - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest, Grass & Herbaceous, Woody Wetlands, and Emergent Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas ) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

EnviroAtlas - Memphis, TN - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. Vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest, Grass & Herbaceous, Woody Wetlands, and Emergent Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less forested. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Buffer capacity of biologics--from buffer salts to buffering by antibodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Karow, Anne R; Bahrenburg, Sven; Garidel, Patrick

2013-01-01

Controlling pH is essential for a variety of biopharmaceutical process steps. The chemical stability of biologics such as monoclonal antibodies is pH-dependent and slightly acidic conditions are favorable for stability in a number of cases. Since control of pH is widely provided by added buffer salts, the current study summarizes the buffer characteristics of acetate, citrate, histidine, succinate, and phosphate buffers. Experimentally derived values largely coincide with values calculated from a model that had been proposed in 1922 by van Slyke. As high concentrated protein formulations become more and more prevalent for biologics, the self-buffering potential of proteins becomes of relevance. The current study provides information on buffer characteristics for pH ranges down to 4.0 and up to 8.0 and shows that a monoclonal antibody at 50 mg/mL exhibits similar buffer capacity as 6 mM citrate or 14 mM histidine (pH 5.0-6.0). Buffer capacity of antibody solutions scales linearly with protein concentration up to more than 200 mg/mL. At a protein concentration of 220 mg/mL, the buffer capacity resembles the buffer capacity of 30 mM citrate or 50 mM histidine (pH 5.0-6.0). The buffer capacity of monoclonal antibodies is practically identical at the process relevant temperatures 5, 25, and 40°C. Changes in ionic strength of ΔI=0.15, in contrast, can alter the buffer capacity up to 35%. In conclusion, due to efficient self-buffering by antibodies in the pH range of favored chemical stability, conventional buffer excipients could be dispensable for pH stabilization of high concentrated protein solutions. Copyright © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Perennial filter strips reduce nitrate levels in soil and shallow groundwater after grassland-to-cropland conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xiaobo; Helmers, Matthew J; Asbjornsen, Heidi; Kolka, Randy; Tomer, Mark D

2010-01-01

Many croplands planted to perennial grasses under the Conservation Reserve Program are being returned to crop production, and with potential consequences for water quality. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of grassland-to-cropland conversion on nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations in soil and shallow groundwater and to assess the potential for perennial filter strips (PFS) to mitigate increases in NO3-N levels. The study, conducted at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge (NSNWR) in central Iowa, consisted of a balanced incomplete block design with 12 watersheds and four watershed-scale treatments having different proportions and topographic positions of PFS planted in native prairie grasses: 100% rowcrop, 10% PFS (toeslope position), 10% PFS (distributed on toe and as contour strips), and 20 PFS (distributed on toe and as contour strips). All treatments were established in fall 2006 on watersheds that were under bromegrass (Bromus L.) cover for at least 10 yr. Nonperennial areas were maintained under a no-till 2-yr corn (Zea mays L.)--soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr.] rotation since spring 2007. Suction lysimeter and shallow groundwater wells located at upslope and toeslope positions were sampled monthly during the growing season to determine NO3-N concentration from 2005 to 2008. The results indicated significant increases in NO3-N concentration in soil and groundwater following grassland-to-cropland conversion. Nitrate-nitrogen levels in the vadose zone and groundwater under PFS were lower compared with 100% cropland, with the most significant differences occurring at the toeslope position. During the years following conversion, PFS mitigated increases in subsurface nitrate, but long-term monitoring is needed to observe and understand the full response to land-use conversion.

Litter Controls Earthworm-Mediated Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in Soil from Temperate Riparian Buffers

OpenAIRE

Maria Kernecker; Joann K. Whalen; Robert L. Bradley

2014-01-01

Nutrient cycling in riparian buffers is partly influenced by decomposition of crop, grass, and native tree species litter. Nonnative earthworms in riparian soils in southern Quebec are expected to speed the processes of litter decomposition and nitrogen (N) mineralization, increasing carbon (C) and N losses in gaseous forms or via leachate. A 5-month microcosm experiment evaluated the effect of Aporrectodea turgida on the decomposition of 3 litter types (deciduous leaves, reed canarygrass, an...

Gene Expression Profiling of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Crisp Grass Carp

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ermeng Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus is one of the most important freshwater fish that is native to China, and crisp grass carp is a kind of high value-added fishes which have higher muscle firmness. To investigate biological functions and possible signal transduction pathways that address muscle firmness increase of crisp grass carp, microarray analysis of 14,900 transcripts was performed. Compared with grass carp, 127 genes were upregulated and 114 genes were downregulated in crisp grass carp. Gene ontology (GO analysis revealed 30 GOs of differentially expressed genes in crisp grass carp. And strong correlation with muscle firmness increase of crisp grass carp was found for these genes from differentiation of muscle fibers and deposition of ECM, and also glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway and calcium metabolism may contribute to muscle firmness increase. In addition, a number of genes with unknown functions may be related to muscle firmness, and these genes are still further explored. Overall, these results had been demonstrated to play important roles in clarifying the molecular mechanism of muscle firmness increase in crisp grass carp.

EnviroAtlas - New York, NY - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees & Forest and Grass & Herbaceous. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets)

Model for prediction of strip temperature in hot strip steel mill

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panjkovic, Vladimir

2007-01-01

Proper functioning of set-up models in a hot strip steel mill requires reliable prediction of strip temperature. Temperature prediction is particularly important for accurate calculation of rolling force because of strong dependence of yield stress and strip microstructure on temperature. A comprehensive model was developed to replace an obsolete model in the Western Port hot strip mill of BlueScope Steel. The new model predicts the strip temperature evolution from the roughing mill exit to the finishing mill exit. It takes into account the radiative and convective heat losses, forced flow boiling and film boiling of water at strip surface, deformation heat in the roll gap, frictional sliding heat, heat of scale formation and the heat transfer between strip and work rolls through an oxide layer. The significance of phase transformation was also investigated. Model was tested with plant measurements and benchmarked against other models in the literature, and its performance was very good

Model for prediction of strip temperature in hot strip steel mill

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panjkovic, Vladimir [BlueScope Steel, TEOB, 1 Bayview Road, Hastings Vic. 3915 (Australia)]. E-mail: Vladimir.Panjkovic@BlueScopeSteel.com

2007-10-15

Proper functioning of set-up models in a hot strip steel mill requires reliable prediction of strip temperature. Temperature prediction is particularly important for accurate calculation of rolling force because of strong dependence of yield stress and strip microstructure on temperature. A comprehensive model was developed to replace an obsolete model in the Western Port hot strip mill of BlueScope Steel. The new model predicts the strip temperature evolution from the roughing mill exit to the finishing mill exit. It takes into account the radiative and convective heat losses, forced flow boiling and film boiling of water at strip surface, deformation heat in the roll gap, frictional sliding heat, heat of scale formation and the heat transfer between strip and work rolls through an oxide layer. The significance of phase transformation was also investigated. Model was tested with plant measurements and benchmarked against other models in the literature, and its performance was very good.

Feeding Dairy Cows to Increase Performance on Rhodes Grass Ley

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irungu, K.R.G.; Mbugua, P.N.

1999-01-01

Majority of dairy farmers in Kenya produce milk from cows fed on roughage. The cow performance follows seasonal variability in quality and quantity of roughage. The objective of the current study was to increase cow performance and maintain productivity of a rhodes grass (chloris gayana) ley. Twenty-four Freisian cows in their second to third lactation were strip grazed on fertilized irrigated Rhodes grass at a stocking rate of 0.034 ha per cow. Four dietary groups of six cows were allocated to one of our diets. one group got no dairy meal while the other three groups were supplemented at a 1kg of dairy meal per 10, 5 and 2.5 kg of 4% fat corrected milk dairy. this amount to 0, 386, 750 and 1542 kg dairy meal (89.4%, DM, 93.7 OM, 16.8, CP and CF) during the lactation. during the 43 - week lactation, records on pasture nutrient yield, nutrient intake, milk yield, liveweight, reproduction and subsequent calf birth weight were collected. The Rhodes grass ley produced 20.7 (ranging from 16.7 to 28.7) t of dry matter (DM) per hectare and cows harvested 16.0 (12.0 to 24.0) t during the 43 weeks.The Rhodes grass contained 32.1, 87.7, 10.8, and 32.3% DM, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) respectively. Mean stubble of 4.7 (3.9 to 6.0) t DM per hectare was left at pasture. Feeding dairy meals significantly increased (P 0.05) affect batter fat content (3.78 to 3.96%). It maintained (P > 0.05) cow liveweight and increased (P < 0.05) calf birth weight from 32.7 to 37.2 kg. Feeding dairy meal did not affect oestrus cycling. Extreme supplementation, 1542 kg dairy meal, decreased (P < 0.05) fertility. Insemination per conception and calving interval increased (P < 0.05) from 1.5 to 3.5 and 522 days. The findings in the current study show that pasture yield can be increased by over 590% dry matter from 3.5 t obtained from natural pasture containing Kikuyu and Star grasses. The Rhodes grass yield can be increased to 232% of national average yield of 1300

Treatment with grass allergen peptides improves symptoms of grass pollen-induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Anne K; Frankish, Charles W; O'Hehir, Robyn E; Armstrong, Kristen; Steacy, Lisa; Larché, Mark; Hafner, Roderick P

2017-08-01

Synthetic peptide immunoregulatory epitopes are a new class of immunotherapy to treat allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). Grass allergen peptides, comprising 7 synthetic T-cell epitopes derived from Cyn d 1, Lol p 5, Dac g 5, Hol l 5, and Phl p 5, is investigated for treatment of grass pollen-induced ARC. We sought to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of intradermally administered grass allergen peptides. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated 3 regimens of grass allergen peptides versus placebo in patients with grass pollen-induced allergy (18-65 years). After a 4-day baseline challenge to rye grass in the environmental exposure unit (EEU), subjects were randomized to receive grass allergen peptides at 6 nmol at 2-week intervals for a total of 8 doses (8x6Q2W), grass allergen peptides at 12 nmol at 4-week intervals for a total of 4 doses (4x12Q4W), or grass allergen peptides at 12 nmol at 2-week intervals for a total of 8 doses (8x12Q2W) or placebo and treated before the grass pollen season. The primary efficacy end point was change from baseline in total rhinoconjunctivitis symptom score across days 2 to 4 of a 4-day posttreatment challenge (PTC) in the EEU after the grass pollen season. Secondary efficacy end points and safety were also assessed. Two hundred eighty-two subjects were randomized. Significantly greater improvement (reduction of total rhinoconjunctivitis symptom score from baseline to PTC) occurred across days 2 to 4 with grass allergen peptide 8x6Q2W versus placebo (-5.4 vs -3.8, respectively; P = .0346). Greater improvement at PTC also occurred for grass allergen peptide 8x6Q2W versus placebo (P = .0403) in patients with more symptomatic ARC. No safety signals were detected. Grass allergen peptide 8x6Q2W significantly improved ARC symptoms after rye grass allergen challenge in an EEU with an acceptable safety profile. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Provisioning of nestling Dickcissels in native warm-season grass field buffers

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, K.L.; Riffell, Samuel K.; Burger, L. Wes; Vilella, Francisco

2012-01-01

We used video cameras in 2008–2009 to record provisioning activities at Dickcissel (Spiza americana) nests in and around Conservation Reserve Program field buffers in north-central Mississippi, USA. We simultaneously observed foraging flight distances of parents. Provisioning rate (P  =  0.412), biomass (P  =  0.161), and foraging distance (P  =  0.159) did not increase with nestling age. Parents delivered larger items to meet demand associated with older nestlings (P  =  0.010–0.001). This suggests energetic costs of changes in prey selection were less than costs of increasing the number or distance of provisioning trips. Presence of male helpers increased provisioning rate (P nestling food resources similar to surrounding habitats. Use of continuous video monitoring of nest activity allows well-concealed activities including provisioning and male helping to be directly observed and better quantified.

EnviroAtlas - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - 51m Riparian Buffer Vegetated Cover

Science.gov (United States)

This EnviroAtlas dataset describes the percentage of a 51-m riparian buffer that is vegetated. In this community, vegetated cover is defined as Trees and Forest, Grass and Herbaceous, Woody Wetlands, and Emergent Wetlands. There is a potential for decreased water quality in areas where the riparian buffer is less vegetated. The displayed line represents the center of the analyzed riparian buffer. The water bodies analyzed include hydrologically connected streams, rivers, connectors, reservoirs, lakes/ponds, ice masses, washes, locks, and rapids within the EnviroAtlas community area. This dataset was produced by the US EPA to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Definition of rehabilitation strategies for pre-strip tertiary spoil at coal mines in central Queensland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, L.C.; Mulligan, D.R.; Mitchell, R.J.; Philp, M.W.; Roe, P.A.

1994-01-01

In the open-cut coal mines of central Queensland, the conventional dragline removal of overburden results in a spoil surface dominated by Permian sediments. In recent years, however, a number of mines have changed their coal exposure methods to include a pre-stripping operation to create a bench for the dragline up to 50 m below the surface. This approach has allowed economic coal recovery from greater depths, but, since this pre-strip material is being deposited on existing spoil piles, it has resulted in a major change in the type of spoil material on the surface. The aims of this project were, firstly, to define the characteristics of this pre-strip material that could cause problems for the establishment and growth of both introduced pasture grasses and native tree species, and secondly, to explore possible spoil amendments which could ameliorate some or all of these limitations. Analyses on the range of spoils included pH, EC and sodicity. Straw mulch also reduced the crust strength and was an effective means of improving vegetative establishment. A complementary field trial was established at Saraji mine in April 1991, and after 4 months, treatments which involved a 30 cm capping of soil on the spoil resulted in the highest densities of tree seedling

Currant allergy and the Rosaceae-grass pollen allergy syndrome: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Ezquerra, Patricia Rojas; de la Gaspar, Maria Vazquez Torre; de Fernández, Manuel Barrio; Flores, Vanesa Tovar; Alvarez-Santullano, Ana Villanueva; de Ocáriz, Maria Luisa Baeza Ochoa

2007-05-01

Despite the increasing use of currants in culinary recipes, currant allergy has rarely been reported. To study a case of currant allergy and to explore cross-reactivity between grass pollen and Rosaceae family fruit allergens. Skin prick tests to pollen and skin prick-to-prick tests with currants and peach were performed. Specific IgE levels were determined using the CAP method. We prepared a protein extract of 0.1 mg/mL in phosphate-buffered saline using red currant in the presence of protease inhibitors. Immunoblot inhibition studies were performed to explore cross-reactivity between grass pollen and currant allergens. Skin prick test results were positive to Dactylis, arizonic, and olive pollens. Results of skin prick-to-prick tests with fresh red and black currants were negative and positive, respectively, to peach. The specific IgE level was 5.7 KU/L to red currant and 2.92 KU/L to peach (CAP). Western blot analysis with red currant extract revealed specific IgE protein bands of 37 and 26 kDa. Preincubation of sera with extracts from red currant and peach inhibited both IgE bands, and preincubation with Dactylis pollen inhibited the 37-kDa band only. We report a case of allergy to grass pollen with an oral allergy syndrome involving several fruits from 2 different families of the Rosidae subclass confirmed by in vitro tests. Inhibition studies demonstrated cross-reactivity between different fruits (currant and raspberry) from the Rosidae subclass and were incomplete with grass pollen allergens.

Beyond buffer zone protection: a comparative study of park and buffer zone products' importance to villagers living inside Royal Chitwan National Park and to villagers living in its buffer zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Straede, Steffen; Treue, Thorsten

2006-02-01

, which is likely to be unsustainable in the longer term. This calls for a thorough evaluation of actual park-people relations and how these may be improved through local participation that goes beyond the current form of buffer zone community forestry and the admitted 7-14 annual days of open access grass cutting within the park.

A Comparison of Buffer Strip and Non-Buffer Strip Joint Designs

Science.gov (United States)

1976-06-01

I OCOCOCOQ •• •COCOCOcO oo>^ » rococo aa i » rococoOO cOCOCO • «00 »COCO -IWQQ ••COCO I OcOOcOCO O •COQCOCO QO—<cOcOcOcO •OOQ I CO CO CO CO •»Q «0...ro (\\jojcor\\i rococo rococo rococoZZ2Z2ZZZ2ZZZZZZZ2Z2ZZZ2Z2ZZZZ2ZZZ2Z22ZZZZZZZZZZZ <<<<<<<<«3<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<I<<<Iə<<<I<<< UJ t— on o a

Effects of native perennial vegetation buffer strips on dissolved organic carbon in surface runoff from an agricultural landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Tomorra E. Smith; Randall K. Kolka; Xiaobo Zhou; Matthew J. Helmers; Richard M. Cruse; Mark D. Tomer

2014-01-01

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) constitutes a small yet important part of a watershed's carbon budget because it is mobile and biologically active. Agricultural conservation practices such as native perennial vegetation (NPV) strips will influence carbon cycling of an upland agroecosystem, and could affect how much DOC enters streams in runoff, potentially...

Quantitative comparison of 3 enamel-stripping devices in vitro: how precisely can we strip teeth?

Science.gov (United States)

Johner, Alexander Marc; Pandis, Nikolaos; Dudic, Alexander; Kiliaridis, Stavros

2013-04-01

In this in-vitro study, we aimed to investigate the predictability of the expected amount of stripping using 3 common stripping devices on premolars. One hundred eighty extracted premolars were mounted and aligned in silicone. Tooth mobility was tested with Periotest (Medizintechnik Gulden, Modautal, Germany) (8.3 ± 2.8 units). The selected methods for interproximal enamel reduction were hand-pulled strips (Horico, Hapf Ringleb & Company, Berlin, Germany), oscillating segmental disks (O-drive-OD 30; KaVo Dental, Biberach, Germany), and motor-driven abrasive strips (Orthofile; SDC Switzerland, Lugano-Grancia, Switzerland). With each device, the operator intended to strip 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, or 0.4 mm on the mesial side of 15 teeth. The teeth were scanned before and after stripping with a 3-dimensional laser scanner. Superposition and measurement of stripped enamel on the most mesial point of the tooth were conducted with Viewbox software (dHal Software, Kifissia, Greece). The Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were applied; statistical significance was set at alpha ≤ 0.05. Large variations between the intended and the actual amounts of stripped enamel, and between stripping procedures, were observed. Significant differences were found at 0.1 mm of intended stripping (P ≤ 0.05) for the hand-pulled method and at 0.4 mm of intended stripping (P ≤ 0.001 to P = 0.05) for all methods. For all scenarios of enamel reduction, the actual amount of stripping was less than the predetermined and expected amount of stripping. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed no significant differences between the 3 methods. There were variations in the stripped amounts of enamel, and the stripping technique did not appear to be a significant predictor of the actual amount of enamel reduction. In most cases, actual stripping was less than the intended amount of enamel reduction. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights

Vegetative and structural characteristics of agricultural drainages in the Mississippi Delta landscapes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouldin, J.L.; Farris, J.L.; Moore, M.T.; Cooper, C.M.

2004-01-01

Agricultural drainage ditches in the Mississippi Alluvial Delta landscape vary from edge-of-field waterways to sizeable drainages. Ditch attributes vary with size, location and maintenance and may aid in mitigation of contaminants from agricultural fields. The goal of this study was to better understand how vegetative characteristics affect water quality in conveyance structures in the context of ditch class and surrounding land use. Characterization of 36 agricultural ditches included presence of riparian buffer strips, water depth, surrounding land use, vegetative cover, and associated aqueous physicochemical parameters. Vegetation was assessed quantitatively, obtaining stem counts in a sub-sample of ditch sites, using random quadrat method. Physical features varied with ditch size and vegetative diversity was higher in larger structures. Polygonum sp. was the dominant bed vegetation and was ubiquitous among site sizes. Macrophytes varied from aquatic to upland species, and included Leersia sp. and upland grasses (Poaceae family) in all drainage size classes. Percent cover of bed and bank varied from 0 to 100% and 70 to 100%, respectively, and highest nutrient values were measured in sites with no buffer strips. These conveyance structures and surrounding buffer zones are being ranked for their ability to reduce excess nutrients, suspended solids, and pesticides associated with runoff. - Capsule: Vegetated buffer areas provide effective mitigation for non-point source pollution from agriculture

SQ grass sublingual allergy immunotherapy tablet for disease-modifying treatment of grass pollen allergic rhinoconjunctivitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Ronald; Roberts, Graham; de Blic, Jacques

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Allergy immunotherapy is a treatment option for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). It is unique compared with pharmacotherapy in that it modifies the immunologic pathways that elicit an allergic response. The SQ Timothy grass sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) tablet is approved in North...... America and throughout Europe for the treatment of adults and children (≥5 years old) with grass pollen-induced ARC. OBJECTIVE: The clinical evidence for the use of SQ grass SLIT-tablet as a disease-modifying treatment for grass pollen ARC is discussed in this review. METHODS: The review included...... the suitability of SQ grass SLIT-tablet for patients with clinically relevant symptoms to multiple Pooideae grass species, single-season efficacy, safety, adherence, coseasonal initiation, and cost-effectiveness. The data from the long-term SQ grass SLIT-tablet clinical trial that evaluated a clinical effect 2...

Immunochromatographic lateral flow strip for on-site detection of bisphenol A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mei, Z.; Deng, Y.; Zhong, Y.; Wu, J.; Yang, H.; Wang, Z.; Zheng, L.; Chen, W.; Chu, H.; Xue, F.

2013-01-01

We have developed a lateral flow assay (LFA) for the detection of bisphenol A (BPA) in water samples. Antibody against BPA was labeled with gold nanoparticles, and these conjugates were used as the recognition probes for the construction of an LFA strip. The diameter of the gold nanoparticles, the amount of antibody, the pH of the buffer, and the categories of the conjugation pad were optimized. The resulting method has a (visual) detection limit of 5 ppb, and of 0.92 ppb if used in combination with professional software. This LFA displays excellent specificity and was applied to spiked water samples with satisfactory results. (author)

Stripping Voltammetry

Science.gov (United States)

Lovrić, Milivoj

Electrochemical stripping means the oxidative or reductive removal of atoms, ions, or compounds from an electrode surface (or from the electrode body, as in the case of liquid mercury electrodes with dissolved metals) [1-5]. In general, these atoms, ions, or compounds have been preliminarily immobilized on the surface of an inert electrode (or within it) as the result of a preconcentration step, while the products of the electrochemical stripping will dissolve in the electrolytic solution. Often the product of the electrochemical stripping is identical to the analyte before the preconcentration. However, there are exemptions to these rules. Electroanalytical stripping methods comprise two steps: first, the accumulation of a dissolved analyte onto, or in, the working electrode, and, second, the subsequent stripping of the accumulated substance by a voltammetric [3, 5], potentiometric [6, 7], or coulometric [8] technique. In stripping voltammetry, the condition is that there are two independent linear relationships: the first one between the activity of accumulated substance and the concentration of analyte in the sample, and the second between the maximum stripping current and the accumulated substance activity. Hence, a cumulative linear relationship between the maximum response and the analyte concentration exists. However, the electrode capacity for the analyte accumulation is limited and the condition of linearity is satisfied only well below the electrode saturation. For this reason, stripping voltammetry is used mainly in trace analysis. The limit of detection depends on the factor of proportionality between the activity of the accumulated substance and the bulk concentration of the analyte. This factor is a constant in the case of a chemical accumulation, but for electrochemical accumulation it depends on the electrode potential. The factor of proportionality between the maximum stripping current and the analyte concentration is rarely known exactly. In fact

GUI development for GRASS GIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Landa

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses GUI development for GRASS GIS. Sophisticated native GUI for GRASS is one of the key points (besides the new 2D/3D raster library, vector architecture improvements, etc. for the future development of GRASS. In 2006 the GRASS development team decided to start working on the new generation of GUI instead of improving the current GUI based on Tcl/Tk.

A wooded riparian strip set up for nitrogen removal can affect the water flux microbial composition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mizanur Md. Rahman

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This research is part of a project aimed at verifying the potential of a specifically assessed wooded riparian zone in removing excess of combined nitrogen from the Zero river flow for the reduction of nutrient input into Venice Lagoon. Specific objectives were pursued to determine seasonal fluctuations of the microbial populations from the input water to a drainage ditch, conveying back the flux into the river after passing through the soil of the wooded riparian strip. The bacterial communities were determined by combined approaches involving cultivation, microscopic methods and DNA based techniques to determine both culturable and total microbial community in water. The results indicate that the size of the bacterial population, including the culturable fraction, increases from the river to the drainage ditch especially on the warm season. The multiple approach here adopted enabled also to demonstrate that the special condition created in the buffer strip supports the development and the metabolism of the microbial community. The nature of the bacterial population, in terms of phylotypes distribution, was investigated by 16S rDNA analysis indicating that the most represented genera belong to Gamma-proteobacteria, which is known to include an exceeding number of important pathogens. In spring, the effect of the buffer strip seems to significantly reduce such a sub-population. The changes observed for the total bacterial community composition become much evident in summer, as revealed by both denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis cluster analysis and by the diversity index calculation. The hydraulic management coupled to the suspension of farming practices and the development of the woody and herbaceous vegetation resulted in a condition suitable for the containment of undesired microbiota (mainly during the spring season while continuing to support denitrification activity (especially throughout the summer as verified by the total nitrogen

Genome sequence analysis of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon: insights into grass genome evolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schulman, Al

2009-08-09

Three subfamilies of grasses, the Erhardtoideae (rice), the Panicoideae (maize, sorghum, sugar cane and millet), and the Pooideae (wheat, barley and cool season forage grasses) provide the basis of human nutrition and are poised to become major sources of renewable energy. Here we describe the complete genome sequence of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium), the first member of the Pooideae subfamily to be completely sequenced. Comparison of the Brachypodium, rice and sorghum genomes reveals a precise sequence- based history of genome evolution across a broad diversity of the grass family and identifies nested insertions of whole chromosomes into centromeric regions as a predominant mechanism driving chromosome evolution in the grasses. The relatively compact genome of Brachypodium is maintained by a balance of retroelement replication and loss. The complete genome sequence of Brachypodium, coupled to its exceptional promise as a model system for grass research, will support the development of new energy and food crops

Varicose vein stripping

Science.gov (United States)

... stripping; Venous reflux - vein stripping; Venous ulcer - veins Patient Instructions Surgical wound care - open Varicose veins - what to ask your doctor Images Circulatory system References American Family Physician. Management of varicose veins. www.aafp.org/afp/2008/ ...

Testbeam evaluation of silicon strip modules for ATLAS Phase - II Strip Tracker Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Blue, Andrew; The ATLAS collaboration; Ai, Xiaocong; Allport, Phillip; Arling, Jan-Hendrik; Atkin, Ryan Justin; Bruni, Lucrezia Stella; Carli, Ina; Casse, Gianluigi; Chen, Liejian; Chisholm, Andrew; Cormier, Kyle James Read; Cunningham, William Reilly; Dervan, Paul; Diez Cornell, Sergio; Dolezal, Zdenek; Dopke, Jens; Dreyer, Etienne; Dreyling-Eschweiler, Jan Linus Roderik; Escobar, Carlos; Fabiani, Veronica; Fadeyev, Vitaliy; Fernandez Tejero, Javier; Fleta Corral, Maria Celeste; Gallop, Bruce; Garcia-Argos, Carlos; Greenall, Ashley; Gregor, Ingrid-Maria; Greig, Graham George; Guescini, Francesco; Hara, Kazuhiko; Hauser, Marc Manuel; Huang, Yanping; Hunter, Robert Francis Holub; Keller, John; Klein, Christoph; Kodys, Peter; Koffas, Thomas; Kotek, Zdenek; Kroll, Jiri; Kuehn, Susanne; Lee, Steven Juhyung; Liu, Yi; Lohwasser, Kristin; Meszarosova, Lucia; Mikestikova, Marcela; Mi\\~nano Moya, Mercedes; Mori, Riccardo; Moser, Brian; Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos; Peschke, Richard; Pezzullo, Giuseppe; Phillips, Peter William; Poley, Anne-luise; Queitsch-Maitland, Michaela; Ravotti, Federico; Rodriguez Rodriguez, Daniel

2018-01-01

The planned HL-LHC (High Luminosity LHC) is being designed to maximise the physics potential of the LHC with 10 years of operation at instantaneous luminosities of \\mbox{$7.5\\times10^{34}\\;\\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\\mathrm{s}^{-1}$}. A consequence of this increased luminosity is the expected radiation damage requiring the tracking detectors to withstand hadron equivalences to over $1x10^{15}$ 1 MeV neutron equivalent per $cm^{2}$ in the ATLAS Strips system. The silicon strip tracker exploits the concept of modularity. Fast readout electronics, deploying 130nm CMOS front-end electronics are glued on top of a silicon sensor to make a module. The radiation hard n-in-p micro-strip sensors used have been developed by the ATLAS ITk Strip Sensor collaboration and produced by Hamamatsu Photonics. A series of tests were performed at the DESY-II test beam facility to investigate the detailed performance of a strip module with both 2.5cm and 5cm length strips before irradiation. The DURANTA telescope was used to obtain a pointing...

Linking Microbial Community Structure and Function During the Acidified Anaerobic Digestion of Grass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aoife Joyce

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Harvesting valuable bioproducts from various renewable feedstocks is necessary for the critical development of a sustainable bioeconomy. Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for the conversion of wastewater and solid feedstocks to energy with the additional potential for production of process intermediates of high market values (e.g., carboxylates. In recent years, first-generation biofuels typically derived from food crops have been widely utilized as a renewable source of energy. The environmental and socioeconomic limitations of such strategy, however, have led to the development of second-generation biofuels utilizing, amongst other feedstocks, lignocellulosic biomass. In this context, the anaerobic digestion of perennial grass holds great promise for the conversion of sustainable renewable feedstock to energy and other process intermediates. The advancement of this technology however, and its implementation for industrial applications, relies on a greater understanding of the microbiome underpinning the process. To this end, microbial communities recovered from replicated anaerobic bioreactors digesting grass were analyzed. The bioreactors leachates were not buffered and acidic pH (between 5.5 and 6.3 prevailed at the time of sampling as a result of microbial activities. Community composition and transcriptionally active taxa were examined using 16S rRNA sequencing and microbial functions were investigated using metaproteomics. Bioreactor fraction, i.e., grass or leachate, was found to be the main discriminator of community analysis across the three molecular level of investigation (DNA, RNA, and proteins. Six taxa, namely Bacteroidia, Betaproteobacteria, Clostridia, Gammaproteobacteria, Methanomicrobia, and Negativicutes accounted for the large majority of the three datasets. The initial stages of grass hydrolysis were carried out by Bacteroidia, Gammaproteobacteria, and Negativicutes in the grass biofilms, in addition to

Linking Microbial Community Structure and Function During the Acidified Anaerobic Digestion of Grass.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Aoife; Ijaz, Umer Z; Nzeteu, Corine; Vaughan, Aoife; Shirran, Sally L; Botting, Catherine H; Quince, Christopher; O'Flaherty, Vincent; Abram, Florence

2018-01-01

Harvesting valuable bioproducts from various renewable feedstocks is necessary for the critical development of a sustainable bioeconomy. Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for the conversion of wastewater and solid feedstocks to energy with the additional potential for production of process intermediates of high market values (e.g., carboxylates). In recent years, first-generation biofuels typically derived from food crops have been widely utilized as a renewable source of energy. The environmental and socioeconomic limitations of such strategy, however, have led to the development of second-generation biofuels utilizing, amongst other feedstocks, lignocellulosic biomass. In this context, the anaerobic digestion of perennial grass holds great promise for the conversion of sustainable renewable feedstock to energy and other process intermediates. The advancement of this technology however, and its implementation for industrial applications, relies on a greater understanding of the microbiome underpinning the process. To this end, microbial communities recovered from replicated anaerobic bioreactors digesting grass were analyzed. The bioreactors leachates were not buffered and acidic pH (between 5.5 and 6.3) prevailed at the time of sampling as a result of microbial activities. Community composition and transcriptionally active taxa were examined using 16S rRNA sequencing and microbial functions were investigated using metaproteomics. Bioreactor fraction, i.e., grass or leachate, was found to be the main discriminator of community analysis across the three molecular level of investigation (DNA, RNA, and proteins). Six taxa, namely Bacteroidia, Betaproteobacteria, Clostridia, Gammaproteobacteria, Methanomicrobia, and Negativicutes accounted for the large majority of the three datasets. The initial stages of grass hydrolysis were carried out by Bacteroidia, Gammaproteobacteria, and Negativicutes in the grass biofilms, in addition to Clostridia in the

Nitrous oxide emission from cropland and adjacent riparian buffers in contrasting hydrogeomorphic settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, K; Jacinthe, P A; Vidon, P; Liu, X; Baker, M E

2014-01-01

Riparian buffers are important nitrate (NO) sinks in agricultural watersheds, but limited information is available regarding the intensity and control of nitrous oxide (NO) emission from these buffers. This study monitored (December 2009-May 2011) NO fluxes at two agricultural riparian buffers in the White River watershed in Indiana to assess the impact of land use and hydrogeomorphologic (HGM) attributes on emission. The study sites included a riparian forest in a glacial outwash/alluvium setting (White River [WR]) and a grassed riparian buffer in tile-drained till plains (Leary Weber Ditch [LWD]). Adjacent corn ( L.) fields were monitored for land use assessment. Analysis of variance identified season, land use (riparian buffer vs. crop field), and site geomorphology as major drivers of NO fluxes. Strong relationships between N mineralization and NO fluxes were found at both sites, but relationships with other nutrient cycling indicators (C/N ratio, dissolved organic C, microbial biomass C) were detected only at LWD. Nitrous oxide emission showed strong seasonal variability; the largest NO peaks occurred in late spring/early summer as a result of flooding at the WR riparian buffer (up to 27.8 mg NO-N m d) and N fertilizer application to crop fields. Annual NO emission (kg NO-N ha) was higher in the crop fields (WR: 7.82; LWD: 6.37) than in the riparian areas. A significant difference ( LWD, respectively), and this difference was attributed to site geomorphology and flooding (WR is flood prone; no flooding occurred at tile-drained LWD). The study results demonstrate the significance of landscape geomorphology and land-stream connection (i.e., flood potential) as drivers of NO emission in riparian buffers and therefore argue that an HGM-based approach should be especially suitable for determination of regional NO budget in riparian ecosystems. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

QUANTIFICATION OF LEAD AND CADMIUM IN POULTRY AND BIRD GAME MEAT BY SQUARE WAVE ANODIC STRIPPING VOLTAMMETRY

OpenAIRE

2011-01-01

Abstract A Square Wave Anodic Stripping Voltammetric method for the analysis of lead and cadmium in chicken muscle and liver was developed and validated, and the results of a monitoring study relative to chicken and pigeon meat are reported. The voltammetric method allows the analysis of lead and cadmium at the same time in samples after acid digestion. The use of perchloric acid for digestion and of acetate buffer in the supporting electrolyte have been found suitable to reduce ma...

Buffer-free therapeutic antibody preparations provide a viable alternative to conventionally buffered solutions: from protein buffer capacity prediction to bioprocess applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrenburg, Sven; Karow, Anne R; Garidel, Patrick

2015-04-01

Protein therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), have significant buffering capacity, particularly at concentrations>50 mg/mL. This report addresses pH-related issues critical to adoption of self-buffered monoclonal antibody formulations. We evaluated solution conditions with protein concentrations ranging from 50 to 250 mg/mL. Samples were both buffer-free and conventionally buffered with citrate. Samples were non-isotonic or adjusted for isotonicity with NaCl or trehalose. Studies included accelerated temperature stability tests, shaking stability studies, and pH changes in infusion media as protein concentrate is added. We present averaged buffering slopes of capacity that can be applied to any mAb and present a general method for calculating buffering capacity of buffer-free, highly concentrated antibody liquid formulations. In temperature stability tests, neither buffer-free nor conventionally buffered solution conditions showed significant pH changes. Conventionally buffered solutions showed significantly higher opalescence than buffer-free ones. In general, buffer-free solution conditions showed less aggregation than conventionally buffered solutions. Shaking stability tests showed no differences between buffer-free and conventionally buffered solutions. "In-use" preparation experiments showed that pH in infusion bag medium can rapidly approximate that of self-buffered protein concentrate as concentrate is added. In summary, the buffer capacity of proteins can be predicted and buffer-free therapeutic antibody preparations provide a viable alternative to conventionally buffered solutions. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electrochemical stripping determination of traces of copper, lead, cadmium and zinc in zirconium metal and zirconium dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stulik, K.; Beran, P.; Dolezal, J.; Opekar, F.

1978-01-01

Procedures have been developed for the determination of copper, lead, cadmium and zinc in zirconium metal and zirconium dioxide, at concentrations of 1ppm or less. Zirconium metal was dissolved in sulphuric acid, and zirconium dioxide decomposed under pressure with hydrofluoric acid. Sample solutions were prepared in dilute sulphuric acid. For the stripping determination, the sample solution was either mixed with a complexing tartrate base electrolyte or the pre-electrolysis was carried out in acid solution, with the acid solution being exchanged for a pure base electrolyte (e.g. an acetate buffer) for the stripping step. The stripping step was monitored by d.c., differential pulse and Kalousek commutator voltammetry and the three methods were compared. A stationary mercury-drop electrode can generally be used for all the methods, whereas a mercury-film electrode is suitable only for the d.c. voltammetric determination of copper, lead and cadmium, as pulse measurements with films are poorly reproducible and the electrodes are easily damaged. The relative standard deviation does not exceed 20%. Some samples contained relatively large amounts of copper, which is best separated by electrodeposition on a platinum electrode. (author)

Anatomy Comic Strips

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jin Seo; Kim, Dae Hyun; Chung, Min Suk

2011-01-01

Comics are powerful visual messages that convey immediate visceral meaning in ways that conventional texts often cannot. This article's authors created comic strips to teach anatomy more interestingly and effectively. Four-frame comic strips were conceptualized from a set of anatomy-related humorous stories gathered from the authors' collective…

Anodic stripping voltammetry of mercury, zinc, cadmium, and lead in a rice farm ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Mundo, F.R.; Vicente-Beckett, V.A.

1990-01-01

Analytical procedures based on differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry were developed and applied to the analysis of some trace metals in a rice farm ecosystem. A gold wire served as working electrode for the analysis of mercury in 0.1M HNO 3 ; a hanging mercury drop electrode was used for the simultaneous analyses of zinc, cadmium, and lead in 0.1M sodium acetate buffer (pH 4.5). Mercury was pre-concentrated for five minutes at + 0.20 V vs SCE. The area of the anodic stripping peaks varied linearly over the concentration range 3x10 -10 -2x10 -8 M Hg(II); the limit of detection was 0.06 ppb or 3x10 -10 M Hg(II). The simultaneous analytical method involved pre-electrolysis at -1.2 V vs SCE for ten minutes. The heights of the individual anodic stripping peaks varied linearly with concentration in a mixture of the ions over the concentration range 0.020-0.10 ppm for each ion; the limits of detection were 0.004 ppm, 0.01 ppm, and 0.01 ppm for Cd, Pb, Zn, respectively. The developed procedures were used to determine the baseline levels of these metals in soil, water, and rice plant samples from a one-hectare traditional rice farm in San Pedro, Laguna. (auth.). 26 refs.; 4 tabs.; 6 figs

Adsorptive stripping voltammetric behaviour of copper complexes of some heterocyclic azo compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Farias, P A; Ferreira, S L; Ohara, A K; Bastos, M B; Goulart, M S

1992-10-01

Controlled adsorptive accumulation of copper complexed with TAN, TAC, TAR and TAM (heterocyclic azo-compounds) on a static mercury drop electrode provides the basis for the direct stripping measurement of this element in the nanomolar concentration level. The ligand TAN exhibited great sensitivity and better separation of the peak current of the ligand in relation to the complex. The reduction current of adsorbed complex ions of copper is measured by linear scan cathodic stripping voltammetry, preceded by a period of accumulation of a few minutes. The peak potential is at approximately -0.37 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Optimal experimental parameters were found to be a TAN concentration of 1 x 10(-5)M, an accumulation potential of -0.22 V, and a solution pH of 3.7 (acetate buffer). The detection limit is 0.8nM after a 5-min accumulation with a stirred solution, and the response is linear up to 50 mug/l. Many common cations and anions do not interfere in the determination of copper. The interference of titanium is eliminated by addition of fluoride ion. Results are reported for a fresh water sample.

Science Comic Strips

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dae Hyun; Jang, Hae Gwon; Shin, Dong Sun; Kim, Sun-Ja; Yoo, Chang Young; Chung, Min Suk

2012-01-01

Science comic strips entitled Dr. Scifun were planned to promote science jobs and studies among professionals (scientists, graduate and undergraduate students) and children. To this end, the authors collected intriguing science stories as the basis of scenarios, and drew four-cut comic strips, first on paper and subsequently as computer files.…

Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Cefoperazone in Bulk Powder, Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms, and Human Urine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vu Dang Hoang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The electroreduction behaviour and determination of cefoperazone using a hanging mercury drop electrode were investigated. Cyclic voltammograms of cefoperazone recorded in universal Britton-Robinson buffers pH 3–6 exhibited a single irreversible cathodic peak. The process was adsorption-controlled. Britton-Robinson buffer 0.04 M pH 4.0 was selected as a supporting electrolyte for quantitative purposes by differential pulse and square wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry. The experimental voltammetric conditions were optimized using Central Composite Face design. A reduction wave was seen in the range from −0.7 to −0.8 V. These voltammetric techniques were successfully validated as per ICH guidelines and applied for the determination of cefoperazone in its single and sulbactam containing powders for injection and statistically comparable to USP-HPLC. They were further extended to determine cefoperazone in spiked human urine with no matrix effect.

Analysis of the soil food web structure under grass and grass clover

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eekeren, van N.J.M.; Smeding, F.W.; Vries, de F.T.; Bloem, J.

2006-01-01

The below ground biodiversity of soil organisms plays an important role in the functioning of the the soil ecosystem, and consequently the above ground plant production. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of grass or grass-clover in combination with fertilisation on the soil

The Strip Module

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Tommy

1996-01-01

When the behaviour of a ship in waves is to be predicted it is convenient to have a tool which includes different approaches to the problem.The aim of this project is to develop such a tool named the strip theory module. The strip theory module will consist of submodules dependent on the I...

Nuclear reactor spring strip grid spacer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patterson, J.F.; Flora, B.S.

1978-01-01

A bimetallic grid spacer is described comprising a grid structure of zircaloy formed by intersecting striplike members which define fuel element openings for receiving fuel elements and spring strips made of Inconel positioned within the grid structure for cooperating with the fuel elements to maintain them in their desired position. A plurality of these spring strips extend longitudinally between sides of the grid structure, being locked in position by the grid retaining strips. The fuel rods, which are disposed in the fuel openings formed in the grid structure, are positioned by means of the springs associated with the spring strips and a plurality of dimples which extend from the zircaloy grid structure into the openings. In one embodiment the strips are disposed in a plurality of arrays with those spring strip arrays situated in opposing diagonal quadrants of the grid structure extending in the same direction and adjacent spring strip arrays in each half of the spacer extending in relatively perpendicular directions. Other variations of the spring strip arrangements for a particular fuel design are disclosed herein

Noise analysis due to strip resistance in the ATLAS SCT silicon strip module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kipnis, I.

1996-08-01

The module is made out of four 6 cm x 6 cm single sided Si microstrip detectors. Two detectors are butt glued to form a 12 cm long mechanical unit and strips of the two detectors are electrically connected to form 12 cm long strips. The butt gluing is followed by a back to back attachment. The module in this note is the Rφ module where the electronics is oriented parallel to the strip direction and bonded directly to the strips. This module concept provides the maximum signal-to-noise ratio, particularly when the front-end electronics is placed near the middle rather than at the end. From the noise analysis, it is concluded that the worst-case ΔENC (far-end injection) between end- and center-tapped modules will be 120 to 210 el. rms (9 to 15%) for a non-irradiated detector and 75 to 130 el. rms (5 to 9%) for an irradiated detector, for a metal strip resistance of 10 to 20 Ω/cm

Redox Buffer Strength

Science.gov (United States)

de Levie, Robert

1999-04-01

The proper functioning of enzymes in bodily fluids requires that the pH be maintained within rather narrow limits. The first line of defense against large pH fluctuations in such fluids is the passive control provided by the presence of pH buffers. The ability of pH buffers to stabilize the pH is indicated by the buffer value b introduced in 1922 by van Slyke. It is equally important for many enzymes that the redox potential is kept within a narrow range. In that case, stability of the potential is most readily achieved with a redox buffer. In this communication we define the redox buffer strength by analogy with acid-base buffer strength.

Meadow-grass gall midge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Monrad

The area with meadow-grass (Poa pratensis, L.) grown for seed production in Den-mark is a significant proportion of the entire seed production. The meadow-grass gall midge (Mayetiola schoberi, Barnes 1958) is of considerable economic importance since powerful attacks can reduce the yield...

Area specific stripping factors for AGS. A method for extracting stripping factors from survey data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aage, H.K.; Korsbech, U. [Technical Univ. of Denmark (Denmark)

2006-04-15

In order to use Airborne Gamma-ray Spectrometry (AGS) for contamination mapping, for source search etc. one must to be able to eliminate the contribution to the spectra from natural radioactivity. This in general is done by a stripping technique. The parameters for performing a stripping have until recently been measured by recording gamma spectra at special calibration sites (pads). This may be cumbersome and the parameters may not be correct when used at low gamma energies for environmental spectra. During 2000-2001 DTU tested with success a new technique for Carborne Gamma-ray Spectrometry (CGS) where the spectra from the surveyed area (or from a similar area) were used for calculating the stripping parameters. It was possible to calculate usable stripping ratios for a number of low energy windows - and weak source signals not detectable by other means were discovered with the ASS technique. In this report it is shown that the ASS technique also works for AGS data, and it has been used for recent Danish AGS tests with point sources. (Check of calibration of AGS parameters.) By using the ASS technique with the Boden data (Barents Rescue) an exercise source was detected that has not been detected by any of the teams during the exercise. The ASS technique therefore seems to be better for search for radiation anomalies than any other method known presently. The experiences also tell that although the stripping can be performed correctly at any altitude there is a variation of the stripping parameters with altitude that has not yet been quite understood. However, even with the oddly variations the stripping worked as expected. It was also observed that one might calculate a single common set of usable stripping factors for all altitudes from the entire data set i.e. some average a, b and c values. When those stripping factors were used the stripping technique still worked well. (au)

Nutritional value of cabbage and kikuyu grass as food for grass carp ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and digestibility coefficients were obtained for the protein, fibre, ash and fat contents of both ... Cabbage is a superior feed compared to grass for raising grass carp and a suitable low-cost alternative ... Materials and Methods ... from jumping out and was fitted with an air lift under- .... In: Aquatic weeds in South East Asia.

Estimating grass and grass silage degradation characteristics by in situ and in vitro gas production methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danijel Karolyi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Fermentation characteristics of grass and grass silage at different maturities were studied using in situ and in vitro gas production methods. In situ data determined difference between grass and silage. Degradable fraction decreased as grass matured while the undegradable fraction increased. Rate of degradation (kd was slower for silage than fresh grass. Gas production method (GP data showed that fermentation of degradable fraction was different between stage of maturity in both grass and silage. Other data did not show any difference with the exception for the rate of GP of soluble and undegradable fraction. The in situ degradation characteristics were estimated from GP characteristics. The degradable and undegradable fractions could be estimated by multiple relationships. Using the three-phases model for gas production kd and fermentable organic matter could be estimated from the same parameters. The only in situ parameter that could not be estimated with GP parameters was the soluble fraction. The GP method and the three phases model provided to be an alternative to the in situ method for animal feed evaluations.

High green fodder yielding new grass varieties

OpenAIRE

C. Babu, K. Iyanar and A. Kalamani

2014-01-01

Two high biomass yielding forage grass varieties one each in Cumbu Napier hybrid and Guinea grass have been evolved at the Department of Forage Crops, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and identified for release at national (All India) level as Cumbu Napier hybrid grass CO (BN) 5 and Guinea grass CO (GG) 3 during 2012 and 2013 respectively. Cumbu Napier hybrid grass CO (BN) 5 secured first rank at all national level with reference to green ...

Strip casting apparatus and method

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, R.S.; Baker, D.F.

1988-09-20

Strip casting apparatus including a molten-metal-holding container and a nozzle to deposit molten metal onto a moving chill drum to directly cast continuous metallic strip. The nozzle body includes a slot bounded between a back and a front lip. The slot width exceeds about 20 times the gap distance between the nozzle and the chill drum surface. Preferably, the slot width exceeds 0.5 inch. This method of strip casting minimizes pressure drop, insuring better metal-to-chill-drum contact which promotes heat transfer and results in a better quality metallic strip. 6 figs.

Enhancing GRASS data communication with videographic technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, R.G. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Gerdes, D.; Youngs, D. [Army Construction Engineering Research Lab., Champaign, IL (United States)

1992-07-01

Research at Argonne National Laboratory and the US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory has shown that computer videographic technology can be used to assist visualization and communication of GIS-generated geographic information. Videographic tools can be used to make results of GRASS analyses clear to decision-makers and to public interest groups, as well as to help GRASS users visualize geographic data more easily. Useful videographic visualization tools include graphic overlay of GRASS layers onto panchromatic images, allowing landscape features to be associated with GIS classifications; draping of GIS layers onto terrain models to create shaded relief maps; and incorporation of photographic imagery into GIS graphics. Useful videographic communications capabilities include convenient, direct interface to video formats, allowing incorporation of live video into GRASS graphics and output of GRASS graphics to video; convenient output of high-quality slides and prints; and enhanced labeling and editing of GRASS images. Conversion of GRASS imagery to standard videographic file formats also facilitates incorporation of GRASS images into other software programs, such as database and work-processing packages.

Enhancing GRASS data communication with videographic technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, R.G. (Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)); Gerdes, D.; Youngs, D. (Army Construction Engineering Research Lab., Champaign, IL (United States))

1992-01-01

Research at Argonne National Laboratory and the US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory has shown that computer videographic technology can be used to assist visualization and communication of GIS-generated geographic information. Videographic tools can be used to make results of GRASS analyses clear to decision-makers and to public interest groups, as well as to help GRASS users visualize geographic data more easily. Useful videographic visualization tools include graphic overlay of GRASS layers onto panchromatic images, allowing landscape features to be associated with GIS classifications; draping of GIS layers onto terrain models to create shaded relief maps; and incorporation of photographic imagery into GIS graphics. Useful videographic communications capabilities include convenient, direct interface to video formats, allowing incorporation of live video into GRASS graphics and output of GRASS graphics to video; convenient output of high-quality slides and prints; and enhanced labeling and editing of GRASS images. Conversion of GRASS imagery to standard videographic file formats also facilitates incorporation of GRASS images into other software programs, such as database and work-processing packages.

Copper-based electrochemical sensor with palladium electrode for cathodic stripping voltammetry of manganese.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Wenjing; Pei, Xing; Bange, Adam; Haynes, Erin N; Heineman, William R; Papautsky, Ian

2014-12-16

In this work, we report on the development of a palladium-based, microfabricated point-of-care electrochemical sensor for the determination of manganese using square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry. Heavy metals require careful monitoring, yet current methods are too complex for a point-of-care system. Voltammetry offers an attractive approach to metal detection on the microscale, but traditional carbon, gold, or platinum electrodes are difficult or expensive to microfabricate, preventing widespread use. Our sensor uses palladium working and auxiliary electrodes and integrates them with a copper-based reference electrode for simple fabrication and compatibility with microfabrication and printed circuit board processing, while maintaining competitive performance in electrochemical detection. Copper electrodes were prepared on glass substrate using a combination of microfabrication procedures followed by electrodeposition of palladium. The disposable sensor system was formed by bonding a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) well to the glass substrate. Cathodic stripping voltammetry of manganese using our new disposable palladium-based sensors exhibited 334 nM (18.3 ppb) limit of detection in borate buffer. The sensor was used to demonstrate manganese determination in natural water samples from a pond in Burnet Woods, located in Cincinnati, OH, and the Ohio River.

Different techniques to study rumen fermentation characteristics of maturing grass and grass silage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cone, J.W.; Gelder, van A.H.; Soliman, I.A.; Visser, de H.; Vuuren, van A.M.

1999-01-01

Grass samples were harvested during the 1993 growing season after a precut on April 27, 1993 and were stored frozen or left to ensile in 30-L buckets. Effects on chemical composition and fermentation kinetics of the maturation of the grass and of ensiling were investigated. Chemical composition and

The Honeycomb Strip Chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graaf, Harry van der; Buskens, Joop; Rewiersma, Paul; Koenig, Adriaan; Wijnen, Thei

1991-06-01

The Honeycomb Strip Chamber (HSC) is a new position sensitive detector. It consists of a stack of folded foils, forming a rigid honeycomb structure. In the centre of each hexagonal cell a wire is strung. Conducting strips on the foils, perpendicular to the wires, pick up the induced avalanche charge. Test results of a prototype show that processing the signals form three adjacent strips nearest to the track gives a spatial resolution better than 64 μm for perpendicular incident tracks. The chamber performance is only slightly affected by a magnetic field. (author). 25 refs.; 21 figs

Shallow water table effects on water, sediment, and pesticide transport in vegetative filter strips - Part 1: nonuniform infiltration and soil water redistribution

OpenAIRE

Munoz Carpena, R.; Lauvernet, C.; Carluer, N.

2018-01-01

Vegetation buffers like vegetative filter strips (VFSs) are often used to protect water bodies from surface runoff pollution from disturbed areas. Their typical placement in floodplains often results in the presence of a seasonal shallow water table (WT) that can decrease soil infiltration and increase surface pollutant transport during a rainfall-runoff event. Simple and robust components of hydrological models are needed to analyze the impacts of WT in the landscape. To si...

Breeding for Grass Seed Yield

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boelt, Birte; Studer, Bruno

2010-01-01

Seed yield is a trait of major interest for many fodder and amenity grass species and has received increasing attention since seed multiplication is economically relevant for novel grass cultivars to compete in the commercial market. Although seed yield is a complex trait and affected...... by agricultural practices as well as environmental factors, traits related to seed production reveal considerable genetic variation, prerequisite for improvement by direct or indirect selection. This chapter first reports on the biological and physiological basics of the grass reproduction system, then highlights...... important aspects and components affecting the seed yield potential and the agronomic and environmental aspects affecting the utilization and realization of the seed yield potential. Finally, it discusses the potential of plant breeding to sustainably improve total seed yield in fodder and amenity grasses....

Using fractional order method to generalize strengthening generating operator buffer operator and weakening buffer operator

OpenAIRE

Wu, L.; Liu, S.; Yang, Yingjie

2016-01-01

Traditional integer order buffer operator is extended to fractional order buffer operator, the corresponding relationship between the weakening buffer operator and the strengthening buffer operator is revealed. Fractional order buffer operator not only can generalize the weakening buffer operator and the strengthening buffer operator, but also realize tiny adjustment of buffer effect. The effectiveness of GM(1,1) with the fractional order buffer operator is validated by six cases.

Post-ruminal digestibility of crude protein from grass and grass silages in cows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cone, J.W.; Gelder, van A.H.; Mathijssen-Kamman, A.A.; Hindle, V.A.

2006-01-01

Grass samples were grown on a clay or sandy soil, fertilised with 150 or 300 kg N/ha per year, and harvested on different days during two consecutive growing seasons. The grass samples were stored frozen or ensiled after wilting to approximately 250 or 450 g DM/kg. The recoveries of crude protein

Selective chemical stripping

Science.gov (United States)

Malavallon, Olivier

1995-04-01

At the end of the 80's, some of the large European airlines expressed a wish for paint systems with improved strippability on their aircraft, allowing the possibility to strip down to the primer without altering it, using 'mild' chemical strippers based on methylene chloride. These improvements were initially intended to reduce costs and stripping cycle times while facilitating rapid repainting, and this without the need to change the conventionally used industrial facilities. The level of in-service performance of these paint systems was to be the same as the previous ones. Requirements related to hygiene safety and the environment were added to these initial requirements. To meet customers' expectations, Aerospatiale, within the Airbus Industry GIE, formed a work group. This group was given the task of specifying, following up the elaboration and qualifying the paint systems allowing requirements to be met, in relation with the paint suppliers and the airlines. The analysis made in this report showed the interest of transferring as far upstream as possible (to paint conception level) most of the technical constraints related to stripping. Thus, the concept retained for the paint system, allowing selective chemical stripping, is a 3-coat system with characteristics as near as possible to the previously used paints.

Charge collection in silicon strip detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraner, H.W.; Beuttenmuller, R.; Ludlam, T.; Hanson, A.L.; Jones, K.W.; Radeka, V.; Heijne, E.H.M.

1982-11-01

The use of position sensitive silicon detectors as very high resolution tracking devices in high energy physics experiments has been a subject of intense development over the past few years. Typical applications call for the detection of minimum ionizing particles with position measurement accuracy of 10 μm in each detector plane. The most straightforward detector geometry is that in which one of the collecting electrodes is subdivided into closely spaced strips, giving a high degree of segmentation in one coordinate. Each strip may be read out as a separate detection element, or, alternatively, resistive and/or capacitive coupling between adjacent strips may be exploited to interpolate the position via charge division measrurements. With readout techniques that couple several strips, the numer of readout channels can, in principle, be reduced by large factors without sacrificing the intrinsic position accuracy. The testing of individual strip properties and charge division between strips has been carried out with minimum ionizing particles or beams for the most part except in one case which used alphs particless scans. This paper describes the use of a highly collimated MeV proton beam for studies of the position sensing properties of representative one dimensional strip detectors

Parallel superconducting strip-line detectors: reset behaviour in the single-strip switch regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casaburi, A; Heath, R M; Tanner, M G; Hadfield, R H; Cristiano, R; Ejrnaes, M; Nappi, C

2014-01-01

Superconducting strip-line detectors (SSLDs) are an important emerging technology for the detection of single molecules in time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). We present an experimental investigation of a SSLD laid out in a parallel configuration, designed to address selected single strip-lines operating in the single-strip switch regime. Fast laser pulses were tightly focused onto the device, allowing controllable nucleation of a resistive region at a specific location and study of the subsequent device response dynamics. We observed that in this regime, although the strip-line returns to the superconducting state after triggering, no effective recovery of the bias current occurs, in qualitative agreement with a phenomenological circuit simulation that we performed. Moreover, from theoretical considerations and by looking at the experimental pulse amplitude distribution histogram, we have the first confirmation of the fact that the phenomenological London model governs the current redistribution in these large area devices also after detection events. (paper)

Grass pollen immunotherapy induces highly cross-reactive IgG antibodies to group V allergen from different grass species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Ree, R.; Brewczyński, P. Z.; Tan, K. Y.; Mulder-Willems, H. J.; Widjaja, P.; Stapel, S. O.; Aalberse, R. C.; Kroon, A. M.

1995-01-01

Sera from two groups of patients receiving grass pollen immunotherapy were tested on IgG reactivity with group V allergen from six different grass species. One group of patients was treated with a mixture of 10 grass species, and the other with a mixture of five. Only Lolium perenne, Dactylis

Optimizing the Stripping Procedure for LHCb

CERN Document Server

Richardson, Rachel

2017-01-01

The LHCb experiment faces a major challenge from the large amounts of data received while the LHC is running. The ability to sort this information in a useful manner is important for working groups to perform physics analyses. Both hardware and software triggers are used to decrease the data rate and then the stripping process is used to sort the data into streams and further into stripping lines. This project studies the hundreds of stripping lines to look for overlaps between them in order to make the stripping process more efficient.

Spatiotemporal Variation in the Environmental Controls of C4-Grass Origin and Ecology: Insights from Grass-Pollen δ13C Data

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, D. M.; Urban, M.; Hu, F.

2014-12-01

Understanding the environmental factors controlling the origin and shifting abundance of C4 grasses in Earth's history is useful for projecting the response of C4-grass dominated grasslands to future environmental change. Unfortunately, grass pollen is typically morphologically indistinct, making palynological analysis a blunt tool for studying C4-grasses in the paleorecord. δ13C of individual grass-pollen grains using a spooling wire microcombustion device interfaced with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Single Pollen Isotope Ratio AnaLysis, SPIRAL) overcomes this challenge and the potential biases of δ13C data from other substrates (e.g. leaf waxes). To assess the presence and relative abundance of C3- and C4-grass pollen in samples of unknown composition, we developed a hierarchical Bayesian model, trained with ~1,900 δ13C values from pollen grains of 31 grass species. Surface-sediment data from Africa, Australia, and North America demonstrate the reliability of this technique for quantifying C4-grass abundance on the landscape. To investigate the timing and control of the origin of C4-grasses we analyzed samples from the Oligocene-Miocene from Europe and from the Eocene from North America. Results indicate that C4 grasses appeared on the landscape of southwest Europe no later than the early Oligocene, implying that low atmospheric pCO2 may not have been the main driver and/or precondition for the development of C4 photosynthesis in the grass family. In contrast, we found no evidence for C4 grasses in the southeast United States before pCO2 fell. In application of SPIRAL to the late Quaternary, we found that shifts in pCO2 and moisture balance exerted key controls on the relative abundance of C3 and C4 grasses in Africa and Australia. Overall, our results imply that as in the past, future changes in the C3/C4 composition of grass-dominated ecosystems will likely exhibit striking spatiotemporal variability as a result of differing combinations of

Using Comic Strips in Language Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Csabay, Noémi

2006-01-01

The author believes that using comic strips in language-learning classes has three main benefits. First, comic strips motivate younger learners. Second, they provide a context and logically connected sentences to help language learning. Third, their visual information is helpful for comprehension. The author argues that comic strips can be used in…

Test-beam evaluation of heavily irradiated silicon strip modules for ATLAS Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Blue, Andrew; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The planned HL-LHC (High Luminosity LHC) is being designed to maximise the physics potential of the LHC with 10 years of operation at instantaneous luminosities of 7.5x1034cm−2s−1. A consequence of this increased luminosity is the expected radiation damage requiring the tracking detectors to withstand hadron equivalences to over 1x1015 1 MeV neutron equivalent per cm2 in the ATLAS Strips system. The silicon strip tracker exploits the concept of modularity. Fast readout electronics, deploying 130nm CMOS front-end electronics are glued on top of a silicon sensor to make a module. The radiation hard n-in-p micro-strip sensors used have been developed by the ATLAS ITk Strip Sensor collaboration and produced by Hamamatsu Photonics. A series of tests were performed at the DESY-II and CERN SPS test beam facilities to investigate the detailed performance of a strip module with both 2.5cm and 5cm length strips before and after irradiation with 8x1014neqcm−2 protons and a total ionising dose of 37.2MRad. The DURA...

Pavement Stripping in Saudi Arabia: Prediction and Prevention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H.I. Al-Abdul Wahhab

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Pavement weathering or stripping is a major distress in highway networks in arid regions. Using the Saudi Arabian road network as a case study area, seventeen road test sections were selected, out of which eight were stripped and nine were non-stripped. Aggregates from quarries used to build these sections were also collected and subjected to detailed physical and chemical tests to evaluate the ability of these tests to distinguish between stripped and non-stripped sections. The modified Lottman test was used to distinguish between compacted mixes. In addition, the Swedish Rolling Bottle test, was also found to be effective in being able to distinguish between different asphalt-aggregates for stripping potential. Eleven anti-stripping liquid additives, lime and cement, in addition to two polymers, were evaluated for their ability to reduce/eliminate stripping potential of stripping-prone aggregates. It was found that EE-2 Polymer, Portland cement, and their combination were effective with all aggregate sources.

Numerical Simulation of a Novel Sensing Approach Based on Abnormal Blocking by Periodic Grating Strips near the Silicon Wire Waveguide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrei Tsarev

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the physical nature and the numerical modeling of a novel approach of periodic structures for applications as photonic sensors. The sensing is based on the high sensitivity to the cover index change of the notch wavelength. This sensitivity is due to the effect of abnormal blocking of the guided wave propagating along the silicon wire with periodic strips overhead it through the silica buffer. The structure sensing is numerically modeled by 2D and 3D finite difference time domain (FDTD method, taking into account the waveguide dispersion. The modeling of the long structures (more than 1000 strips is accomplished by the 2D method of lines (MoL with a maximal implementation of the analytical feature of the method. It is proved that the effect of abnormal blocking could be used for the construction of novel types of optical sensors.

Grass leaves as potential hominin dietary resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Paine, Oliver C C; Koppa, Abigale; Henry, Amanda G; Leichliter, Jennifer N; Codron, Daryl; Codron, Jacqueline; Lambert, Joanna E; Sponheimer, Matt

2018-04-01

Discussions about early hominin diets have generally excluded grass leaves as a staple food resource, despite their ubiquity in most early hominin habitats. In particular, stable carbon isotope studies have shown a prevalent C 4 component in the diets of most taxa, and grass leaves are the single most abundant C 4 resource in African savannas. Grass leaves are typically portrayed as having little nutritional value (e.g., low in protein and high in fiber) for hominins lacking specialized digestive systems. It has also been argued that they present mechanical challenges (i.e., high toughness) for hominins with bunodont dentition. Here, we compare the nutritional and mechanical properties of grass leaves with the plants growing alongside them in African savanna habitats. We also compare grass leaves to the leaves consumed by other hominoids and demonstrate that many, though by no means all, compare favorably with the nutritional and mechanical properties of known primate foods. Our data reveal that grass leaves exhibit tremendous variation and suggest that future reconstructions of hominin dietary ecology take a more nuanced approach when considering grass leaves as a potential hominin dietary resource. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Annual maize and perennial grass-clover strip cropping for increased resource use efficiency and productivity using organic farming practice as a model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Johansen, Anders; Carter, Mette Sustmann

2013-01-01

A cropping system was designed to fulfill the increasing demand for biomass for food and energy without decreasing long term soil fertility. A field experiment was carried out including alternating strips of annual maize (Zea mays L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) – clover (Trifolium...

A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF BUFFER STOCKS AND BUFFER FUNDS

OpenAIRE

Simmons, Phil

1988-01-01

It has been established that the absence of risk markets justifies market intervention in principle. The form of intervention that has been discussed most widely in the literature is the buffer stock. This paper points out that other forms of intervention, specifically buffer funds, are likely to perform better. The analysis shows that buffer funds are likely to outperform buffer stocks because they address market failure more directly. A sub-theme developed in this paper is that since buffer...

Addition of urea and thiourea to electrophoresis sample buffer improves efficiency of protein extraction from TCA/acetone-treated smooth muscle tissues for phos-tag SDS-PAGE.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeya, Kosuke; Kaneko, Toshiyuki; Miyazu, Motoi; Takai, Akira

2018-01-01

Phosphorylation analysis by using phos-tag technique has been reported to be suitable for highly sensitive quantification of smooth muscle myosin regulatory light chain (LC 20 ) phosphorylation. However, there is another factor that will affect the sensitivity of phosphorylation analysis, that is, protein extraction. Here, we optimized the conditions for total protein extraction out of trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-fixed tissues. Standard SDS sample buffer extracted less LC 20 , actin and myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1) from TCA/acetone treated ciliary muscle strips. On the other hand, sample buffer containing urea and thiourea in addition to lithium dodecyl sulfate (LDS) or SDS extracted those proteins more efficiently, and thus increased the detection sensitivity up to 4-5 fold. Phos-tag SDS-PAGE separated dephosphorylated and phosphorylated LC 20 s extracted in LDS/urea/thiourea sample buffer to the same extent as those in standard SDS buffer. We have concluded that LDS (or SDS) /urea/thiourea sample buffer is suitable for highly sensitive phosphorylation analysis in smooth muscle, especially when it is treated with TCA/acetone. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

COMBINATIONS OF BUFFER-STOCKS AND BUFFER-FUNDS FOR WOOL PRICE STABILISATION IN AUSTRALIA

OpenAIRE

Moir, Brian; Piggott, Roley R.

1991-01-01

In this paper a preliminary analysis is presented of a combined buffer-fund and buffer-stock as an alternative to a pure buffer-fund or a pure buffer stock for stabilising wool prices. The alternatives analysed are designed so that each provides the same prices to producers as did the Reserve Price Scheme over the period of analysis. Least-cost combinations of policy instruments are derived. The results show that there is considerable potential for cost savings to be made by combining buffer-...

EFFECT OF MULCH AND MIXED CROPPING GRASS - LEGUME AT SALINE SOIL ON GROWTH, FORAGE YIELD AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF GUINEA GRASS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Kusmiyati

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The research was conducted to evaluate the effect of mulch and mixed cropping grass – legume atsaline soil on growth, forage yield and nutritional quality of guinea grass. Saline soil used in thisresearch was classified into strongly saline soil with low soil fertility. The research was arrranged inrandomized complete block design with 3 blocks. The treatments were : M1 = guinea grassmonoculture, without mulch; M2 = guinea grass monoculture, 3 ton/ha mulch; M3 = guinea grassmonoculture, 6 ton/ha mulch, M4 = mixed cropping grass with Sesbania grandiflora, without mulch;M5 = mixed cropping grass with Sesbania grandiflora, 3 ton/ha mulch; M6 = mixed cropping grass withSesbania grandiflora, 6 ton/ha mulch. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, then followed byDuncan's Multiple Range Test. The highest soil moisture content was achieved at mixed cropping grasslegumewith 6 ton/ha of mulch. The effect of mulch at saline soil significantly increased plant growth,forage yield and nutritional quality of guinea grass. Application of 3 ton/ha mulch increased plantgrowth, forage yield and nutritional quality of guinea grass. Plant growth, forage yield and nutritionalquality of guinea grass were not affected by monoculture or mixed cropping with Sesbania at saline soil.

Evaluating grasses as a long-term energy resource

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christian, D.G.; Riche, A.B.

2001-07-01

The work reported here is part of an ongoing project that aims to evaluate the yields of three perennial rhizomatous grasses and determine their suitability as bio-energy crops. The work began in 1993, and the grasses have been monitored continuously since that time. This report covers the period 1999/2000, and includes: the performance of plots of the energy grasses Miscanthus grass, switchgrass and reed canary grass seven years after they were planted; assessment of the yield of 15 genotypes of Miscanthus planted in 1997; monitoring all the species throughout the growing period for the presence of pests, weeds and diseases; measurement of the amount of nitrate leached from below Miscanthus grass; investigating the occurrence of lodging in switchgrass. (Author)

Organellar Calcium Buffers

Science.gov (United States)

Prins, Daniel; Michalak, Marek

2011-01-01

Ca2+ is an important intracellular messenger affecting many diverse processes. In eukaryotic cells, Ca2+ storage is achieved within specific intracellular organelles, especially the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum, in which Ca2+ is buffered by specific proteins known as Ca2+ buffers. Ca2+ buffers are a diverse group of proteins, varying in their affinities and capacities for Ca2+, but they typically also carry out other functions within the cell. The wide range of organelles containing Ca2+ and the evidence supporting cross-talk between these organelles suggest the existence of a dynamic network of organellar Ca2+ signaling, mediated by a variety of organellar Ca2+ buffers. PMID:21421925

Use of Low-Cost Methods of Soil Erosion Control In Kisii District, South Western kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nzabi, A.W; Makini, F; Onyango, M; Mureithi, J.G

1999-01-01

Kisii District has a topography of undulating hills and is prone to severe soil erosion. The average rainfall is 1900 mm and occurs in biomodal pattern. During a participatory appraisal survey in 1995, farmers indicated that soil erosion in the area had contributed to decline in soil fertility resulting in low crop yields. To address this problem, an on-farm trial was conducted in 1996 at Nyamonyo village to test the effectiveness of four low cost methods of controlling soil erosion. These included maize stover trash line, sweet potatoes,Penicum maximum var. Makarikari grass strip and vetiveria zizanioides (Vertiver) grass strip. A treatment without soil erosion control measure was included. The trial was planted in three farms which acted as replicates. The treatments were planted in runoff plots measuring 4 x 2 m in which had a maize crop were laid down in a randomized complete block design. Surface runoff and eroded soils were collected in 50-l buckets. The experimental site had a slope ranging from 16 to 35%. Preliminary results indicated that maize stover trash line and sweet potato strips were more effective in controlling soil erosion than the grass strips. As the season progressed the grass strips became increasingly more effective in erosion control. The trail is still continuing but results indicate that for short term soil erosion control, maize stover trash lines and sweet potatoes are more effective while Makarikari and Vertiver grass strips are promising as long term soil erosion control measure

Large strip RPCs for the LEPS2 TOF system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tomida, N., E-mail: natsuki@scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Niiyama, M. [Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Ohnishi, H. [RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Tran, N. [Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047 (Japan); Hsieh, C.-Y.; Chu, M.-L.; Chang, W.-C. [Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); Chen, J.-Y. [National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan (China)

2014-12-01

High time-resolution resistive plate chambers (RPCs) with large-size readout strips are developed for the time-of-flight (TOF) detector system of the LEPS2 experiment at SPring-8. The experimental requirement is a 50-ps time resolution for a strip size larger than 100 cm{sup 2}/channel. We are able to achieve 50-ps time resolutions with 2.5×100 cm{sup 2} strips by directly connecting the amplifiers to strips. With the same time resolution, the number of front-end electronics (FEE) is also reduced by signal addition. - Highlights: • Find a way to achieve a good time resolution with a large strip RPC. • 2.5 cm narrow strips have better resolutions than 5.0 cm ones. • The 0.5 mm narrow strip interval shows flat time resolutions between strips. • FEEs directly connected to strips make the signal reflection at the strip edge small. • A time resolution of 50 ps was achieved with 2.5 cm×100 cm strips.

Application of Box-Behnken designs in parameters optimization of differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry for lead(II) determination in two electrolytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiao-Lan; He, Yong

2017-06-05

Box-Behnken design was advantageous to parameters optimization of differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) for the analysis of lead(II) with its high efficiency and accuracy. Five Box-Behnken designs were designed and conducted in the electrolyte of 0.1 mol/L acetate buffer and 0.1 mol/L HCl without the removal of oxygen. Significant parameters and interactions in each electrolyte were found (P-value Box-Behnken designs in parameters optimization of DPASV for lead(II) determination regardless of the electrolyte kinds.

Preliminary Results of Clover and Grass Coverage and Total Dry Matter Estimation in Clover-Grass Crops Using Image Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders K. Mortensen

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The clover-grass ratio is an important factor in composing feed ratios for livestock. Cameras in the field allow the user to estimate the clover-grass ratio using image analysis; however, current methods assume the total dry matter is known. This paper presents the preliminary results of an image analysis method for non-destructively estimating the total dry matter of clover-grass. The presented method includes three steps: (1 classification of image illumination using a histogram of the difference in excess green and excess red; (2 segmentation of clover and grass using edge detection and morphology; and (3 estimation of total dry matter using grass coverage derived from the segmentation and climate parameters. The method was developed and evaluated on images captured in a clover-grass plot experiment during the spring growing season. The preliminary results are promising and show a high correlation between the image-based total dry matter estimate and the harvested dry matter ( R 2 = 0.93 with an RMSE of 210 kg ha − 1 .

Mechanical behaviour of a creased thin strip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Liu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In this study the mechanical behaviour of a creased thin strip under opposite-sense bending was investigated. It was found that a simple crease, which led to the increase of the second moment of area, could significantly alter the overall mechanical behaviour of a thin strip, for example the peak moment could be increased by 100 times. The crease was treated as a cylindrical segment of a small radius. Parametric studies demonstrated that the geometry of the strip could strongly influence its flexural behaviour. We showed that the uniform thickness and the radius of the creased segment had the greatest and the least influence on the mechanical behaviour, respectively. We further revealed that material properties could dramatically affect the overall mechanical behaviour of the creased strip by gradually changing the material from being linear elastic to elastic-perfect plastic. After the formation of the fold, the moment of the two ends of the strip differed considerably when the elasto-plastic materials were used, especially for materials with smaller tangent modulus in the plastic range. The deformation patterns of the thin strips from the finite element simulations were verified by physical models made of thin metal strips. The findings from this study provide useful information for designing origami structures for engineering applications using creased thin strips.

Comparative limnology of strip-mine lakes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parsons, J D

1964-01-01

Lakes were classified according to chemical properties. The concentration of the ferric iron oxides was responsible for a reddish-black turbidity which, in turn, played a major role in the thermal stratification of red strip-mine lakes. Owing to the lack of measurable turbidity and as a result of selective absorption of visible solar radiation, other strip-mine lakes appeared blue in color. The annual heat budget and the summer heat budget are essentially equivalent under saline conditions. Regardless of the physical and chemical conditions of the strip-mine lakes, heat income was a function of the circulating water mass. The progressive oxidation and precipitation of the iron oxides is the key to the classification of strip-mine lakes.

Grass Biomethane for Agriculture and Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korres, N.E.; Thamsiriroj, T.; Smith, B.

2011-01-01

have advanced the role of grassland as a renewable source of energy in grass biomethane production with various environmental and socio-economic benefits. It is underlined that the essential question whether the gaseous biofuel meets the EU sustainability criteria of 60% greenhouse gas emission savings...... by 2020 can be met since savings up to 89.4% under various scenarios can be achieved. Grass biomethane production compared to other liquid biofuels either when these are produced by indigenous of imported feedstocks is very promising. Grass biomethane, given the mature and well known technology...

Determining the regional potential for a grass biomethane industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smyth, Beatrice M.; Smyth, Henry; Murphy, Jerry D.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → We identified assessment criteria for determining the regional potential for grass biomethane. → Grass biomethane is distributed via the natural gas grid. → The criteria include: land use; grass yields; gas grid coverage; availability of co-substrates. → The county with the highest potential can fuel 50% of cars or supply 130% of domestic gas consumption. - Abstract: Grass biogas/biomethane has been put forward as a renewable energy solution and it has been shown to perform well in terms of energy balance, greenhouse gas emissions and policy constraints. Biofuel and energy crop solutions are country-specific and grass biomethane has strong potential in countries with temperate climates and a high proportion of grassland, such as Ireland. For a grass biomethane industry to develop in a country, suitable regions (i.e. those with the highest potential) must be identified. In this paper, factors specifically related to the assessment of the potential of a grass biogas/biomethane industry are identified and analysed. The potential for grass biogas and grass biomethane is determined on a county-by-county basis using multi-criteria decision analysis. Values are assigned to each county and ratings and weightings applied to determine the overall county potential. The potential for grass biomethane with co-digestion of slaughter waste (belly grass) is also determined. The county with the highest potential (Limerick) is analysed in detail and is shown to have ready potential for production of gaseous biofuel to meet either 50% of the vehicle fleet or 130% of the domestic natural gas demand, through 25 facilities at a scale of ca. 30 kt yr -1 of feedstock. The assessment factors developed in this paper can be used in other resource studies into grass biomethane or other energy crops.

Post-treatment efficacy of discontinuous treatment with 300IR 5-grass pollen sublingual tablet in adults with grass pollen-induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Didier, A; Malling, H-J; Worm, Marcel

2013-01-01

Sustained efficacy over three pollen seasons of pre- and co-seasonal treatment with 300IR 5-grass pollen sublingual tablet has been demonstrated in adults with moderate-severe grass pollen-associated allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.......Sustained efficacy over three pollen seasons of pre- and co-seasonal treatment with 300IR 5-grass pollen sublingual tablet has been demonstrated in adults with moderate-severe grass pollen-associated allergic rhinoconjunctivitis....

Determination of trace mercury in water based on N-octylpyridinium ionic liquids preconcentration and stripping voltammetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhenhan; Xia, Shanhong; Wang, Jinfen; Bian, Chao; Tong, Jianhua

2016-01-15

A novel method for determination of trace mercury in water is developed. The method is performed by extracting mercury firstly with ionic liquids (ILs) and then detecting the concentration of mercury in organic media with anodic stripping voltammetry. Liquid-liquid extraction of mercury(II) ions by four ionic liquids with N-octylpyridinium cations ([OPy](+)) was studied. N-octylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate and N-octylpyridinium trifluoromethylsulfonate were found to be efficient and selective extractant for mercury. Temperature controlled dispersive liquid phase microextraction (TC-DLPME) technique was utilized to improve the performance of preconcentration. After extraction, precipitated IL was diluted by acetonitrile buffer and mercury was detected by differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) with gold disc electrode. Mercury was enriched by 17 times while interfering ions were reduced by two orders of magnitude in the organic media under optimum condition. Sensitivity and selectivity for electrochemical determination of mercury were improved by using the proposed method. Tap, pond and waste water samples were analyzed with recoveries ranging from 81% to 107% and detection limit of 0.05 μg/L. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Superconducting nano-strip particle detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cristiano, R; Ejrnaes, M; Casaburi, A; Zen, N; Ohkubo, M

2015-01-01

We review progress in the development and applications of superconducting nano-strip particle detectors. Particle detectors based on superconducting nano-strips stem from the parent devices developed for single photon detection (SSPD) and share with them ultra-fast response times (sub-nanosecond) and the ability to operate at a relatively high temperature (2–5 K) compared with other cryogenic detectors. SSPDs have been used in the detection of electrons, neutral and charged ions, and biological macromolecules; nevertheless, the development of superconducting nano-strip particle detectors has mainly been driven by their use in time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOF-MSs) where the goal of 100% efficiency at large mass values can be achieved. Special emphasis will be given to this case, reporting on the great progress which has been achieved and which permits us to overcome the limitations of existing mass spectrometers represented by low detection efficiency at large masses and charge/mass ambiguity. Furthermore, such progress could represent a breakthrough in the field. In this review article we will introduce the device concept and detection principle, stressing the peculiarities of the nano-strip particle detector as well as its similarities with photon detectors. The development of parallel strip configuration is introduced and extensively discussed, since it has contributed to the significant progress of TOF-MS applications. (paper)

Grasses for energy production: hydrological guidelines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, R.L.

2003-07-01

This report provides hydrological guidelines for growers, land and water resource managers, environmental groups and other parties interested in utilising grasses for energy production. The aim of the report is to help interested parties decide if a location is suitable for planting energy grasses by considering whether potential hydrological impacts will have an adverse effect on crop productivity and yield. The guidelines consider: the water use of energy grasses compared with other crops; the factors governing water use; the water requirements for a productive crop; and the likely impacts on the availability and quantity of water. The report points out that there are still gaps in our knowledge of the processes controlling the water use and growth of energy grasses and notes that, in some situations, there will be considerable uncertainty in predictions of water use and the magnitude of the associated hydrological impacts.

Depletive stripping chronopotentiometry : a major step forward in electrochemical stripping techniques for metal ion speciation analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Town, R.M.; Leeuwen, van H.P.

2004-01-01

A comparative evaluation of the utility of the various modes of stripping chronopotentiometry (SCP) for trace metal speciation analysis is presented in the broad context of stripping voltammetric techniques. The remarkable fundamental advantages of depletive SCP at scanned deposition potential

Anodic stripping voltammetric determination of traces of Pb(II) and Cd(II) using a glassy carbon electrode modified with bismuth nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Die; Wang, Liang; Chen, Zuliang; Megharaj, Mallavarapu; Naidu, Ravi

2014-01-01

We report on a glassy carbon electrode modified with bismuth nanoparticles (NanoBiE) for the simultaneous determination Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ by anodic stripping voltammetry. Operational parameters such as bismuth nanoparticles labelling amount, deposition potential, deposition time and stripping parameters were optimized with respect to the determination of Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ in 0.1 M acetate buffer solution (pH 4.5). The NanoBiE gives well-defined, reproducible and sharp stripping peaks. The peak current response increases linearly with the metal concentration in a range of 5.0–60.0 μg L −1 , with a detection limit of 0.8 and 0.4 μg L −1 for Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ , respectively. The morphology and composition of the modified electrode before and after voltammetric measurements were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The NanoBiE was successfully applied to analysis of Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ in real water samples and the method was validated by ICP-MS technique, suggesting that the electrode can be considered as an interesting alternative to the bismuth film electrode for possible use in electrochemical studies and electro analysis. (author)

Ductility of reinforced concrete columns confined with stapled strips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahir, M.F.; Khan, Q.U.Z.; Shabbir, F.; Sharif, M.B.; Ijaz, N.

2015-01-01

Response of three 150x150x450mm short reinforced concrete (RC) columns confined with different types of confining steel was investigated. Standard stirrups, strips and stapled strips, each having same cross-sectional area, were employed as confining steel around four comer column bars. Experimental work was aimed at probing into the affect of stapled strip confinement on post elastic behavior and ductility level under cyclic axial load. Ductility ratios, strength enhancement factor and core concrete strengths were compared to study the affect of confinement. Results indicate that strength enhancement in RC columns due to strip and stapled strip confinement was not remarkable as compared to stirrup confined column. It was found that as compared to stirrup confined column, stapled strip confinement enhanced the ductility of RC column by 183% and observed axial capacity of stapled strip confined columns was 41 % higher than the strip confined columns. (author)

Potential profile in a conducting polymer strip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bay, Lasse; West, Keld; Vlachopoulos, Nikolaos

2002-01-01

Many conjugated polymers show an appreciable difference in volume between their oxidized and reduced forms. This property can be utilized in soft electrochemically driven actuators, "artificial muscles". Several geometries have been proposed for the conversion of the volume expansion into useful...... mechanical work. In a particularly simple geometry, the length change of polymer strips is exploited. The polymer strips are connected to the driving circuit at the end of the strip that is attached to the support of the device. The other end of the strip is connected to the load. The advantage of this set...

Study on lifetime of C stripping foils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Hongbin; Lu Ziwei; Zhao Yongtao; Li Zhankui; Xu Hushan; Xiao Guoqing; Wang Yuyu; Zhang Ling; Li Longcai; Fang Yan

2007-01-01

The carbon stripping foils can be prepared with the AC and DC arc discharge methods, or even sandwiched with AC-DC alternative layers. The lifetime of the carbon stripping foils of 19 μg/cm 2 prepared with different methods and/or structures was measured. The factors affecting the bombarding lifetime of the carbon stripping foils, especially the method of the foil preparation and the structure of the carbon stripping foils, were discussed. It is observed that the foils prepared with the DC arc discharge method have a longer bombarding lifetime than those prepared with the AC arc discharge method. (authors)

Two-Buffer Simulation Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milka Hutagalung

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We consider simulation games played between Spoiler and Duplicator on two Büchi automata in which the choices made by Spoiler can be buffered by Duplicator in two different buffers before she executes them on her structure. Previous work on such games using a single buffer has shown that they are useful to approximate language inclusion problems. We study the decidability and complexity and show that games with two buffers can be used to approximate corresponding problems on finite transducers, i.e. the inclusion problem for rational relations over infinite words.

Temperature Buffer Test. Measurements of water content and density of the excavated buffer material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johannesson, Lars-Erik [Clay Technology AB, Lund (Sweden)

2010-12-15

TBT (Temperature Buffer Test) is a joint project between SKB/ANDRA and supported by ENRESA (modeling) and DBE (instrumentation), which aims at understanding and modeling the thermo-hydromechanical behavior of buffers made of swelling clay submitted to high temperatures (over 100 deg C) during the water saturation process. The test was carried out at the - 420 m level in Aespoe HRL in a 8 meters deep and 1.76 m diameter deposition hole, with two heaters (3 m long, 0.6 m diameter), surrounded by a MX-80 bentonite buffer and a confining plug on top anchored with 9 rods. It was installed during spring 2003. The bentonite around upper heater was removed during the period October - December 2009 and the buffer around the lower heater was removed during January - Mars 2010. During dismantling of the buffer, samples were taken on which analyses were made. This report describes the work with the deteroemoeination of the water content and the density of the taken samples. Most of the samples were taken from the buffer by core drilling from the upper surface of each installed bentonite block. The cores had a diameter of about 50 mm and a maximum length equal to the original height of the bentonite blocks (about 500 mm). The water content of the buffer was determined by drying a sample at a temperature of 105 deg C for 24 h and the bulk density was determined by weighing a sample both in the air and immerged in paraffin oil with known density. The water content, dry density, degree of saturation and void ratio of the buffer were then plotted. The plots show that all parts of the buffer had taken up water and the degree of saturation of the buffer varied between 90 - 100%. Large variation in the dry density of the buffer was also observed.

Buffer design 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juvankoski, M.

2013-08-01

Posiva's spent nuclear fuel disposal is based on the KBS-3V concept and on the characteristics of the Olkiluoto site. In this concept single canisters containing spent nuclear fuel surrounded by a bentonite buffer are emplaced in individual vertical boreholes drilled in the floor of deposition tunnels in bedrock at about 420 m depth below ground level. Disk type bentonite blocks are installed at the bottom of the hole and on the top of the disposal canister. Ring type bentonite blocks surround the canisters. This report describes the detailed design of the buffer for a KBS-3V repository. The report presents the design basis, the reference design, and summarises the performance analyses carried out for the design. This report addresses aspects concerning the manufacture, quality control, mechanical strength, chemical resistance, thermal dimensioning, handling of buffer components and material ageing phenomena including the effect of radiation. Interaction of buffer and other engineered barriers are included in the study. The long-term evolution of the repository and its effective drivers are considered if they have an impact on the buffer performance but operational safety aspects are also included because they may affect long-term safety. (orig.)

Synthesis of carboxyl-capped and bright YVO4:Eu,Bi nanoparticles and their applications in immunochromatographic test strip assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Min; Sun, Tian-Ying; Wang, Jia-Hong; Yang, Peng; Gan, Liang; Liang, Li-Lei; Yu, Xue-Feng; Gong, Xing-Hou

2013-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The morphology and properties of YVO 4 :Eu,Bi nanoparticles were investigated. • YVO 4 :Eu,Bi were coupled with IgG for bioprobes due to their good properties. • YVO 4 :Eu,Bi were applied to immunochromatographic test strip assay. - Abstract: Carboxyl-capped YVO 4 :Eu,Bi nanoparticles with average diameter of ∼10 nm were synthesized via a copolymer of phosphono and carboxylic acid mediated hydrothermal method. Under a 350 nm ultraviolet light excitation, the YVO 4 :Eu,Bi NPs exhibit sharp and bright red emission peaked at 615 nm and with highest quantum yield of ∼43%. Furthermore, the nanoparticles show good water/buffer stability and feasible bioconjugation benefiting from the carboxylic groups on their surface. Based on these kind optical and surface properties of the YVO 4 :Eu,Bi nanoparticles, an immunochromatographic test strip assay for quantitative determination of human IgG was achieved. This protocol can be extended to other rare-earth nanoparticles with the purpose of developing bioprobes for desired applications

Ultrasonic examination of JBK-75 strip material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, K.V.; Cunningham, R.A. Jr.; Lewis, J.C.; McClung, R.W.

1982-12-01

An ultrasonic inspection system was assembled to inspect the JBK-75 stainless steel sheath material (for the Large Coil Project) for the Westinghouse-Airco superconducting magnet program. The mechanical system provided for handling the 180-kg (400-lb) coils of strip material [1.6 mm thick by 78 mm wide by 90 to 120 m long (0.064 by 3.07 in. by 300 to 400 ft)], feeding the strip through the ultrasonic inspection and cleaning stations, and respooling the coils. We inspected 54 coils of strip for both longitudinal and laminar flaws. Simulated flaws were used to calibrate both inspections. Saw-cut notches [0.28 mm deep (0.011 in., about 17% of the strip thickness)] were used to calibrate the longitudinal flaw inspections; 1.59-mm-diam (0.063-in.) flat-bottom holes drilled halfway through a calibration strip were used to calibrate the laminar flaw tests

Hardness of approximation for strip packing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adamaszek, Anna Maria; Kociumaka, Tomasz; Pilipczuk, Marcin

2017-01-01

Strip packing is a classical packing problem, where the goal is to pack a set of rectangular objects into a strip of a given width, while minimizing the total height of the packing. The problem has multiple applications, for example, in scheduling and stock-cutting, and has been studied extensively......)-approximation by two independent research groups [FSTTCS 2016,WALCOM 2017]. This raises a questionwhether strip packing with polynomially bounded input data admits a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme, as is the case for related twodimensional packing problems like maximum independent set of rectangles or two...

Litter Controls Earthworm-Mediated Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in Soil from Temperate Riparian Buffers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Kernecker

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Nutrient cycling in riparian buffers is partly influenced by decomposition of crop, grass, and native tree species litter. Nonnative earthworms in riparian soils in southern Quebec are expected to speed the processes of litter decomposition and nitrogen (N mineralization, increasing carbon (C and N losses in gaseous forms or via leachate. A 5-month microcosm experiment evaluated the effect of Aporrectodea turgida on the decomposition of 3 litter types (deciduous leaves, reed canarygrass, and soybean stem residue. Earthworms increased CO2 and N2O losses from microcosms with soybean residue, by 112% and 670%, respectively, but reduced CO2 and N2O fluxes from microcosms with reed canarygrass by 120% and 220%, respectively. Litter type controlled the CO2 flux (soybean ≥ deciduous-mix litter = reed canarygrass > no litter and the N2O flux (soybean ≥ no litter ≥ reed canarygrass > deciduous-mix litter. However, in the presence of earthworms, there was a slight increase in C and N gaseous losses of C and N relative to their losses via leachate, across litter treatments. We conclude that litter type determines the earthworm-mediated decomposition effect, highlighting the importance of vegetation management in controlling C and N losses from riparian buffers to the environment.

Modeling Phosphorus Capture by Plants Growing in a Multispecies Riparian Buffer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Kelly

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The NST 3.0 mechanistic nutrient uptake model was used to explore P uptake to a depth of 120 cm over a 126 d growing season in simulated buffer communities composed of mixtures of cottonwood (Populus deltoids Bartr., switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L., and smooth brome (Bromus inermis Leyss. Model estimates of P uptake from pure stands of smooth brome and cottonwood were 18.9 and 24.5 kg ha−1, respectively. Uptake estimates for mixed stands of trees and grasses were intermediate to pure stands. A single factor sensitivity analysis of parameters used to calculate P uptake for each cover type indicated that Imax, k, ro, and Lo were consistently the most responsive to changes ranging from −50% to +100%. Model exploration of P uptake as a function of soil depth interval indicated that uptake was highest in the 0–30 cm intervals, with values ranging from 85% of total for cottonwood to 56% for switchgrass.

VAM populations in relation to grass invasion associated with forest decline.

Science.gov (United States)

Vosatka, M; Cudlin, P; Mejstrik, V

1991-01-01

Spruce stands in Northern Bohemia forests, damaged to various degrees by industrial pollution, have shown establishment of grass cover following tree defoliation. Populations of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi were studied under this grass cover in four permanent plots with spruce under different levels of pollution stress. Soil and root samples were collected in April and June within each plot as follows: (1) sites without grass, (2) sites with initial stages of grass invasion, and (3) sites with fully developed grass cover. In all plots, the highest number of propagules were recovered from samples taken from sites having full grass cover. Mycorrhizal infection of grass was highest in the plot with the severest pollution damage and lowest in the least damaged plot. The development of grass cover and VAM infection of grass increased with tree defoliation caused by air pollution.

Grass survey of the Itremo Massif records endemic central highland ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Twenty species are endemic to the central highlands, and a further 1 4 species are restricted to Madagascar. Five ecological groups of grasses were identified in the Itremo Massif: shade species in gallery forests, open wet area species, fire grasses, anthropogenic disturbance associated grasses and rock-dwelling grasses.

Transfusion and blood donation in comic strips.

Science.gov (United States)

Lefrère, Jean-Jacques; Danic, Bruno

2013-07-01

The representation of blood transfusion and donation of blood in the comic strip has never been studied. The comic strip, which is a relatively recent art, emerged in the 19th century before becoming a mass medium during the 20th century. We have sought, by calling on collectors and using the resources of Internet, comic strips devoted, wholly or in part, to the themes of transfusion and blood donation. We present some of them here in chronologic order, indicating the title, country of origin, year of publication, and names of authors. The theme of the superhero using transfusion to transmit his virtues or his powers is repeated throughout the 20th century in North American comic strips. More recently, comic strips have been conceived from the outset with a promotional aim. They perpetuate positive images and are directed toward a young readership, wielding humor to reduce the fear of venipuncture. Few comic strips denounce the abuse of the commercialization of products derived from the human body. The image of transfusion and blood donation given by the comic strips is not to be underestimated because their readership is primarily children, some of whom will become blood donors. Furthermore, if some readers are transfused during their lives, the impact of a memory more or less conscious of these childhood readings may resurface, both in hopes and in fears. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rumen escape protein in grass and grass silage deterimened with a nylon bag and an enzymatic technique

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cone, J.W.; Gelder, van A.H.; Mathijssen-Kamman, A.A.; Hindle, V.A.

2004-01-01

Rumen escape protein (REP) was determined for six grasses and 16 grass silages using a nylon bag technique and an in vitro technique using a proteolytic enzyme preparation of Streptomyces griseus. In vitro, the samples were incubated for 0, 1, 6 and 24 h. The highest correlation observed between

EroGRASS : Failure of grass cover layers at seaward and shoreward dike slopes. design, construction and performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, H.J.; Verheij, H.J.; Cao, T.M.; Dassanayake, D.; Roelvink, D.; Piontkowitz, T.

2009-01-01

A large number of the dikes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions are covered with grass that is exposed to hydraulic loading from waves and currents during storm surges. During previous storm surges the grass cover layers often showed large strength and remained undamaged. A clear physical

Investigation of Desso GrassMaster® as application in hydraulic engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steeg, van der P.; Paulissen, M.P.C.P.; Roex, E.; Mommer, L.

2015-01-01

Dessa GrassMaster® is a reinforced grass system which is applied successfully on sports fields and enables to use a sports field more intensively than a normal grass field. In this report the possibility of an application of Dessa GrassMaster®in hydraulic conditions, with a focus on grass dikes, is

Established native perennial grasses out-compete an invasive annual grass regardless of soil water and nutrient availability

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher M. McGlone; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Thomas E. Kolb; Ty Nietupsky

2012-01-01

Competition and resource availability influence invasions into native perennial grasslands by nonnative annual grasses such as Bromus tectorum. In two greenhouse experiments we examined the influence of competition, water availability, and elevated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability on growth and reproduction of the invasive annual grass B. tectorum and two...

A simple and rapid immunochromatographic test strip for detection of pathogenic isolates of Vibrio harveyi.

Science.gov (United States)

Sithigorngul, Paisarn; Rukpratanporn, Sombat; Pecharaburanin, Nilawan; Suksawat, Pornthip; Longyant, Siwaporn; Chaivisuthangkura, Parin; Sithigorngul, Weerawan

2007-12-01

Mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and rabbit polyclonal antibody (PAb) against Vibrio harveyi were generated from immunization of mice and rabbits with highly virulent isolate of V. harveyi. Two MAbs specific to virulent isolates of V. harveyi were obtained and one of them (VH4) was selected to conjugate with colloidal gold as the detector antibody was laid on a sample pad. Rabbit polyclonal antibody was used as the capture antibody at the test line (T) and goat anti-mouse IgG antibody (GAM) was used as the capture antibody at the control line (C) of nitrocellulose strip. The ready-to-use strip was held in a plastic case and then stored in a desiccated plastic bag. A sample volume of 100 microl of bacterial suspension from various sources mixed with application buffer was applied to the sample chamber at one end of the strip and allowed to flow by chromatography through the nitrocellulose membrane to the other end. In test samples containing virulent isolates of V. harveyi, the bacteria would bind to the monoclonal antibody conjugated with colloidal gold and the resulting complex would be captured by the antibodies at the test line to give a reddish-purple band. Any unbound monoclonal antibody conjugated with colloidal gold moved across the test line would be captured by the GAM and form a band at the control line (C). In sample without V. harveyi or with V. harveyi below the limit (culture. The beneficial features of this kit are that simple, convenient and quick results (within 15 min) can be obtained without the requirement of sophisticated tools or special equipments and skills.

Germination of Themeda triandra (Kangaroo grass) as affected by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Low rainfall in range areas restricts germination, growth and development of majority of range grasses. However, germination and establishment potential of forage grasses vary and depends on environmental conditions. Themeda triandra is an excellent known grass to grow under different environmental conditions.

21 CFR 520.1696a - Buffered penicillin powder, penicillin powder with buffered aqueous diluent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Buffered penicillin powder, penicillin powder with... FORM NEW ANIMAL DRUGS § 520.1696a Buffered penicillin powder, penicillin powder with buffered aqueous diluent. (a) Specifications. When reconstituted, each milliliter contains penicillin G procaine equivalent...

The importance of cross-reactivity in grass pollen allergy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksić Ivana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available According to the data obtained from in vivo and in vitro testing in Serbia, a significant number of patients have allergic symptoms caused by grass pollen. We examined the protein composition of grass pollens (Dactylis glomerata, Lolium perenne and Phleum pratense and cross-reactivity in patients allergic to grass pollen from our region. The grass pollen allergen extract was characterized by SDS-PAGE, while cross-reactivity of single grass pollens was revealed by immunoblot analysis. A high degree of cross-reactivity was demonstrated for all three single pollens in the sera of allergic patients compared to the grass pollen extract mixture. Confirmation of the existence of cross-reactivity between different antigenic sources facilitates the use of monovalent vaccines, which are easier to standardize and at the same time prevent further sensitization of patients and reduces adverse reactions. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 172049 i br. 172024

Development of floating strip micromegas detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bortfeldt, Jonathan

2014-04-28

Micromegas are high-rate capable, high-resolution micro-pattern gaseous detectors. Square meter sized resistive strip Micromegas are foreseen as replacement of the currently used precision tracking detectors in the Small Wheel, which is part of the forward region of the ATLAS muon spectrometer. The replacement is necessary to ensure tracking and triggering performance of the muon spectrometer after the luminosity increase of the Large Hadron Collider beyond its design value of 10{sup 34} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} around 2020. In this thesis a novel discharge tolerant floating strip Micromegas detector is presented and described. By individually powering copper anode strips, the effects of a discharge are confined to a small region of the detector. This reduces the impact of discharges on the efficiency by three orders of magnitude, compared to a standard Micromegas. The physics of the detector is studied and discussed in detail. Several detectors are developed: A 6.4 x 6.4 cm{sup 2} floating strip Micromegas with exchangeable SMD capacitors and resistors allows for an optimization of the floating strip principle. The discharge behavior is investigated on this device in depth. The microscopic structure of discharges is quantitatively explained by a detailed detector simulation. A 48 x 50 cm{sup 2} floating strip Micromegas is studied in high energy pion beams. Its homogeneity with respect to pulse height, efficiency and spatial resolution is investigated. The good performance in high-rate background environments is demonstrated in cosmic muon tracking measurements with a 6.4 x 6.4 cm{sup 2} floating strip Micromegas under lateral irradiation with 550 kHz 20 MeV proton beams. A floating strip Micromegas doublet with low material budget is developed for ion tracking without limitations from multiple scattering in imaging applications during medical ion therapy. Highly efficient tracking of 20 MeV protons at particle rates of 550 kHz is possible. The reconstruction of the

Development of floating strip micromegas detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bortfeldt, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Micromegas are high-rate capable, high-resolution micro-pattern gaseous detectors. Square meter sized resistive strip Micromegas are foreseen as replacement of the currently used precision tracking detectors in the Small Wheel, which is part of the forward region of the ATLAS muon spectrometer. The replacement is necessary to ensure tracking and triggering performance of the muon spectrometer after the luminosity increase of the Large Hadron Collider beyond its design value of 10 34 cm -2 s -1 around 2020. In this thesis a novel discharge tolerant floating strip Micromegas detector is presented and described. By individually powering copper anode strips, the effects of a discharge are confined to a small region of the detector. This reduces the impact of discharges on the efficiency by three orders of magnitude, compared to a standard Micromegas. The physics of the detector is studied and discussed in detail. Several detectors are developed: A 6.4 x 6.4 cm 2 floating strip Micromegas with exchangeable SMD capacitors and resistors allows for an optimization of the floating strip principle. The discharge behavior is investigated on this device in depth. The microscopic structure of discharges is quantitatively explained by a detailed detector simulation. A 48 x 50 cm 2 floating strip Micromegas is studied in high energy pion beams. Its homogeneity with respect to pulse height, efficiency and spatial resolution is investigated. The good performance in high-rate background environments is demonstrated in cosmic muon tracking measurements with a 6.4 x 6.4 cm 2 floating strip Micromegas under lateral irradiation with 550 kHz 20 MeV proton beams. A floating strip Micromegas doublet with low material budget is developed for ion tracking without limitations from multiple scattering in imaging applications during medical ion therapy. Highly efficient tracking of 20 MeV protons at particle rates of 550 kHz is possible. The reconstruction of the track inclination in a single

Thermogravimetric analysis of forest understory grasses

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas Elder; John S. Kush; Sharon M. Hermann

2011-01-01

Forest understory grasses are of significance in the initiation, establishment and maintenance of fire, whether used as a management tool or when occurring as wildfire. The fundamental thermal properties of such grasses are critical to their behavior in fire situations and have been investigated in the current work by the application of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA...

Names of Southern African grasses: Name changes and additional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main reasons for changes in botanical names are briefly reviewed, with examples from the lists. At this time, about 1040 grass species and subspecific taxa are recognized in the subcontinent. Keywords: botanical research; botanical research institute; botany; grass; grasses; identification; name change; nomenclature; ...

7 CFR 29.6128 - Straight Stripped (X Group).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Straight Stripped (X Group). 29.6128 Section 29.6128... REGULATIONS TOBACCO INSPECTION Standards Grades § 29.6128 Straight Stripped (X Group). This group consists of..., and tolerances X1 Fine Quality Straight Stripped. Heavy, ripe, firm, semielastic, normal strength and...

Cathodic adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of Ribavirin in pharmaceutical dosage form, urine and serum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed A. Abdel Gaber

2017-05-01

Full Text Available A sensitive, simple and rapid square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric method was developed and validated for the determination of Ribavirin in pharmaceutical formulations. The proposed method was based on the electrochemical reduction of Ribavirin at a hanging mercury drop electrode in Britton Robinson buffer at pH 10. A well-defined peak was observed at 880 mV with 30 s of accumulation time and 50 mV of accumulation potential. Under these optimized conditions, the square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric peak current showed a linear correlation on drug concentration over the range of 1 × 10−10–2 × 10−7 mol L−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995 for the proposed method. The detection and quantitation limits for this method were 2.02 × 10−10 and 6.80 × 10−10 mol L−1, respectively. The results obtained for intra-day and inter-day precision (as RSD % were between 0.447% and 1.024%. This method was applied successfully for the determination of Ribavirin in its pharmaceutical dosage forms with mean recoveries of 99.68 ± 0.13 with RSD % of 0.81% and 99.20 ± 0.24 with RSD % of 0.49% for two concentrations 5 × 10−9 and 5 × 10−8 mol L−1, respectively for 200 mg capsules. The results obtained from the developed square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric method were compared with those obtained by the analytical method reported in the literature.

Apparatus for measuring profile thickness of strip material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hold, A.C.

1982-01-01

Apparatus for measuring the thickness profile of steel strip comprises a radiation source reciprocally movable in a stepwise fashion (by a belt) across the strip width on one side thereof and a single elongated detector on the other side of the strip aligned with the scanning source. This detector may be a fluorescent scintillator detector or an ionisation chamber. Means are provided for sensing the degree of excitation in the detector in synchronism with the scanning source whereby to provide an output representative of the thickness profile of the strip. (author)

Stability of barotropic vortex strip on a rotating sphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Sung-Ik; Sakajo, Takashi; Kim, Sun-Chul

2018-02-01

We study the stability of a barotropic vortex strip on a rotating sphere, as a simple model of jet streams. The flow is approximated by a piecewise-continuous vorticity distribution by zonal bands of uniform vorticity. The linear stability analysis shows that the vortex strip becomes stable as the strip widens or the rotation speed increases. When the vorticity constants in the upper and the lower regions of the vortex strip have the same positive value, the inner flow region of the vortex strip becomes the most unstable. However, when the upper and the lower vorticity constants in the polar regions have different signs, a complex pattern of instability is found, depending on the wavenumber of perturbations, and interestingly, a boundary far away from the vortex strip can be unstable. We also compute the nonlinear evolution of the vortex strip on the rotating sphere and compare with the linear stability analysis. When the width of the vortex strip is small, we observe a good agreement in the growth rate of perturbation at an early time, and the eigenvector corresponding to the unstable eigenvalue coincides with the most unstable part of the flow. We demonstrate that a large structure of rolling-up vortex cores appears in the vortex strip after a long-time evolution. Furthermore, the geophysical relevance of the model to jet streams of Jupiter, Saturn and Earth is examined.

Stability of barotropic vortex strip on a rotating sphere

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Sung-Ik; Sakajo, Takashi; Kim, Sun-Chul

2018-02-01

We study the stability of a barotropic vortex strip on a rotating sphere, as a simple model of jet streams. The flow is approximated by a piecewise-continuous vorticity distribution by zonal bands of uniform vorticity. The linear stability analysis shows that the vortex strip becomes stable as the strip widens or the rotation speed increases. When the vorticity constants in the upper and the lower regions of the vortex strip have the same positive value, the inner flow region of the vortex strip becomes the most unstable. However, when the upper and the lower vorticity constants in the polar regions have different signs, a complex pattern of instability is found, depending on the wavenumber of perturbations, and interestingly, a boundary far away from the vortex strip can be unstable. We also compute the nonlinear evolution of the vortex strip on the rotating sphere and compare with the linear stability analysis. When the width of the vortex strip is small, we observe a good agreement in the growth rate of perturbation at an early time, and the eigenvector corresponding to the unstable eigenvalue coincides with the most unstable part of the flow. We demonstrate that a large structure of rolling-up vortex cores appears in the vortex strip after a long-time evolution. Furthermore, the geophysical relevance of the model to jet streams of Jupiter, Saturn and Earth is examined.

Bud-bank and tiller dynamics of co-occurring C3 caespitose grasses in mixed-grass prairie.

Science.gov (United States)

Ott, Jacqueline P; Hartnett, David C

2015-09-01

Tiller recruitment from the belowground bud bank of caespitose grasses influences their ability to monopolize local resources and, hence, their genet fitness. Differences in bud production and outgrowth among tiller types within a genet and among species may explain co-occurrence of caespitose grasses. This study aimed to characterize genet bud-bank and tiller production and dynamics in two co-occurring species and compare their vegetative reproductive strategies. Bud-bank and tiller dynamics of Hesperostipa comata and Nassella viridula, dominant C3 caespitose grasses in the northern mixed-grass prairie of North America, were assessed throughout an annual cycle. The two species showed similar strategies, maintaining polycyclic tillers and thus creating mixed-age genet bud banks comprising multiple bud cohorts produced in different years. Vegetative tillers produced the majority of buds, whereas flowering tillers contributed little to the bud bank. Buds lived for at least 2 yr and were maintained in multiple developmental stages throughout the year. Because bud longevity rarely exceeded tiller longevity, tiller longevity drove turnover within the bud bank. Tiller population dynamics, more than bud production per tiller, determined the differential contribution of tiller types to the bud bank. Nassella viridula had higher bud production per tiller, a consistent annual tiller recruitment density, and greater longevity of buds on senesced and flowering tillers than H. comata. Co-occurring C3 caespitose grasses had similar bud-bank and tiller dynamics contributing to genet persistence but differed in bud characteristics that could affect genet longevity and species coexistence. © 2015 Botanical Society of America.

Dose-response relationship of a new Timothy grass pollen allergoid in comparison with a 6-grass pollen allergoid.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfaar, O; Hohlfeld, J M; Al-Kadah, B; Hauswald, B; Homey, B; Hunzelmann, N; Schliemann, S; Velling, P; Worm, M; Klimek, L

2017-11-01

Subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy with grass pollen allergoids has been proven to be effective and safe in the treatment of patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Based on the extensive cross-reactivity among Pooideae species, it has been suggested that grass pollen extracts could be prepared from a single species, rather than from a multiple species mixture. To find the optimal dose of a Phleum pratense (P. pratense) allergoid preparation and compare its efficacy and safety to a 6-grass pollen allergoid preparation. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study (EudraCT: 2011-000674-58), three doses of P. pratense allergoid (1800 therapeutic units (TU), standard-dose 6000 TU and 18 000 TU) were compared with placebo and the marketed 6-grass pollen allergoid (6000 TU). In a pre-seasonal dosing regimen, 102 patients were randomized to five treatment groups and received nine subcutaneous injections. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in weal size (late-phase reaction [LPR]) in response to the intracutaneous testing (ICT) before and after treatment, comparing the active allergoids to placebo. Secondary outcomes were the change in Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS) assessed in the allergen exposure chamber (AEC), the changes in P. pratense-serum-specific IgG 4 and the incidence of adverse events (AEs). All three doses of the P. pratense and the 6-grass pollen allergoid preparations were significantly superior to placebo for the primary outcome, whereas there were no significant differences in the change in TNSS. Compared to the standard-dose, the high-dose of P. pratense did not produce any additional significant benefit, but showed a slight increase in AEs. Yet this increase in AEs was lower than for the 6-grass pollen preparation. The standard-dose of the new P. pratense allergoid was comparable to the marketed 6-grass pollen preparation at equal dose for the parameters measured. © 2017 The Authors. Clinical & Experimental Allergy Published by John

GRASS GIS: The first Open Source Temporal GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Gebbert, Sören; Leppelt, Thomas

2015-04-01

GRASS GIS is a full featured, general purpose Open Source geographic information system (GIS) with raster, 3D raster and vector processing support[1]. Recently, time was introduced as a new dimension that transformed GRASS GIS into the first Open Source temporal GIS with comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis, processing and visualization capabilities[2]. New spatio-temporal data types were introduced in GRASS GIS version 7, to manage raster, 3D raster and vector time series. These new data types are called space time datasets. They are designed to efficiently handle hundreds of thousands of time stamped raster, 3D raster and vector map layers of any size. Time stamps can be defined as time intervals or time instances in Gregorian calendar time or relative time. Space time datasets are simplifying the processing and analysis of large time series in GRASS GIS, since these new data types are used as input and output parameter in temporal modules. The handling of space time datasets is therefore equal to the handling of raster, 3D raster and vector map layers in GRASS GIS. A new dedicated Python library, the GRASS GIS Temporal Framework, was designed to implement the spatio-temporal data types and their management. The framework provides the functionality to efficiently handle hundreds of thousands of time stamped map layers and their spatio-temporal topological relations. The framework supports reasoning based on the temporal granularity of space time datasets as well as their temporal topology. It was designed in conjunction with the PyGRASS [3] library to support parallel processing of large datasets, that has a long tradition in GRASS GIS [4,5]. We will present a subset of more than 40 temporal modules that were implemented based on the GRASS GIS Temporal Framework, PyGRASS and the GRASS GIS Python scripting library. These modules provide a comprehensive temporal GIS tool set. The functionality range from space time dataset and time stamped map layer management

Factors affecting hydrocarbon removal by air stripping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McFarland, W.E.

1992-01-01

This paper includes an overview of the theory of air stripping design considerations and the factors affecting stripper performance. Effects of temperature, contaminant characteristics, stripping tower geometry and air/water ratios on removal performance are discussed. The discussion includes treatment of groundwater contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents such as TCE and PCE. Control of VOC emissions from air strippers has become a major concern in recent years, due to more stringent restrictions on air quality in many areas. This paper includes an overview of available technology to control air emissions (including activated carbon adsorption, catalytic oxidation and steam stripping) and the effects of air emission control on overall efficiency of the treatment process. The paper includes an overview of the relative performance of various packing materials for air strippers and explains the relative advantages and disadvantages of comparative packing materials. Field conditions affecting selection of packing materials are also discussed. Practical guidelines for the design of air stripping systems are presented, as well as actual case studies of full-scale air stripping projects

MACRO NUTRIENTS UPTAKE OF FORAGE GRASSES AT DIFFERENT SALINITY STRESSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Kusmiyati

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The high concentration of sodium chloride (NaCl in saline soils has negative effects on the growth ofmost plants. The experiment was designed to evaluate macro nutrient uptake (Nitrogen, Phosphorus andPotassium of forage grasses at different NaCl concentrations in growth media. The experiment wasconducted in a greenhouse at Forage Crops Laboratory of Animal Agriculture Faculty, Diponegoro University.Split plot design was used to arrange the experiment. The main plot was forage grasses (Elephant grass(Pennisetum purpureum and King grass (Pennisetum hybrida. The sub plot was NaCl concentrationin growth media (0, 150, and 300 mM. The nitrogen (N, phosphorus (P and potassium (K uptake in shootand root of plant were measured. The result indicated increasing NaCl concentration in growth mediasignificantly decreased the N, P and K uptake in root and shoot of the elephant grass and king grass. Thepercentage reduction percentage of N, P and K uptake at 150 mM and 300 mM were high in elephant grassand king grass. It can be concluded that based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake, elephantgrass and king grass are not tolerant to strong and very strong saline soil.

Sensitivity analysis and metamodeling of a toolchain of models to help sizing vetetative filter strips in a watershed.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauvernet, Claire; Noll, Dorothea; Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael; Carluer, Nadia

2014-05-01

In Europe, environmental agencies do the finding a significant presence of contaminants in surface water, which is partly due to pesticide applications. Vegetative filter strips (VFS), often located along rivers, are a common tool among other buffer zones to reduce non point source pollution of water by reducing surface runoff. However, they need to be adapted to the agro-pedo-climatic conditions, both in terms of position and size, in order to be efficient. This is one of the roles of TOPPS-PROWADIS project which involves European experts and stakeholders to develop and recommend Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce pesticide transfer by drift or runoff in several European countries. In this context, Irstea developed a guide accompanying the use of different tools, which allows designing VFS by simulating their efficiency to limit transfers. It needs the user to define both a scenario of incoming surface runoff and the buffer zone characteristics. First, the contributive zone (surface, length, slope) is derived from the topography by a GIS tool, HydroDem. ; 2nd, the runoff hydrograph coming in the buffer zone is generated from a rainfall hyetogram typical of the area, using Curve Number theory, taking into account soil characteristics. The VFS's optimal width is then deduced for a given desired efficiency (for example 70% of runoff reduction), by using VFSMOD model, which simulates water, suspended matters (and pesticides) transfer inside a vegetative filter strip. Results also indicate if this kind of buffer zone is relevant in that situation (if too high, another type of buffer zone may be more relevant, for example constructed wetland). This method assumes that the user supplies quite a lot of field knowledge and data, which are not always easily available. In order to fill in the lack of real data, a set of virtual scenarios was tested, which is supposed to cover a large range of agro-pedo-climatic conditions in Europe, considering both the upslope

Mechanisms of buffer therapy resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Kate M; Wojtkowiak, Jonathan W; Cornnell, Heather H; Ribeiro, Maria C; Balagurunathan, Yoganand; Hashim, Arig Ibrahim; Gillies, Robert J

2014-04-01

Many studies have shown that the acidity of solid tumors contributes to local invasion and metastasis. Oral pH buffers can specifically neutralize the acidic pH of tumors and reduce the incidence of local invasion and metastatic formation in multiple murine models. However, this effect is not universal as we have previously observed that metastasis is not inhibited by buffers in some tumor models, regardless of buffer used. B16-F10 (murine melanoma), LL/2 (murine lung) and HCT116 (human colon) tumors are resistant to treatment with lysine buffer therapy, whereas metastasis is potently inhibited by lysine buffers in MDA-MB-231 (human breast) and PC3M (human prostate) tumors. In the current work, we confirmed that sensitive cells utilized a pH-dependent mechanism for successful metastasis supported by a highly glycolytic phenotype that acidifies the local tumor microenvironment resulting in morphological changes. In contrast, buffer-resistant cell lines exhibited a pH-independent metastatic mechanism involving constitutive secretion of matrix degrading proteases without elevated glycolysis. These results have identified two distinct mechanisms of experimental metastasis, one of which is pH-dependent (buffer therapy sensitive cells) and one which is pH-independent (buffer therapy resistant cells). Further characterization of these models has potential for therapeutic benefit. Copyright © 2014 Neoplasia Press, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Grasses as invasive plants in South Africa revisited: Patterns, pathways and management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vernon Visser

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: In many countries around the world, the most damaging invasive plant species are grasses. However, the status of grass invasions in South Africa has not been documented recently. Objectives: To update Sue Milton’s 2004 review of grasses as invasive alien plants in South Africa, provide the first detailed species level inventory of alien grasses in South Africa and assess the invasion dynamics and management of the group. Method: We compiled the most comprehensive inventory of alien grasses in South Africa to date using recorded occurrences of alien grasses in the country from various literature and database sources. Using historical literature, we reviewed past efforts to introduce alien grasses into South Africa. We sourced information on the origins, uses, distributions and minimum residence times to investigate pathways and patterns of spatial extent. We identified alien grasses in South Africa that are having environmental and economic impacts and determined whether management options have been identified, and legislation created, for these species. Results: There are at least 256 alien grass species in the country, 37 of which have become invasive. Alien grass species richness increased most dramatically from the late 1800s to about 1940. Alien grass species that are not naturalised or invasive have much shorter residence times than those that have naturalised or become invasive. Most grasses were probably introduced for forage purposes, and a large number of alien grass species were trialled at pasture research stations. A large number of alien grass species in South Africa are of Eurasian origin, although more recent introductions include species from elsewhere in Africa and from Australasia. Alien grasses are most prevalent in the south-west of the country, and the Fynbos Biome has the most alien grasses and the most widespread species. We identified 11 species that have recorded environmental and economic impacts in the

Glassy carbon electrode modified by conductive polyaniline coating for determination of trace lead and cadmium ions in acetate buffer solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhaomeng; Liu Erjia; Zhao Xing

2011-01-01

Polyaniline (PANI) coatings were electrodeposited on the surfaces of glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) to form new electrodes, i.e. PANI/GCEs. It was found that with increased deposition time, the PANI coatings became more compact while the charge transfer resistance of the coatings became higher. The PANI/GCEs were used to detect Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ ions contained in 0.1 M acetate buffer solutions using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). It was found that the PANI/GCE had a highest anodic stripping peak current in a solution of pH 5.3. The study of the cleaning performance of the PANI/GCEs indicated that there were less remaining metals on the surfaces of the PANI/GCEs compared to the bare GCEs after cleaning at a potential of 0.4 V, which was probably due to that the PANI coatings could effectively prevent the deposition of the metals into the surface defects of the GCEs. The PANI coatings could also reduce the passivation effect of the GCEs, thus improving the repeatability of the electrodes.

Magnetic stripping studies for SPL

CERN Document Server

Posocco, P; CERN. Geneva. BE Department

2010-01-01

Magnetic stripping of H- can seriously enhance the beam losses along the SPL machine. These losses depend on the beam energy, on the beam transverse distribution and on the intensity of the magnetic field. For radioprotection issues the losses must be limited to 1 W/m. In this paper we will concentrate on the stripping phenomena inside the quadrupole magnets with the aim of defining the quadrupole range for the design phase of SPL.

micro strip gas chamber

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

About 16 000 Micro Strip Gas Chambers like this one will be used in the CMS tracking detector. They will measure the tracks of charged particles to a hundredth of a millimetre precision in the region near the collision point where the density of particles is very high. Each chamber is filled with a gas mixture of argon and dimethyl ether. Charged particles passing through ionise the gas, knocking out electrons which are collected on the aluminium strips visible under the microscope. Such detectors are being used in radiography. They give higher resolution imaging and reduce the required dose of radiation.

Lessons learned in managing alfalfa-grass mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Grass-alfalfa mixtures have a number of benefits that make them attractive to producers. However, they can be problematic to establish and maintain. Research programs have made progress in understanding the benefits and challenges of alfalfa-grass mixtures. Mixtures may have greater winter survival ...

Variation in important pasture grasses: I. Morphological and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Variation in important pasture grasses: I. Morphological and geographical variation. ... Seven species are important pasture grasses throughout the western Transvaal, Orange Free State, northern Cape and Natal. ... Language: English.

Microstructural research on hot strips of low carbon steel produced by a compact strip production line under different thermal histories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Hao; Chen Qixiang; Kang Yonglin; Sun Yi

2005-01-01

Coupons with the same composition and thickness (4.0 mm nominal gauge) obtained from hot strips of low carbon steel underwent a series of investigations to analyze the microstructural characteristics and mechanisms responsible for their differences in mechanical properties. Two different industrial technologies were adopted, although the strips used in this research were produced on the same Compact Strip Production (CSP) line. One of the strips was produced with a routine γ→α CSP thermal history, but the other with a γ→α→γ* conventional thermal history. The only difference between them was that one technology had a α→γ* thermal history. Different specimens of both types of strips were prepared for metallographic observation, tensile tests, electron back-scattered diffraction tests and positron annihilation technique tests. Experimental results showed that the differences in mechanical properties could be ascribed to dissimilarities not only in the grain size and textural components but also in dislocation density

High Pressure Water Stripping Using Multi-Orifice Nozzles

Science.gov (United States)

Hoppe, David

1999-01-01

The use of multi-orifice rotary nozzles greatly increases the speed and stripping effectiveness of high pressure water blasting systems, but also greatly increases the complexity of selecting and optimizing the operating parameters. The rotational speed of the nozzle must be coupled with its transverse velocity as it passes across the surface of the substrate being stripped. The radial and angular positions of each orifice must be included in the analysis of the nozzle configuration. Orifices at the outer edge of the nozzle head move at a faster rate than the orifices located near the center. The energy transmitted to the surface from the impact force of the water stream from an outer orifice is therefore spread over a larger area than energy from an inner orifice. Utilizing a larger diameter orifice in the outer radial positions increases the total energy transmitted from the outer orifice to compensate for the wider distribution of energy. The total flow rate from the combination of all orifices must be monitored and should be kept below the pump capacity while choosing orifice to insert in each position. The energy distribution from the orifice pattern is further complicated since the rotary path of all the orifices in the nozzle head pass through the center section. All orifices contribute to the stripping in the center of the path while only the outer most orifice contributes to the stripping at the edge of the nozzle. Additional orifices contribute to the stripping from the outer edge toward the center section. With all these parameters to configure and each parameter change affecting the others, a computer model was developed to track and coordinate these parameters. The computer simulation graphically indicates the cumulative affect from each parameter selected. The result from the proper choices in parameters is a well designed, highly efficient stripping system. A poorly chosen set of parameters will cause the nozzle to strip aggressively in some areas

Buffer Zone Fact Sheets

Science.gov (United States)

New requirements for buffer zones and sign posting contribute to soil fumigant mitigation and protection for workers and bystanders. The buffer provides distance between the pesticide application site and bystanders, reducing exposure risk.

Recovery of cellulase activity after ethanol stripping in a novel pilot-scale unit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovgaard, Pernille Anastasia; Christensen, Børge Holm; Felby, Claus

2014-01-01

Recycling of enzymes has a potential interest during cellulosic bioethanol production as purchasing enzymes is one of the largest expenses in the process. By recycling enzymes after distillation, loss of sugars and ethanol are avoided, but depending on the distillation temperature......, there is a potential risk of enzyme degradation. Studies of the rate of enzyme denaturation based on estimation of the denaturation constant K D was performed using a novel distillation setup allowing stripping of ethanol at 50–65 °C. Experiments were performed in a pilot-scale stripper, where the effect...... of temperature (55–65 °C) and exposure to gas–liquid and liquid–heat transmission interfaces were tested on a mesophilic and thermostable enzyme mixture in fiber beer and buffer. Lab-scale tests were included in addition to the pilot-scale experiments to study the effect of shear, ethanol concentration, and PEG...

Genome-Wide Analysis of Syntenic Gene Deletion in the Grasses

Science.gov (United States)

Schnable, James C.; Freeling, Michael; Lyons, Eric

2012-01-01

The grasses, Poaceae, are one of the largest and most successful angiosperm families. Like many radiations of flowering plants, the divergence of the major grass lineages was preceded by a whole-genome duplication (WGD), although these events are not rare for flowering plants. By combining identification of syntenic gene blocks with measures of gene pair divergence and different frequencies of ancient gene loss, we have separated the two subgenomes present in modern grasses. Reciprocal loss of duplicated genes or genomic regions has been hypothesized to reproductively isolate populations and, thus, speciation. However, in contrast to previous studies in yeast and teleost fishes, we found very little evidence of reciprocal loss of homeologous genes between the grasses, suggesting that post-WGD gene loss may not be the cause of the grass radiation. The sets of homeologous and orthologous genes and predicted locations of deleted genes identified in this study, as well as links to the CoGe comparative genomics web platform for analyzing pan-grass syntenic regions, are provided along with this paper as a resource for the grass genetics community. PMID:22275519

Properties isotropy of magnesium alloy strip workpieces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Р. Кавалла

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the issue of obtaining high quality cast workpieces of magnesium alloys produced by strip roll-casting. Producing strips of magnesium alloys by combining the processes of casting and rolling when liquid melt is fed continuously to fast rolls is quite promising and economic. In the process of sheet stamping considerable losses of metal occur on festoons formed due to anisotropy of properties of foil workpiece, as defined by the macro- and microstructure and modes of rolling and annealing. The principal causes of anisotropic mechanical properties of metal strips produced by the combined casting and rolling technique are the character of distribution of intermetallic compounds in the strip, orientation of phases of metal defects and the residual tensions. One of the tasks in increasing the output of fit products during stamping operations consists in minimizing the amount of defects. To lower the level of anisotropy in mechanical properties various ways of treating the melt during casting are suggested. Designing the technology of producing strips of magnesium alloys opens a possibility of using them in automobile industry to manufacture light-weight body elements instead of those made of steel.

Grass-on-grass competition along a catenal gradient in mesic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Three aboveground treatments (full light competition, no light competition and clipping to simulate grazing), and two belowground treatments (full belowground competition and belowground competition excluded by a root tube), were used. On all soil depths the three grass species differed in mean mass, with E. racemosa ...

Results from the 5-year SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet asthma prevention (GAP) trial in children with grass pollen allergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Valovirta, Erkka; Petersen, Thomas H; Piotrowska, Teresa; Laursen, Mette K; Andersen, Jens S; Sørensen, Helle F; Klink, Rabih

2018-02-01

Allergy immunotherapy targets the immunological cause of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and allergic asthma and has the potential to alter the natural course of allergic disease. The primary objective was to investigate the effect of the SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet compared with placebo on the risk of developing asthma. A total of 812 children (5-12 years), with a clinically relevant history of grass pollen allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and no medical history or signs of asthma, were included in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, comprising 3 years of treatment and 2 years of follow-up. There was no difference in time to onset of asthma, defined by prespecified asthma criteria relying on documented reversible impairment of lung function (primary endpoint). Treatment with the SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet significantly reduced the risk of experiencing asthma symptoms or using asthma medication at the end of trial (odds ratio = 0.66, P year posttreatment follow-up, and during the entire 5-year trial period. Also, grass allergic rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms were 22% to 30% reduced (P years). At the end of the trial, the use of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis pharmacotherapy was significantly less (27% relative difference to placebo, P < .001). Total IgE, grass pollen-specific IgE, and skin prick test reactivity to grass pollen were all reduced compared to placebo. Treatment with the SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet reduced the risk of experiencing asthma symptoms and using asthma medication, and had a positive, long-term clinical effect on rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms and medication use but did not show an effect on the time to onset of asthma. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of silicon micro strip detectors with large read-out pitch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senyo, K.; Yamamura, K.; Tsuboyama, T.; Avrillon, S.; Asano, Y.; Bozek, A.; Natkaniec, Z.; Palka, H.; Rozanska, M.; Rybicki, K.

1996-01-01

For the development of the silicon micro-strip detector with the pitch of the readout strips as large as 250 μm on the ohmic side, we made samples with different structures. Charge collection was evaluated to optimize the width of implant strips, aluminum read-out strips, and/or the read-out scheme among strips. (orig.)

Towards a point-of-care strip test to diagnose sickle cell anemia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meaghan Bond

Full Text Available A rapid test to identify patients with sickle cell disease could have important benefits in low-resource settings. Sickle cell anemia (SCA affects about 300,000 newborns each year, the majority of whom are born in sub-Saharan Africa. Low-cost therapies are available to treat SCA, but most countries in sub-Saharan Africa lack robust neonatal screening programs needed to identify patients in need of treatment. To address this need, we developed and evaluated a competitive lateral flow assay that identifies patients with SCA (genotype HbSS in 15 minutes using undiluted whole blood. A small volume of blood (0.5 μL- 3 μL is mixed with antibody-coated blue latex beads in a tube and applied to the strip. Strips are then placed in a well of running buffer and allowed to run for 10 minutes. Laboratory evaluation with samples containing different proportions of hemoglobin A (HbA and hemoglobin S (HbS indicated that the test should enable identification of SCA patients but not persons with sickle cell trait (SCT. We evaluated the test using 41 samples from individuals with SCA, SCT, and normal blood. With visual inspection or quantitative analysis, we found a 98% accuracy when differentiating SCA from normal and SCT samples as a group (90% sensitivity and 100% specificity for identifying SCA. This work demonstrates important steps towards making a lateral flow test for hemoglobinopathies more appropriate for point-of-care use; further work is needed before the test is appropriate for clinical use.

Micro-strip sensors based on CVD diamond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adam, W.; Berdermann, E.; Bergonzo, P.; Bertuccio, G.; Bogani, F.; Borchi, E.; Brambilla, A.; Bruzzi, M.; Colledani, C.; Conway, J.; D' Angelo, P.; Dabrowski, W.; Delpierre, P.; Deneuville, A.; Dulinski, W.; Eijk, B. van; Fallou, A.; Fizzotti, F.; Foulon, F.; Friedl, M.; Gan, K.K.; Gheeraert, E.; Hallewell, G.; Han, S.; Hartjes, F.; Hrubec, J.; Husson, D.; Kagan, H.; Kania, D.; Kaplon, J.; Kass, R.; Koeth, T.; Krammer, M.; Logiudice, A.; Lu, R.; Mac Lynne, L.; Manfredotti, C.; Meier, D. E-mail: dirk.meier@cern.ch; Mishina, M.; Moroni, L.; Oh, A.; Pan, L.S.; Pernicka, M.; Peitz, A.; Perera, L.; Pirollo, S.; Procario, M.; Riester, J.L.; Roe, S.; Rousseau, L.; Rudge, A.; Russ, J.; Sala, S.; Sampietro, M.; Schnetzer, S.; Sciortino, S.; Stelzer, H.; Stone, R.; Suter, B.; Tapper, R.J.; Tesarek, R.; Trischuk, W.; Tromson, D.; Vittone, E.; Walsh, A.M.; Wedenig, R.; Weilhammer, P.; Wetstein, M.; White, C.; Zeuner, W.; Zoeller, M

2000-10-11

In this article we present the performance of recent chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond micro-strip sensors in beam tests. In addition, we present the first comparison of a CVD diamond micro-strip sensor before and after proton irradiation.

Micro-strip sensors based on CVD Diamond

CERN Document Server

Adam, W; Bergonzo, P; Bertuccio, G; Bogani, F; Borchi, E; Brambilla, A; Bruzzi, Mara; Colledani, C; Conway, J; D'Angelo, P; Dabrowski, W; Delpierre, P A; Deneuville, A; Dulinski, W; van Eijk, B; Fallou, A; Fizzotti, F; Foulon, F; Friedl, M; Gan, K K; Gheeraert, E; Hallewell, G D; Han, S; Hartjes, F G; Hrubec, Josef; Husson, D; Kagan, H; Kania, D R; Kaplon, J; Kass, R; Koeth, T W; Krammer, Manfred; Lo Giudice, A; Lü, R; MacLynne, L; Manfredotti, C; Meier, D; Mishina, M; Moroni, L; Oh, A; Pan, L S; Pernicka, Manfred; Peitz, A; Perera, L P; Pirollo, S; Procario, M; Riester, J L; Roe, S; Rousseau, L; Rudge, A; Russ, J; Sala, S; Sampietro, M; Schnetzer, S R; Sciortino, S; Stelzer, H; Stone, R; Suter, B; Tapper, R J; Tesarek, R J; Trischuk, W; Tromson, D; Vittone, E; Walsh, A M; Wedenig, R; Weilhammer, Peter; Wetstein, M; White, C; Zeuner, W; Zoeller, M M

2000-01-01

In this article we present the performance of recent chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond micro-strip sensors in beam tests. In addition we present the first comparison of a CVD diamond micro-strip sensor before and after proton irradiation.

Micro-strip sensors based on CVD diamond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adam, W.; Berdermann, E.; Bergonzo, P.; Bertuccio, G.; Bogani, F.; Borchi, E.; Brambilla, A.; Bruzzi, M.; Colledani, C.; Conway, J.; D'Angelo, P.; Dabrowski, W.; Delpierre, P.; Deneuville, A.; Dulinski, W.; Eijk, B. van; Fallou, A.; Fizzotti, F.; Foulon, F.; Friedl, M.; Gan, K.K.; Gheeraert, E.; Hallewell, G.; Han, S.; Hartjes, F.; Hrubec, J.; Husson, D.; Kagan, H.; Kania, D.; Kaplon, J.; Kass, R.; Koeth, T.; Krammer, M.; Logiudice, A.; Lu, R.; Mac Lynne, L.; Manfredotti, C.; Meier, D.; Mishina, M.; Moroni, L.; Oh, A.; Pan, L.S.; Pernicka, M.; Peitz, A.; Perera, L.; Pirollo, S.; Procario, M.; Riester, J.L.; Roe, S.; Rousseau, L.; Rudge, A.; Russ, J.; Sala, S.; Sampietro, M.; Schnetzer, S.; Sciortino, S.; Stelzer, H.; Stone, R.; Suter, B.; Tapper, R.J.; Tesarek, R.; Trischuk, W.; Tromson, D.; Vittone, E.; Walsh, A.M.; Wedenig, R.; Weilhammer, P.; Wetstein, M.; White, C.; Zeuner, W.; Zoeller, M.

2000-01-01

In this article we present the performance of recent chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond micro-strip sensors in beam tests. In addition, we present the first comparison of a CVD diamond micro-strip sensor before and after proton irradiation

Micro-strip sensors based on CVD diamond

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, W.; Berdermann, E.; Bergonzo, P.; Bertuccio, G.; Bogani, F.; Borchi, E.; Brambilla, A.; Bruzzi, M.; Colledani, C.; Conway, J.; D'Angelo, P.; Dabrowski, W.; Delpierre, P.; Deneuville, A.; Dulinski, W.; van Eijk, B.; Fallou, A.; Fizzotti, F.; Foulon, F.; Friedl, M.; Gan, K. K.; Gheeraert, E.; Hallewell, G.; Han, S.; Hartjes, F.; Hrubec, J.; Husson, D.; Kagan, H.; Kania, D.; Kaplon, J.; Kass, R.; Koeth, T.; Krammer, M.; Logiudice, A.; Lu, R.; mac Lynne, L.; Manfredotti, C.; Meier, D.; Mishina, M.; Moroni, L.; Oh, A.; Pan, L. S.; Pernicka, M.; Peitz, A.; Perera, L.; Pirollo, S.; Procario, M.; Riester, J. L.; Roe, S.; Rousseau, L.; Rudge, A.; Russ, J.; Sala, S.; Sampietro, M.; Schnetzer, S.; Sciortino, S.; Stelzer, H.; Stone, R.; Suter, B.; Tapper, R. J.; Tesarek, R.; Trischuk, W.; Tromson, D.; Vittone, E.; Walsh, A. M.; Wedenig, R.; Weilhammer, P.; Wetstein, M.; White, C.; Zeuner, W.; Zoeller, M.; RD42 Collaboration

2000-10-01

In this article we present the performance of recent chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond micro-strip sensors in beam tests. In addition, we present the first comparison of a CVD diamond micro-strip sensor before and after proton irradiation.

Membrane air stripping utilizing a plate and frame configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boswell, S.T.

1991-01-01

Membrane air stripping has recently been proposed as a possible method to remove volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and radon from drinking water supplies. Current and anticipated regulatory requirements, driven by health consequences, make the removal of these contaminants mandatory. This work examines the use of plate and frame membrane air stripping for the removal of VOCs and radon from a water supply. The theoretical basis of membrane air stripping and a literature review are included. The advantages of membrane air stripping versus other methods of removal, as well as the advantages of a plate and frame configuration versus a hollow fiber configuration for membrane air stripping are discussed. Multiple regression/correlation techniques are used to model mass transfer coefficients and fluid resistances. An economic evaluation is performed using the developed models. The costs of comparable membrane and packed tower air stripping systems are 4.86 cents per thousand gallons versus 4.36 cents per thousand gallons, respectively. This work indicates that plate and frame membrane air stripping may, in fact, prove to be an economical alternative to packed tower aeration and carbon adsorption for the removal of VOCs and radon

Advection endash diffusion past a strip. II. Oblique incidence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knessl, C.; Keller, J.B.

1997-01-01

Advection and diffusion of particles past an impenetrable strip is considered when the strip is oblique to the advection or drift velocity. The particle concentration p(x,y) is determined asymptotically for large values of vL/D, where v is the drift velocity, D is the diffusion coefficient, and 2L is the width of the strip. The results complement those of Part I, which treated a strip normal to the drift velocity. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Instrumentation of a Level-1 Track Trigger at ATLAS with Double Buffer Front-End Architecture

CERN Document Server

Cooper, B; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

Around 2021 the Large Hadron Collider will be upgraded to provide instantaneous luminosities 5x10^34, leading to excessive rates from the ATLAS Level-1 trigger. We describe a double-buffer front-end architecture for the ATLAS tracker replacement which should enable tracking information to be used in the Level-1 decision. This will allow Level-1 rates to be controlled whilst preserving high efficiency for single lepton triggers at relatively low transverse momentum thresholds pT ~25 GeV, enabling ATLAS to remain sensitive to physics at the electroweak scale. In particular, a potential hardware solution for the communication between the upgraded silicon barrel strip detectors and the external processing within this architecture will be described, and discrete event simulations used to demonstrate that this fits within the tight latency constraints.

Stripping of uranium from Dehpa/kerosene solvents by different aqueous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khorfan, S.; Stas, J.; Kassem, M.

1998-01-01

Stripping uranium from Dehpa/kerosene solvent is a crucial step in the recovery of uranium. Stripping was studied using different stripping media mainly ammonium carbonate, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. Stripping was measured at different operating conditions such as aqueous concentrations, temperatures, and Dehpa/kerosene concentrations. The results obtained showed that stripping by acid media increases with the acid concentration and follows the order: HF > H 3 PO 4 > H 2 SO 4 > HCl > HNO 3 . To achieve higher stripping by phosphoric acid it was found necessary to increase the temperature to 50 deg C, the acid concentration to 5 mol/l and to reduce the uranium to U 4+ . Stripping by basic media was found to increase with increasing concentration of the stripping media and to follow the order: Na 2 CO 3 > (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 > NH 4 HCO 3 . Stripping by ammonium carbonate was found to increase with temperature and carbonate concentration. The stripping was optimized at 0.5 mol/l carbonate concentration and at a temperature of 50 deg C. Stripping was decreased by increasing concentration of Dehpa in kerosene and was depressed more by adding the synergant Topo to the Dehpa solvent especially at 1/4 mol/mol ratio. (author)

Field Robotics in Sports: Automatic Generation of guidance Lines for Automatic Grass Cutting, Striping and Pitch Marking of Football Playing Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ole Green

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Progress is constantly being made and new applications are constantly coming out in the area of field robotics. In this paper, a promising application of field robotics in football playing fields is introduced. An algorithmic approach for generating the way points required for the guidance of a GPS-based field robotic through a football playing field to automatically carry out periodical tasks such as cutting the grass field, pitch and line marking illustrations and lawn striping is represented. The manual operation of these tasks requires very skilful personnel able to work for long hours with very high concentration for the football yard to be compatible with standards of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA. In the other side, a GPS-based guided vehicle or robot with three implements; grass mower, lawn stripping roller and track marking illustrator is capable of working 24 h a day, in most weather and in harsh soil conditions without loss of quality. The proposed approach for the automatic operation of football playing fields requires no or very limited human intervention and therefore it saves numerous working hours and free a worker to focus on other tasks. An economic feasibility study showed that the proposed method is economically superimposing the current manual practices.

Convex relationships in ecosystems containing mixtures of trees and grass

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Scholes, RJ

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The relationship between grass production and the quantity of trees in mixed tree-grass ecosystems (savannas) is convex for all or most of its range. In other words, the grass production declines more steeply per unit increase in tree quantity...

Deprotonation effect of tetrahydrofuran-2-carbonitrile buffer gas dopant in ion mobility spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Maestre, Roberto; Meza-Morelos, Dairo; Wu, Ching

2016-06-15

When dopants are introduced into the buffer gas of an ion mobility spectrometer, spectra are simplified due to charge competition. We used electrospray ionization to inject tetrahydrofuran-2-carbonitrile (F, 2-furonitrile or 2-furancarbonitrile) as a buffer gas dopant into an ion mobility spectrometer coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Density functional theory was used for theoretical calculations of dopant-ion interaction energies and proton affinities, using the hybrid functional X3LYP/6-311++(d,p) with the Gaussian 09 program that accounts for the basis set superposition error; analytes structures and theoretical calculations with Gaussian were used to explain the behavior of the analytes upon interaction with F. When F was used as a dopant at concentrations below 1.5 mmol m(-3) in the buffer gas, ions were not observed for α-amino acids due to charge competition with the dopant; this deprotonation capability arises from the production of a dimer with a high formation energy that stabilized the positive charge and created steric hindrance that deterred the equilibrium with analyte ions. F could not completely strip other compounds of their charge because they either showed steric hindrance at the charge site that deterred the approach of the dopant (2,4-lutidine, and DTBP), formed intramolecular bonds that stabilized the positive charge (atenolol), had high proton affinity (2,4-lutidine, DTBP, valinol and atenolol), or were inherently ionic (tetraalkylammonium ions). This selective deprotonation suggests the use of F to simplify spectra of complex mixtures in ion mobility and mass spectrometry in metabolomics, proteomics and other studies that generate complex spectra with thousands of peaks. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stage- vs. Channel-strip Metaphor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gelineck, Steven; Korsgaard, Dannie Michael; Büchert, Morten

2015-01-01

This study compares the stage metaphor and the channel strip metaphor in terms of performance. Traditionally, music mixing consoles employ a channels strip control metaphor for adjusting parameters such as volume and panning of each track. An alternative control metaphor, the so-called stage meta...... is surprisingly similar and thus we are not able to detect any significant difference in performance between the two interfaces. Qualitative data however, suggests that the stage metaphor is largely favoured for its intuitive interaction - confirming earlier studies....

Study of inter-strip gap effects and efficiency for full energy detection of double sided silicon strip detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisichella, M.; Forneris, J.; Grassi, L.

2015-01-01

We performed a characterization of Double Sided Silicon Strip Detectors (DSSSD) with the aim to carry out a systematic study of the inter-strip effects on the energy measurement of charged particles. The dependence of the DSSSD response on ion, energy and applied bias has been investigated. (author)

[Ocular surface acidity and buffering system (by studying the conjunctival sac)].

Science.gov (United States)

Avetisov, S É; Safonova, T N; Novikov, I A; Pateiuk, L S; Griboedova, I G

2014-01-01

As any mucous membrane the conjunctiva is characterized by a definite pH value which guarantees-physiological functioning of the ocular surface. The most commonly used method of assessment is potentiometric pH measurement with ion-specific glass microelectrodes. The results, however, can be affected by such factors, as conjunctival sac zoning, tissue acidity, epithelial trauma, and reflex tear secretion. Few data and hypotheses are available on mechanisms of maintaining the acid-base balance of the conjunctival sac (bicarbonate buffering system in particular). to study spatial variability of conjunctival tear fluid pH and possible mechanisms of its maintenance using original methods of acidity measurement and mineral content assessment. Tear pH was determined in 42 healthy participants (84 eyes) by means of litmus test strips and computer- aided colorimetry. Electron probe microanalysis in combination with energy dispersive spectrometry was performed in 8 healthy participants (8 eyes, 8 samples). In the group of 42 healthy participants (84 eyes) the pH value of conjunctival tear fluid varied from 6.30 to 7.23 with the average of 6.76 and pH mode 6.74. The pH value of conjunctival mucous discharge was measured in 25 healthy participants (28 eyes) and varied from 7.00 to 8.00 with the average of 7.26 and pH mode 7.30. The main mineral components of tear fluid are chlorine, sodium, potassium, and boron. Borate buffer is regarded as a mechanism of maintaining the acid-base balance of the ocular surface. The developed method of pH measurement ensuresreliable determination of conjunctival sac acidity in accordance with zoning and heterogeneity of its media as well as the complex structure of the tear film. In a healthy population, the acidity of tear significantly differs from that of conjunctival mucous discharge. Soluble chlorine, sodium, potassium, and boron compounds are the prevailing mineral components of tear fluid. Borate buffer appears to be the most stable of

Zinc (Zn Analysis in Milk by Microwave Oven Digestion and Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltametry (DPASV Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohineesh

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Milk is very important component of human diet. The presence of over limit of heavy metal in milk may create significant health problems. In the present study, the direct determination of Zinc (Zn heavy metal in milk samples of different brands was carried out by differential pulse anodic stripping Voltammetric technique at Hanging Mercury Drop Electrode (HMDE. Milk samples were processed by microwave oven digestion using HP/VHP Vessels and TFM Liners and nitric acid (HNO3.Determination of Zn was made in acetate buffer (pH 4.6 with a sweep rate (scan rate of 59.5 mV/s and pulse amplitude 50mV by HMDE by standard addition method. The solution was stirred during pre-electrolysis at -1150mV (vs. Ag/AgCl for 90 seconds and the potential was scanned from -1150V to +100V (vs. Ag/AgCl. The zinc ions were deposited by reduction at -1150 mV on HMDE. The stripping current arising from the oxidation of metal was correlated with the concentration the metal in the sample. .As a result the minimum level of Zn observed in the milk sample of different brands was determined as 2.28 mgL−1.

Signature-based store checking buffer

Science.gov (United States)

Sridharan, Vilas; Gurumurthi, Sudhanva

2015-06-02

A system and method for optimizing redundant output verification, are provided. A hardware-based store fingerprint buffer receives multiple instances of output from multiple instances of computation. The store fingerprint buffer generates a signature from the content included in the multiple instances of output. When a barrier is reached, the store fingerprint buffer uses the signature to verify the content is error-free.

Estimating grass-clover ratio variations caused by traffic intensities using image analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Rasmus Nyholm; Sørensen, Claus Grøn; Green, Ole

Grass and especially clover have a negative yield response as a function of  traffic intensity.  Conventional grass-clover production for silage have high traffic intensity due to fertilizing with slurry, cutting the grass, rolling the grass into swaths, and collecting and chopping the grass...... to fulfill the aim [1]http://www.ruralni.gov.uk/index/publications/press_articles/dairy-2/role-of-clover.htm...

Stripping of uranium from Dehpa/Kerosene solvents by different aqueous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khorfan, S.; Stas, J.; Kassem, M.

2000-01-01

Stripping uranium from Dehpa/kerosene solvent is a crucial step in the recovery of uranium. Stripping was studied using different stripping media mainly ammonium carbonate, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. Stripping was measured at different operating conditions such as aqueous concentrations, temperatures, and Dehpa/kerosene concentrations. The results obtained showed that stripping by acid media increases with the acid concentration and follows the order: HF > H sub 3 Po sub 4 > H sub 2 S O sub 4 > HCl > HNO sub 3. To achieve higher stripping by phosphoric acid it was found necessary to increase the temperature to 50 deg C, the acid concentration to 5 mol/l and to reduce the uranium to U sup 4 sup +. Stripping by basic media was found to increase with increasing concentration of the stripping media and to follow the order: Na sub 2 CO sub 3 > (NH sub 4) sub 2 CO sub 3 > NH sub 4 HCO sub 3. Stripping by ammonium carbonate was found to increase with temperature and carbonate concentration. The stripping was optimized at 0.5 mol/l carbonate concentration and at a temperature of 50 deg C. Stripping was decreased by increasing concentration of Dehpa in kerosene and was depressed more by adding the synergant TOPO to the Dehpa solvent especially at 1/4 mol/mol ratio. (author)

Controlling grass weeds on hard surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rask, Anne Merete; Kristoffersen, Palle; Andreasen, Christian

2012-01-01

An experiment was conducted on a specially designed hard surface to study the impact of time interval between flaming treatments on the regrowth and flower production of two grass weeds. The goal of this experiment was to optimize the control of annual bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, both species...... that are very difficult to control without herbicides. Aboveground biomass from 72 plants per treatment was harvested and dry weights were recorded at regular intervals to investigate how the plants responded to flaming. Regrowth of the grasses was measured by harvesting aboveground biomass 2 wk after......, as they did not increase the reduction of aboveground biomass compared with the 7-d treatment interval. Knowledge on the regrowth of grass weeds after flaming treatments provided by this study can help improve recommendations given to road keepers and park managers for management on these weeds. Nomenclature...

Strip defect recognition in electrical tests of silicon microstrip sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valentan, Manfred, E-mail: valentan@mpp.mpg.de

2017-02-11

This contribution describes the measurement procedure and data analysis of AC-coupled double-sided silicon microstrip sensors with polysilicon resistor biasing. The most thorough test of a strip sensor is an electrical measurement of all strips of the sensor; the measured observables include e.g. the strip's current and the coupling capacitance. These measurements are performed to find defective strips, e.g. broken capacitors (pinholes) or implant shorts between two adjacent strips. When a strip has a defect, its observables will show a deviation from the “typical value”. To recognize and quantify certain defects, it is necessary to determine these typical values, i.e. the values the observables would have without the defect. As a novel approach, local least-median-of-squares linear fits are applied to determine these “would-be” values of the observables. A least-median-of-squares fit is robust against outliers, i.e. it ignores the observable values of defective strips. Knowing the typical values allows to recognize, distinguish and quantify a whole range of strip defects. This contribution explains how the various defects appear in the data and in which order the defects can be recognized. The method has been used to find strip defects on 30 double-sided trapezoidal microstrip sensors for the Belle II Silicon Vertex Detector, which have been measured at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Vienna (Austria).

Microbial protein synthesis, digestion and lactation responses of cows to grass or grass-red clover silage diet supplemented with barley or oats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. VANHATALO

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The study was conducted to evaluate effects of silage type (grass-red clover vs. pure grass and grain supplement (oats vs. barley on rumen fermentation, post-ruminal nutrient flows, diet digestion and milk production. Four primiparous Finnish Ayrshire cows fitted with cannulae in the rumen and duodenum were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square experiment with four 28-d experimental periods and 2 × 2 factorial arrangements of treatments. Using red clover-containing (40% silage rather than pure grass silage had minor effects on rumen fermentation or diet digestion but increased non-ammonia nitrogen (N flow in terms of increased flows of microbial and dietary N entering to the small intestine. This was reflected as a reduced ruminal N degradability on grass-red clover diets. Furthermore, grass-red clover diets in comparison to grass silage diets increased milk lactose concentration and yields of milk, protein and lactose. Feeding oats in replacement for barley had minor effects on rumen fermentation or post-ruminal non-ammonia N flows but reduced digestibility of organic matter and neutral detergent fibre in the diet. Using oats rather than barley increased yields of milk and lactose but reduced milk protein concentration. Oats also increased proportions of C18:0 and C18:1 in milk fat and reduced those of C10:0 to C16:0. It is concluded that inclusion of red clover and replacement of barley with oats in grass silage based diets have beneficial effects in dairy cow production.;

Strip type radiation detector and method of making same

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jantsch, O.; Feigt, I.; Willig, W.R.

1976-01-01

An improved strip detector and a method for making such a detector in which a high resistivity N conduction semiconductor body has electrode strips formed thereon by diffusion is described. The strips are formed so as to be covered by an oxide layer at the surface point of the PN junction and in which the opposite side of the semiconductor body then has a substantial amount of material etched away to form a thin semiconductor upon which strip electrodes which are perpendicular to the electrodes on the first side are then placed

Stripping voltammetry in environmental and food analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Brainina, K Z; Malakhova, N A; Stojko, N Y

2000-10-01

The review covers over 230 papers published mostly in the last 5 years. The goal of the review is to attract the attention of researchers and users to stripping voltammetry in particular, its application in environmental monitoring and analysis of foodstuffs. The sensors employed are impregnated graphite, carbon paste, thick film carbon/graphite and thin film metallic electrodes modified in-situ or beforehand. Hanging mercury drop electrodes and mercury coated glassy carbon electrodes are also mentioned. Strip and long-lived sensors for portable instruments and flow through systems are discussed as devices for future development and application of stripping voltammetry.

Estimating the energy requirements and CO{sub 2} emissions from production of the perennial grasses miscanthus, switchgrass and reed canary grass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bullard, M.; Metcalfe, P.

2001-07-01

The perennial grasses miscanthus, reed canary and swithchgrass have attractions as energy crops in the United Kingdom: all have low demand for fertilizer and pesticide, and are harvested annually. Research on energy ratios and carbon ratios of the grasses is reported. A Microsoft Excel-based model was developed (from an ADAS database) and the input calculations and assumptions are explained. The study demonstrated the attractions of theses grasses as a source of fuel. The results agreed with those from a model developed for the SRC.

The effects of energy grass plantations on biodiversity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Semere, T; Slater, F

2005-07-01

The ecological impact on local wildlife of biomass plantations of three different species of grasses has been monitored in the years 2002 to 2004 inclusive at farms in Herefordshire UK. Two of the grasses were not native to Britain. Wildlife monitored included ground flora, beetles, insects, birds, small mammals, butterflies, bees and hoverflies. The results provide a baseline of biodiversity data from biomass farms in England, although due to poor crop growth, the data from the switch-grass plantation was incomplete. The surveys were carried out by Cardiff University supported financially by the DTI.

The effects of energy grass plantations on biodiversity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semere, T.; Slater, F.

2005-01-01

The ecological impact on local wildlife of biomass plantations of three different species of grasses has been monitored in the years 2002 to 2004 inclusive at farms in Herefordshire UK. Two of the grasses were not native to Britain. Wildlife monitored included ground flora, beetles, insects, birds, small mammals, butterflies, bees and hoverflies. The results provide a baseline of biodiversity data from biomass farms in England, although due to poor crop growth, the data from the switch-grass plantation was incomplete. The surveys were carried out by Cardiff University supported financially by the DTI

Environmental Assessment Addressing the Emerald Breeze Resort, Santa Rosa Island, Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-11

Road construction and maintenance activities have introduced and spread cogon grass (Imperata cylindrical) and torpedo grass (Panicum repens) to...Chinese tallow, or popcorn tree (Triadica sebifera), cogon grass , Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), Chinese privet/hedge (Ligustrum sinense...stormwater wetlands, wildlife habitat swales, grassed filter strips)  Runoff pretreatment practices (e.g., catch basins, in-line storage, manufactured

Numerical analysis of the influence of buffer layer thickness on the residual stresses in YBCO/La2Zr2O7/Ni superconducting materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celik, Erdal; Sayman, Onur; Karakuzu, Ramazan; Ozman, Yilmaz

2007-01-01

The present paper addresses a numerical investigation of the influence of buffer layer thickness on the residual stress in YBCO/La 2 Zr 2 O 7 /Ni architectured materials under cryogenic conditions by using classical lamination theory (CLT) and finite element method (FEM) for coated conductor applications. YBCO/La 2 Zr 2 O 7 multilayer films were fabricated on Ni tape substrate using reel-to-reel sol-gel and pulse laser deposition (PLD) systems. The microstructural evolution of high temperature superconducting YBCO film and buffer layers with La 2 Zr 2 O 7 configuration grown on textured Ni tape substrates was investigated by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Thermal stress analysis of YBCO/La 2 Zr 2 O 7 /Ni multilayer sample was performed by using CLT in the temperature range of 298-175 K in liquid helium media. The YBCO/La 2 Zr 2 O 7 /Ni sample strip was solved by using FEM for linear or nonlinear cases in the temperature range of 298-3 K in liquid helium media. SEM observations revealed that crack-free, pinhole-free, continuous superconducting film and buffer layer were obtained by sol-gel and PLD systems. In addition to microstructural observations, it was found that the largest compressive stresses and failure occur in La 2 Zr 2 O 7 buffer layer due to its smallest thermal expansion coefficient. The thickness of La 2 Zr 2 O 7 buffer layer affects the failure. The stress component of σ x is the smallest in Ni tape substrate due to its largest thickness

Functional immunoglobulin E cross-reactivity between Pas n 1 of Bahia grass pollen and other group 1 grass pollen allergens.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, J M; Dang, T D; Voskamp, A; Drew, A C; Biondo, M; Phung, M; Upham, J W; Rolland, J M; O'Hehir, R E

2011-02-01

Grass pollens are major triggers of allergic rhinitis and asthma, but the immunological relationships between pollen allergens of the subtropical Bahia grass, Paspalum notatum, and temperate grasses are unresolved. To assess serum IgE cross-reactivity between subtropical P. notatum and temperate Lolium perenne (Ryegrass) pollen allergens. Serum IgE reactivities of grass pollen-allergic patients with P. notatum, L. perenne and Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass) pollen extracts and their respective purified group 1 allergens, Pas n 1, Lol p 1 and Cyn d 1, were compared by immunoblotting, ELISA and basophil activation. In a cohort of 51 patients from a temperate region, a high frequency of IgE reactivity with each grass pollen was detected, but reactivity with L. perenne pollen was substantially greater than with P. notatum and C. dactylon pollen. Similarly, serum IgE reactivity with Lol p 1 was greater than with Pas n 1 or Cyn d 1. For seven of eight sera studied in detail, asymmetric serum IgE cross-reactivity was observed; L. perenne pollen inhibited IgE reactivity with P. notatum pollen but not the converse, and IgE reactivity with Pas n 1 was inhibited by Lol p 1 but IgE reactivity with Lol p 1 was not inhibited by Pas n 1 or Cyn d 1. Importantly, P. notatum pollen and Pas n 1 activated basophils in grass pollen-allergic patients from a temperate region, although stimulation was greater by pollen of L. perenne than P. notatum or C. dactylon, and by Lol p 1 than Pas n 1 or Cyn d 1. In contrast, a cohort of 47 patients from a subtropical region showed similar IgE reactivity with P. notatum and L. perenne pollen, and reciprocal cross-inhibition of IgE reactivity between L. perenne and P. notatum. Pollen allergens of the subtropical P. notatum, including Pas n 1, show clinically relevant IgE cross-reactivity with pollen allergens of L. perenne but also species-specific IgE reactivity. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

High-biomass C4 grasses-Filling the yield gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Mullet, John E

2017-08-01

A significant increase in agricultural productivity will be required by 2050 to meet the needs of an expanding and rapidly developing world population, without allocating more land and water resources to agriculture, and despite slowing rates of grain yield improvement. This review examines the proposition that high-biomass C 4 grasses could help fill the yield gap. High-biomass C 4 grasses exhibit high yield due to C 4 photosynthesis, long growth duration, and efficient capture and utilization of light, water, and nutrients. These C 4 grasses exhibit high levels of drought tolerance during their long vegetative growth phase ideal for crops grown in water-limited regions of agricultural production. The stems of some high-biomass C 4 grasses can accumulate high levels of non-structural carbohydrates that could be engineered to enhance biomass yield and utility as feedstocks for animals and biofuels production. The regulatory pathway that delays flowering of high-biomass C 4 grasses in long days has been elucidated enabling production and deployment of hybrids. Crop and landscape-scale modeling predict that utilization of high-biomass C 4 grass crops on land and in regions where water resources limit grain crop yield could increase agricultural productivity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grass Rooting the System

Science.gov (United States)

Perlman, Janice E.

1976-01-01

Suggests a taxonomy of the grass roots movement and gives a general descriptive over view of the 60 groups studied with respect to origin, constituency, size, funding, issues, and ideology. (Author/AM)

Hilly grasses and leaves: a promising unconventional feed resource for livestock.

OpenAIRE

Hossain M.E.; Karim M.H.; Ahmed M.I.; Sultana S.A.

2016-01-01

The study was undertaken to find out the chemical composition of different hilly grasses and leaves available in Bandarban areas of Bangladesh. Total 10 different hilly grasses and leaves such as Bottle gourd leaf (Lagenaria siceraria), Castor bean leaf (Ricinus communis), Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica), Dhol kolmi (Ipomoea carnea), Giant reed leaf (Arundo donax), Hilly grass (Cynodon dactylon), Pithraj leaf (Aphanamixis polystachya), Sal leaf (Shorea robusta), Shegun leaf (Tectona grandis...

Effect of machinery wheel load on grass yield

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Green, Ole; Jørgensen, Rasmus Nyholm; Kristensen, Kristian

2010-01-01

Effect of machinery wheel load on grass   Ole Green1, Rasmus N. Jørgensen2, Kristian Kristensen3, René Gislum3, Dionysis Bochtis1, & Claus G. Sørensen1   1University of Aarhus, Dept. of Agricultural Engineering 2University of Southern Denmark, Inst. of Chemical Eng., Biotechnology and Environmental...... 3University of Aarhus, Dept. of Genetics and Biotechnology   Corresponding author: Ole Green Address & e-mail: Research Centre Foulum, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele. Ole.Green@agrsci.dk     Abstract   Different traffic intensities have been shown to have a negative influence on the yield of grass...... and clover. A full scale grass-clover field trial was established to estimate the effect on clover-grass yields as a function of different wheel loads and tire pressures. The trial comprised 16 different traffic intensities with 35 replicates and 1 traffic free treatment with 245 replicates, totalling 17...

Developing suitable buffers to capture transport cycling behavior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Thomas; Schipperijn, Jasper; Christiansen, Lars Breum

2014-01-01

units (e.g., home-buffer-based neighborhoods) are not necessarily representative for environmental exposure. An increased understanding of appropriate neighborhoods is needed. GPS cycling tracks from 78 participants for 7 days form the basis for the development and testing of different neighborhood...... buffers for transport cycling. The percentage of GPS points per square meter was used as indicator of the effectiveness of a series of different buffer types, including home-based network buffers, shortest route to city center buffers, and city center-directed ellipse-shaped buffers. The results show...... center-directed ellipse-shaped buffers yielded better results than traditional home-based network buffer types. The ellipse-shaped buffer types could therefore be considered an alternative to more traditional buffers or administrative units in future studies of transport cycling behavior....

Alley cropping of legumes with grasses as forages : Effect of different grass species and row spacing of gliricidia on the growth and biomass production of forages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Yuhaeni

1998-12-01

Full Text Available A study to evaluate the effect of different grass species and row spacing of gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium on the growth and biomass production of forages in an alley cropping system was conducted in two different agroclimatical zones i.e. Bogor, located at 500 m a .s .l . with an average annual rainfall of 3,112 nun/year and Sukabumi located at 900 m a .s .l . with an average annual rainfall of 1,402 mm/year . Both locations have low N, P, and K content and the soil is classified as acidic. The experimental design used was a split plot design with 3 replicates . The main plots were different grass species i.e. king grass (Pennisetum purpureum x P. typhoides and elephant grass (P. purpureum. The sub plots were the row spacing of gliricidia at 2, 3, 4, 6 m (1 hedgerows and 4 m (2 hedgerows. The results indicated that the growth and biomass production of grasses were significantly affected (P<0 .05 by the treatments in Bogor. The highest biomass productions was obtained from the 2 m row spacing which gave the highest dry matter production of grasses (1 .65 kg/hill and gliricidia (0 .086 kg/tree . In Sukabumi the growth and biomass production of grasses and gliricidia were also significantly affected by the treatments . The highest dry matter production was obtained with 2 m row spacing (dry matter of grasses and gliricidia were 1 .12 kg/hill and 0 .026 kg/tree, respectively . The result further indicated that biomass production of forages increased with the increase in gliricidia population. The alley cropping system wich is suitable for Bogor was the 2 m row spacing of gliricidia intercropped with either king or elephant grass and for Sukabumi 2 and 4 m (2 rows of gliricidia row spacing intercropped with king or elephant grass .

Collisional stripping of planetary crusts

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Philip J.; Leinhardt, Zoë M.; Elliott, Tim; Stewart, Sarah T.; Walter, Michael J.

2018-02-01

Geochemical studies of planetary accretion and evolution have invoked various degrees of collisional erosion to explain differences in bulk composition between planets and chondrites. Here we undertake a full, dynamical evaluation of 'crustal stripping' during accretion and its key geochemical consequences. Crusts are expected to contain a significant fraction of planetary budgets of incompatible elements, which include the major heat producing nuclides. We present smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of collisions between differentiated rocky planetesimals and planetary embryos. We find that the crust is preferentially lost relative to the mantle during impacts, and we have developed a scaling law based on these simulations that approximates the mass of crust that remains in the largest remnant. Using this scaling law and a recent set of N-body simulations of terrestrial planet formation, we have estimated the maximum effect of crustal stripping on incompatible element abundances during the accretion of planetary embryos. We find that on average approximately one third of the initial crust is stripped from embryos as they accrete, which leads to a reduction of ∼20% in the budgets of the heat producing elements if the stripped crust does not reaccrete. Erosion of crusts can lead to non-chondritic ratios of incompatible elements, but the magnitude of this effect depends sensitively on the details of the crust-forming melting process on the planetesimals. The Lu/Hf system is fractionated for a wide range of crustal formation scenarios. Using eucrites (the products of planetesimal silicate melting, thought to represent the crust of Vesta) as a guide to the Lu/Hf of planetesimal crust partially lost during accretion, we predict the Earth could evolve to a superchondritic 176Hf/177Hf (3-5 parts per ten thousand) at present day. Such values are in keeping with compositional estimates of the bulk Earth. Stripping of planetary crusts during accretion can lead to

RESEARCH NEEDS IN RIPARIAN BUFFER RESTORATION

Science.gov (United States)

Riparian buffer restorations are used as management tools to produce favorable water quality impacts; moreover, the basis for riparian buffers as an instrument of water quality restoration rests on a relatively firm foundation. However, the extent to which buffers can restore rip...

Energy evaluation of fresh grass in the diets of lactating dairy cows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bruinenberg, M.H.; Zom, R.L.G.; Valk, H.

2002-01-01

The discrepancy between the estimated feeding value of fresh grass and the output per kg grass in terms of milk and maintenance was studied by evaluating 12 experiments with grass-fed dairy cows. The percentage grass in the diets varied between 40 and 90. Intake and milk production were recorded

Buffer sizing for multi-hop networks

KAUST Repository

Shihada, Basem

2014-01-28

A cumulative buffer may be defined for an interference domain in a wireless mesh network and distributed among nodes in the network to maintain or improve capacity utilization of network resources in the interference domain without increasing packet queuing delay times. When an interference domain having communications links sharing resources in a network is identified, a cumulative buffer size is calculated. The cumulative buffer may be distributed among buffers in each node of the interference domain according to a simple division or according to a cost function taking into account a distance of the communications link from the source and destination. The network may be monitored and the cumulative buffer size recalculated and redistributed when the network conditions change.

Ecophysiological responses of native and invasive grasses to simulated warming and drought

Science.gov (United States)

Ravi, S.; Law, D. J.; Wiede, A.; Barron-Gafford, G. A.; Breshears, D. D.; Dontsova, K.; Huxman, T. E.

2011-12-01

Climate models predict that many arid regions around the world - including the North American deserts - may become affected more frequently by recurrent droughts. At the same time, these regions are experiencing rapid vegetation transformations such as invasion by exotic grasses. Thus, understanding the ecophysiological processes accompanying exotic grass invasion in the context of rising temperatures and recurrent droughts is fundamental to global change research. Under ambient and warmer (+ 4° C) conditions inside the Biosphere 2 facility, we compared the ecophysiological responses (e.g. photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, pre-dawn leaf water potential, light & CO2 response functions, biomass) of a native grass - Heteropogan contortus (Tangle head) and an invasive grass - Pennisetum ciliare (Buffel grass) growing in single and mixed communities. Further, we monitored the physiological responses and mortality of these plant communities under moisture stress conditions, simulating a global change-type-drought. The results indicate that the predicted warming scenarios may enhance the invasibility of desert landscapes by exotic grasses. In this study, buffel grass assimilated more CO2 per unit leaf area and out-competed native grasses more efficiently in a warmer environment. However, scenarios involving a combination of drought and warming proved disastrous to both the native and invasive grasses, with drought-induced grass mortality occurring at much shorter time scales under warmer conditions.

The Potential of Cellulosic Ethanol Production from Grasses in Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinaporn Wongwatanapaiboon

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The grasses in Thailand were analyzed for the potentiality as the alternative energy crops for cellulosic ethanol production by biological process. The average percentage composition of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in the samples of 18 types of grasses from various provinces was determined as 31.85–38.51, 31.13–42.61, and 3.10–5.64, respectively. The samples were initially pretreated with alkaline peroxide followed by enzymatic hydrolysis to investigate the enzymatic saccharification. The total reducing sugars in most grasses ranging from 500–600 mg/g grasses (70–80% yield were obtained. Subsequently, 11 types of grasses were selected as feedstocks for the ethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF. The enzymes, cellulase and xylanase, were utilized for hydrolysis and the yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis, were applied for cofermentation at 35°C for 7 days. From the results, the highest yield of ethanol, 1.14 g/L or 0.14 g/g substrate equivalent to 32.72% of the theoretical values was obtained from Sri Lanka ecotype vetiver grass. When the yields of dry matter were included in the calculations, Sri Lanka ecotype vetiver grass gave the yield of ethanol at 1,091.84 L/ha/year, whereas the leaves of dwarf napier grass showed the maximum yield of 2,720.55 L/ha/year (0.98 g/L or 0.12 g/g substrate equivalent to 30.60% of the theoretical values.

New Concept of Cultivation Using Limited Strip-Tillage with Strip Shallow Irrigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yazid Ismi Intara

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE Dry land is one of land resources which potentially used for food crop cultivation, especially in the areas which have light to medium technical obstacles. The development of technology to improve soil quality in marginal lands to be productive lands is still widely open for agricultural development in Indonesia. Rooting medium quality can be improved by changing soil tillage method and observing the proper crop irrigation technology. It can be the solution for crop cultivation in clay loam soil. This study aimed to obtain water movement model in a minimally-tilled clay soil with strip shallow irrigation. The concept is limited soil-tillage with strip shallow irrigation method, water supply technique, and crop water requirement. Method used in this study includes developing water movement model (software development in a minimally-tilled clay soil with subsurface irrigation. In the final stages, research also conducted water movement analysis testing apparatus in the laboratory, field validation of the subsurface irrigation performance, and cultivation technique testing to chili pepper growth (Capsicum annuumL.. The development of water movement simulation on a limited strip-tillage with subsurface irrigation uses the concept to quantify the amount of water in the soil. The analysis of movement pattern was demonstrated on contour patterns. It showed that the wetting process can reach depth zone – 5 cm to the rooting zone. It was an important discovery on the development of minimum stripe tillage soil with subsurface irrigation. Specifically, it can be concluded that: the result of fitting by eyes to diffusivity graphic and water content obtained the required parameter values for soil physical properties. It was then simulated on horizontal water movement model on a minimum strip-tillage with strip shallow irrigation /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso

Buffer-regulated biocorrosion of pure magnesium.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkland, Nicholas T; Waterman, Jay; Birbilis, Nick; Dias, George; Woodfield, Tim B F; Hartshorn, Richard M; Staiger, Mark P

2012-02-01

Magnesium (Mg) alloys are being actively investigated as potential load-bearing orthopaedic implant materials due to their biodegradability in vivo. With Mg biomaterials at an early stage in their development, the screening of alloy compositions for their biodegradation rate, and hence biocompatibility, is reliant on cost-effective in vitro methods. The use of a buffer to control pH during in vitro biodegradation is recognised as critically important as this seeks to mimic pH control as it occurs naturally in vivo. The two different types of in vitro buffer system available are based on either (i) zwitterionic organic compounds or (ii) carbonate buffers within a partial-CO(2) atmosphere. This study investigated the influence of the buffering system itself on the in vitro corrosion of Mg. It was found that the less realistic zwitterion-based buffer did not form the same corrosion layers as the carbonate buffer, and was potentially affecting the behaviour of the hydrated oxide layer that forms on Mg in all aqueous environments. Consequently it was recommended that Mg in vitro experiments use the more biorealistic carbonate buffering system when possible.

Strip specimen tests for pipeline materials and girth welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohr, William C. [Edison Welding Institute (EWI), Columbus, Ohio (United States)

2009-07-01

Strip specimen testing of pipeline materials has been widely applied as a method of getting data relevant to the performance of pipelines under axial direction loading. Comparisons of strip specimen against smaller standard tests (round tensile bar, fracture toughness specimens, polished round bars) and against full-scale or large-scale testing will be explored. Data from early-generation pipe welds from the 1920's to the 1940's to the most recent materials for offshore reeled pipe will be used for examples. Strip samples can provide full thickness information to take account of varying material properties or imperfection distribution through the thickness. Strip samples can also accommodate measurement of effects of the original surface finish or weld surface shape. Strip samples have more design flexibility than standard tests, but must be designed to limit stress concentrations and effects of local bending. (author)

Perennial Grass Bioenergy Cropping on Wet Marginal Land

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Das, Srabani; Teuffer, Karin; Stoof, Cathelijne R.; Walter, Michael F.; Walter, M.T.; Steenhuis, Tammo S.; Richards, Brian K.

2018-01-01

The control of soil moisture, vegetation type, and prior land use on soil health parameters of perennial grass cropping systems on marginal lands is not well known. A fallow wetness-prone marginal site in New York (USA) was converted to perennial grass bioenergy feedstock production. Quadruplicate

Tensile fracture properties of seven tropical grasses at different phenological stages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, A.A.A.; Scheper, J.A.; Benvenutti, M.A.; Gordon, I.J.; Poppi, D.P.; Elgersma, A.

2011-01-01

The intake of forage grasses by grazing ruminants is closely related to the mechanical fracture properties of grasses. The relationship between the tensile fracture properties of grasses and foraging behaviour is of particular importance in tropical reproductive swards composed of both stems and

How much gas can we get from grass?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nizami, A.S.; Orozco, A.; Groom, E.; Dieterich, B.; Murphy, J.D.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We highlight the various results for biomethane potential that may be obtained from the same grass silage. ► The results indicated that methane potential varied from 350 to 493 L CH 4 kg −1 VS added for three different BMP procedures. ► We compare two distinct digestion systems using the same grass. ► A two stage wet system achieved 451 L CH 4 kg −1 VS added over a 50 day retention period. ► A two phase system achieved 341 L CH 4 kg −1 VS added at a 30 day retention time. -- Abstract: Grass biomethane has been shown to be a sustainable gaseous transport biofuel, with a good energy balance, and significant potential for economic viability. Of issue for the designer is the variation in characteristics of the grass depending on location of source, time of cut and species. Further confusion arises from the biomethane potential tests (BMP) which have a tendency to give varying results. This paper has dual ambitions. One of these is to highlight the various results for biomethane potential that may be obtained from the same grass silage. The results indicated that methane potential from the same grass silage varied from 350 to 493 L CH 4 kg −1 VS added for three different BMP procedures. The second ambition is to attempt to compare two distinct digestion systems again using the same grass: a two stage continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR); and a sequentially fed leach bed reactor connected to an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (SLBR–UASB). The two engineered systems were designed, fabricated, commissioned and operated at small pilot scale until stable optimal operating conditions were reached. The CSTR system achieved 451 L CH 4 kg −1 VS added over a 50 day retention period. The SLBR–UASB achieved 341 L CH 4 kg −1 VS added at a 30 day retention time.

Photosensitive Strip RETHGEM

CERN Document Server

Peskov, Vladimir; Nappi, E.; Oliveira, R.; Paic, G.; Pietropaolo, F.; Picchi, P.

2008-01-01

An innovative photosensitive gaseous detector, consisting of a GEM like amplification structure with double layered electrodes (instead of commonly used metallic ones) coated with a CsI reflective photocathode, is described. In one of our latest designs, the inner electrode consists of a metallic grid and the outer one is made of resistive strips; the latter are manufactured by a screen printing technology on the top of the metallic strips grid The inner metallic grid is used for 2D position measurements whereas the resistive layer provides an efficient spark protected operation at high gains - close to the breakdown limit. Detectors with active areas of 10cm x10cm and 10cm x20cm were tested under various conditions including the operation in photosensitive gas mixtures containing ethylferrocene or TMAE vapors. The new technique could have many applications requiring robust and reliable large area detectors for UV visualization, as for example, in Cherenkov imaging devices.

Nanoscale Test Strips for Multiplexed Blood Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Eugene

2015-01-01

A critical component of the DNA Medicine Institute's Reusable Handheld Electrolyte and Lab Technology for Humans (rHEALTH) sensor are nanoscale test strips, or nanostrips, that enable multiplexed blood analysis. Nanostrips are conceptually similar to the standard urinalysis test strip, but the strips are shrunk down a billionfold to the microscale. Each nanostrip can have several sensor pads that fluoresce in response to different targets in a sample. The strips carry identification tags that permit differentiation of a specific panel from hundreds of other nanostrip panels during a single measurement session. In Phase I of the project, the company fabricated, tested, and demonstrated functional parathyroid hormone and vitamin D nanostrips for bone metabolism, and thrombin aptamer and immunoglobulin G antibody nanostrips. In Phase II, numerous nanostrips were developed to address key space flight-based medical needs: assessment of bone metabolism, immune response, cardiac status, liver metabolism, and lipid profiles. This unique approach holds genuine promise for space-based portable biodiagnostics and for point-of-care (POC) health monitoring and diagnostics here on Earth.

Effects of rye grass coverage on soil loss from loess slopes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuequn Dong

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Vegetative coverage is commonly used to reduce urban slope soil erosion. Laboratory experimental study on soil erosion under grass covered slopes is conventionally time and space consuming. In this study, a new method is suggested to study the influences of vegetation coverage on soil erosion from a sloped loess surface under three slope gradients of 5°, 15°, and 25°; four rye grass coverages of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%; and three rainfall intensities of 60, 90, and 120 mm/h with a silt-loamy loess soil. Rye grasses were planted in the field with the studied soil before being transplanted into a laboratory flume. Grass was allowed to resume growth for a period before the rain simulation experiment. Results showed that the grass cover reduced soil erosion by 63.90% to 92.75% and sediment transport rate by 80.59% to 96.17% under different slope gradients and rainfall intensities. The sediment concentration/sediment transport rate from bare slope was significantly higher than from a grass-covered slope. The sediment concentration/transport rate from grass-covered slopes decreased linearly with grass coverage and increased with rainfall intensity. The sediment concentration/transport rate from the bare slope increased as a power function of slope and reached the maximum value at the gradient of about 25°, whereas that from grass-covered slope increased linearly and at much lower levels. The results of this study can be used to estimate the effect of vegetation on soil erosion from loess slopes.

Data acquisition software for the CMS strip tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bainbridge, R; Cripps, N; Fulcher, J; Radicci, V; Wingham, M; Baulieu, G; Bel, S; Delaere, C; Drouhin, F; Gill, K; Mirabito, L; Cole, J; Jesus, A C A; Giassi, A; Giordano, D; Gross, L; Hahn, K; Mersi, S; Nikolic, M; Tkaczyk, S

2008-01-01

The CMS silicon strip tracker, providing a sensitive area of approximately 200 m 2 and comprising 10 million readout channels, has recently been completed at the tracker integration facility at CERN. The strip tracker community is currently working to develop and integrate the online and offline software frameworks, known as XDAQ and CMSSW respectively, for the purposes of data acquisition and detector commissioning and monitoring. Recent developments have seen the integration of many new services and tools within the online data acquisition system, such as event building, online distributed analysis, an online monitoring framework, and data storage management. We review the various software components that comprise the strip tracker data acquisition system, the software architectures used for stand-alone and global data-taking modes. Our experiences in commissioning and operating one of the largest ever silicon micro-strip tracking systems are also reviewed

Buffer protection in the installation phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wimelius, Hans; Pusch, Roland

2008-12-01

The research and development of the design and construction of the SKB's repository for final disposal of spent reactor fuel is conducted along several paths ('lines'). Issues concerning the bedrock are dealt with in the 'rock line' and those related to buffer and backfill in deposition holes and tunnels are considered in the 'buffer line' and 'backfill line', respectively. These lines also deal with sub-activities that are coupled to several other lines. One of them includes development of techniques for protecting buffer blocks from moisture and water in the installation phase. Techniques and methods for placement and removal of the 'buffer protection sheet' are dealt with in the 'buffer line'. The removal is, however, considered as being part of the backfilling sequence. Since the performance of the sheet is of fundamental importance to the placement and function of the buffer it deserves particular attention. Thus, the removal of the rubber sheet that serves to protect the buffer blocks in the installation phase may be difficult and can cause significant problems that may require retrieval of already placed canister, buffer and backfill. These matters are in focus in the present report. Arrangements for protecting already placed buffer blocks from moist air and water have been tested in earlier large-scale experiments, i.e. the Prototype Repository project at Aespoe but the experience from them has called for more effective protection of the clay blocks as described in the present report. Focus is on the construction of foundation components at the bottom of the deposition holes required for establishing a tight seal between rock and buffer blocks, and on the protection sheet and arrangements for limiting water pressure on it. Special attention is paid to the drainage of the space between rock and protection sheet that is necessary for avoiding failure of the sheet and to systems for achieving this and for providing alarm signals if the allowed pressure is

The development of drift-strip detectors based on CdZnTe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gostilo, V.; Budtz-Jørgensen, Carl; Kuvvetli, Irfan

2002-01-01

The design and technological development of a CdZnTe drift strip detector is described. The device is based on a monocrystal of dimensions 10 x 10 x 3 mm(3) and has a pitch of 200 mum and a strip width of 100 mum. The strip length is 9.5 mm. The distribution of the leakage currents of the strips...

The SVT Hit Buffer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belforte, S.; Dell'Orso, M.; Donati, S.

1996-01-01

The Hit Buffer is part of the Silicon Vertex Tracker, a trigger processor dedicated to the reconstruction of particle trajectories in the Silicon Vertex Detector and the Central Tracking Chamber of the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The Hit Buffer is a high speed data-traffic node, where thousands of words are received in arbitrary order and simultaneously organized in an internal structured data base, to be later promptly retrieved and delivered in response to specific requests. The Hit Buffer is capable of processing data at a rate of 25 MHz, thanks to the use of special fast devices like Cache-Tag RAMs and high performance Erasable Programmable Logic Devices from the XILINX XC7300 family

Seasonal variation in diurnal atmospheric grass pollen concentration profiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peel, Robert George; Ørby, Pia Viuf; Skjøth, Carsten Ambelas

2014-01-01

the time of day when peak concentrations are most likely to occur using seasonally averaged diurnal profiles. Atmospheric pollen loads are highly dependent upon emissions, and different species of grass are known to flower and emit pollen at different times of the day and during different periods......In this study, the diurnal atmospheric grass pollen concentration profile within the Danish city of Aarhus was shown to change in a systematic manner as the pollen season progressed. Although diurnal grass pollen profiles can differ greatly from day-to-day, it is common practice to establish...... of the pollen season. Pollen concentrations are also influenced by meteorological factors - directly through those parameters that govern pollen dispersion and transport, and indirectly through the weather-driven flowering process. We found that three different profiles dominated the grass pollen season...

Eddy current distribution and lift force for finite MAGLEV strips

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atherton, D L; Eastham, A R; Fombrun, C; Chong, M

1974-07-01

The transverse distribution of induced eddy currents across a flat conducing strip of finite width, due to a rectangular dc magnet moving above it, was modelled experimentally, and was compared with that calculated for an infinite sheet. The electrodynamic suspension was simulated by means of a stationary ac-excited copper magnet suspended above an aluminum strip, and the induced surface current density was measured by a voltage pickup probe connected to a lock-in amplifier. The effect of reducing strip width is examined and shown to produce high current densities close to the edges. These results are related to the variation of lift force with strip width, determined by impedance modelling. A slight enhancement of lift is evident for intermediate strip widths.

Response of itchgrass and johnson grass to asulam/dalapon combinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hook, B.J.

1986-01-01

Activities of asumlam [methyl[(4-aminophenyl)sulfonyl]carbamate], dalapon (2,2-dichloropropionic acid) and asulam/dalapon combinations on itchgrass (Rottboellia exaltata L.f.) and johnson grass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.] were examined. When metabolism of 14 C-asulam was monitored, seven days after application, 97-100% of recovered 14 C co-chromatographed with 14 C-asulam. Itchgrass exhibited rapid uptake of 14 C-asulam within 8 hr after application. Asumlam concentrations remained constant in the plant between 8 and 72 hr. Johnson grass plants showed a differential response to asulam and asulam/dalapon treatments. Asulam-treated johnson grass absorbed 26-34% 14 C within 2 hr with no future significant increase in absorption in absorption through 72 hr. Treatment of johnson grass with asulam/dalapon enhanced 14 C absorption with time. At 24 and 72 hr 14 C levels were double that absorbed from treatment of asulam alone. Movement of 14 C-asulam in the apoplast and symplast of both itchgrass and johnson grass was noted. The highest radiolabel accumulated in the lower leaves of itchgrass and remained in the treated leaf of johnson grass

Native Grass Community Management Plan for the Oak Ridge Reservation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ryon, Michael G [ORNL; Parr, Patricia Dreyer [ORNL; Cohen, Kari [ORNL

2007-06-01

Land managers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in East Tennessee are restoring native warm-season grasses and wildflowers to various sites across the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). Some of the numerous benefits to planting native grasses and forbs include improved habitat quality for wildlife, improved aesthetic values, lower long-term maintenance costs, and compliance with Executive Order 13112 (Clinton 1999). Challenges to restoring native plants on the ORR include the need to gain experience in establishing and maintaining these communities and the potentially greater up-front costs of getting native grasses established. The goals of the native grass program are generally outlined on a fiscal-year basis. An overview of some of the issues associated with the successful and cost-effective establishment and maintenance of native grass and wildflower stands on the ORR is presented in this report.

Grass genomes

OpenAIRE

Bennetzen, Jeffrey L.; SanMiguel, Phillip; Chen, Mingsheng; Tikhonov, Alexander; Francki, Michael; Avramova, Zoya

1998-01-01

For the most part, studies of grass genome structure have been limited to the generation of whole-genome genetic maps or the fine structure and sequence analysis of single genes or gene clusters. We have investigated large contiguous segments of the genomes of maize, sorghum, and rice, primarily focusing on intergenic spaces. Our data indicate that much (>50%) of the maize genome is composed of interspersed repetitive DNAs, primarily nested retrotransposons that in...

Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge with shredded grass from public green spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidaka, Taira; Arai, Sayuri; Okamoto, Seiichiro; Uchida, Tsutomu

2013-02-01

Adding greenery from public spaces to the co-digestion process with sewage sludge was evaluated by shredding experiments and laboratory-scale batch and continuous mesophilic anaerobic fermentation experiments. The ratio of the shredded grass with 20mm or less in length by a commercially available shredder was 93%. The methane production was around 0.2NL/gVS-grass in the batch experiment. The continuous experiment fed with sewage sludge and shredded grass was stably operated for 81days. The average methane production was 0.09NL/gVS-grass when the TS ratio of the sewage sludge and the grass was 10:1. This value was smaller than those of other reports using grass silage, but the grass species in this study were not managed, and the collected grass was just shredded and not ensiled before feeding to the reactor for simple operation. The addition of grass to a digester can improve the carbon/nitrogen ratio, methane production and dewaterability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deuteron stripping reactions using dirac phenomenology

Science.gov (United States)

Hawk, E. A.; McNeil, J. A.

2001-04-01

In this work deuteron stripping reactions are studied using the distorted wave born approximation employing dirac phenomenological potentials. In 1982 Shepard and Rost performed zero-range dirac phenomenological stripping calculations and found a dramatic reduction in the predicted cross sections when compared with similar nonrelativistic calculations. We extend the earlier work by including full finite range effects as well as the deuteron's internal D-state. Results will be compared with traditional nonrelativistic approaches and experimental data at low energy.

LYCORIS - A Large Area Strip Telescope

CERN Document Server

Krämer, U; Stanitzki, M; Wu, M

2018-01-01

The LYCORIS Large Area Silicon Strip Telescope for the DESY II Test Beam Facility is presented. The DESY II Test Beam Facility provides elec- tron and positron beams for beam tests of up to 6 GeV. A new telescope with a large 10 × 20 cm2 coverage area based on a 25 μm pitch strip sensor is to be installed within the PCMAG 1 T solenoid. The current state of the system is presented.

Combined effect of bulk and surface damage on strip insulation properties of proton irradiated n$^{+}$-p silicon strip sensors

CERN Document Server

Dalal, R; Ranjan, K; Moll, M; Elliott-Peisert, A

2014-01-01

Silicon sensors in next generation hadron colliders willface a tremendously harsh radiation environment. Requirement tostudy rarest reaction channels with statistical constraints hasresulted in a huge increment in radiation flux, resulting in bothsurface damage and bulk damage. For sensors which are used in acharged hadron environment, both of these degrading processes takeplace simultaneously. Recently it has been observed in protonirradiated n$^{+}$-p Si strip sensors that n$^{+}$ strips had a goodinter-strip insulation with low values of p-spray and p-stop dopingdensities which is contrary to the expected behaviour from thecurrent understanding of radiation damage. In this work a simulationmodel has been devised incorporating radiation damage to understandand provide a possible explanation to the observed behaviour ofirradiated sensors.

Low noise buffer amplifiers and buffered phase comparators for precise time and frequency measurement and distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Eichinger, R. A.; Dachel, P.; Miller, W. H.; Ingold, J. S.

1982-01-01

Extremely low noise, high performance, wideband buffer amplifiers and buffered phase comparators were developed. These buffer amplifiers are designed to distribute reference frequencies from 30 KHz to 45 MHz from a hydrogen maser without degrading the hydrogen maser's performance. The buffered phase comparators are designed to intercompare the phase of state of the art hydrogen masers without adding any significant measurement system noise. These devices have a 27 femtosecond phase stability floor and are stable to better than one picosecond for long periods of time. Their temperature coefficient is less than one picosecond per degree C, and they have shown virtually no voltage coefficients.

Assessment of some macromineral concentration of a grass/ legume ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Assessment of some macromineral concentration of a grass/ legume sward in ... Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa ... The study aimed to determine the concentration of some macromineral elements in the grass/legume pasture ...

Environmental performance assessment of Napier grass for bioenergy production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nimmanterdwong, Prathana; Chalermsinsuwan, Benjapon; Østergård, Hanne

2017-01-01

equivalence. This idea provides the quantitative indicators involving the resource use and the percent renewability of the systems. For the proposed biorefinery model, Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) grown in Thailand was used as lignocellulosic feedstock. An emergy assessment was performed in two parts...... cultivation and biorefinery stages. For Napier grass cultivation, most of the emergy support came from local resources in term of evapotranspiration of Napier grass (33%) and the diesel consumption during the cultivation process (21%). The emergy sustainability indicator of the cultivation was 0...

Small mammal use of native warm-season and non-native cool-season grass forage fields

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan L Klimstra,; Christopher E Moorman,; Converse, Sarah J.; Royle, J. Andrew; Craig A Harper,

2015-01-01

Recent emphasis has been put on establishing native warm-season grasses for forage production because it is thought native warm-season grasses provide higher quality wildlife habitat than do non-native cool-season grasses. However, it is not clear whether native warm-season grass fields provide better resources for small mammals than currently are available in non-native cool-season grass forage production fields. We developed a hierarchical spatially explicit capture-recapture model to compare abundance of hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), and house mice (Mus musculus) among 4 hayed non-native cool-season grass fields, 4 hayed native warm-season grass fields, and 4 native warm-season grass-forb ("wildlife") fields managed for wildlife during 2 summer trapping periods in 2009 and 2010 of the western piedmont of North Carolina, USA. Cotton rat abundance estimates were greater in wildlife fields than in native warm-season grass and non-native cool-season grass fields and greater in native warm-season grass fields than in non-native cool-season grass fields. Abundances of white-footed mouse and house mouse populations were lower in wildlife fields than in native warm-season grass and non-native cool-season grass fields, but the abundances were not different between the native warm-season grass and non-native cool-season grass fields. Lack of cover following haying in non-native cool-season grass and native warm-season grass fields likely was the key factor limiting small mammal abundance, especially cotton rats, in forage fields. Retention of vegetation structure in managed forage production systems, either by alternately resting cool-season and warm-season grass forage fields or by leaving unharvested field borders, should provide refugia for small mammals during haying events.

Electrodialysis operation with buffer solution

Science.gov (United States)

Hryn, John N [Naperville, IL; Daniels, Edward J [Orland Park, IL; Krumdick, Greg K [Crete, IL

2009-12-15

A new method for improving the efficiency of electrodialysis (ED) cells and stacks, in particular those used in chemical synthesis. The process entails adding a buffer solution to the stack for subsequent depletion in the stack during electrolysis. The buffer solution is regenerated continuously after depletion. This buffer process serves to control the hydrogen ion or hydroxide ion concentration so as to protect the active sites of electrodialysis membranes. The process enables electrodialysis processing options for products that are sensitive to pH changes.

Agricultural field reclamation utilizing native grass crop production

Science.gov (United States)

J. Cure

2013-01-01

Developing a method of agricultural field reclamation to native grasses in the Lower San Pedro Watershed could prove to be a valuable tool for educational and practical purposes. Agricultural field reclamation utilizing native grass crop production will address water table depletion, soil degradation and the economic viability of the communities within the watershed....

Buffered Communication Analysis in Distributed Multiparty Sessions

Science.gov (United States)

Deniélou, Pierre-Malo; Yoshida, Nobuko

Many communication-centred systems today rely on asynchronous messaging among distributed peers to make efficient use of parallel execution and resource access. With such asynchrony, the communication buffers can happen to grow inconsiderately over time. This paper proposes a static verification methodology based on multiparty session types which can efficiently compute the upper bounds on buffer sizes. Our analysis relies on a uniform causality audit of the entire collaboration pattern - an examination that is not always possible from each end-point type. We extend this method to design algorithms that allocate communication channels in order to optimise the memory requirements of session executions. From these analyses, we propose two refinements methods which respect buffer bounds: a global protocol refinement that automatically inserts confirmation messages to guarantee stipulated buffer sizes and a local protocol refinement to optimise asynchronous messaging without buffer overflow. Finally our work is applied to overcome a buffer overflow problem of the multi-buffering algorithm.

Induction heating in in-line strip production process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, P.; Santinelli, M.

1995-05-01

ISP (In-line Strip Production), a continuous process for steel strip production, has recently been set in an italian innovative plant, where ecological impact and power requirements are lighter than usual. This report describes the studies performed by ENEA (Italian Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment), while a prototype reheating facility was arranged by Acciaieria ISP in Cremona (Italy). The authors, after a study of the prototype electromagnetic field, calculate the heating rate, with the thermal network method. Then they detect, with a 1-D-FEM, the heat diffusion through the strip cross section. Afterward, since the heat distribution depends on the eddy current density one, which is given by the magnetic field distribution, the authors, with a 3-D-FEM, carry out a coupled, electromagnetic and thermal, analysis in time domain. The strip temperature map is established by the balance between skin depth heating and surface cooling: a thermal analysis, performed with a moving 2-D-FEM, take into account the effects of the different heating and cooling situations, originated by the strip moving at a speed of 6m/min through four consecutive reheating facilities. The temperatures of a strip sample heated by the prototype have been monitored, acquired by a computer and related with the simulation results. The little difference between experiment and simulation assessed the qualitative and quantitative validity of this analysis, that has come out to be a tool, useful to evaluate the effects of possible improvements to the ISP process

Impact on Clover-Grass Yield from Wheel Load and Tyre Pressure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Green, Ole; Jørgensen, Rasmus Nyholm; Sørensen, Claus Aage Grøn

2009-01-01

Traffic intensities have been shown to have a negative influence on the yield of grass and clover. A full scale grass-clover field trial was established to estimate the effect on clover-grass yields as a function of different wheel loads and tire pressures. The trial comprised 16 different traffi...

Analysis of 'Coma strip' galaxy redshift catalog

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klypin, A.A.; Karachentsev, I.D.; Lebedev, V.S.

1990-01-01

We present results of the analysis of a galaxy redshift catalog made at the 6-m telescope by Karachentsev and Kopylov (1990. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., 243, 390). The catalog covers a long narrow strip on the sky (10 arcmin by 63 0 ) and lists 283 galaxies up to limiting blue magnitude m B = 17.6. The strip goes through the core of Coma cluster and this is called the 'Coma strip' catalog. The catalog is almost two times deeper than the CfA redshift survey and creates the possibility of studying the galaxy distribution on scales of 100-250 Mpc. Due to the small number of galaxies in the catalog, we were able to estimate only very general and stable parameters of the distribution. (author)

Buffer protection in the installation phase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wimelius, Hans (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co., Stockholm (Sweden)); Pusch, Roland (Geodevelopment International AB, Lund (Sweden))

2008-12-15

The research and development of the design and construction of the SKB's repository for final disposal of spent reactor fuel is conducted along several paths ('lines'). Issues concerning the bedrock are dealt with in the 'rock line' and those related to buffer and backfill in deposition holes and tunnels are considered in the 'buffer line' and 'backfill line', respectively. These lines also deal with sub-activities that are coupled to several other lines. One of them includes development of techniques for protecting buffer blocks from moisture and water in the installation phase. Techniques and methods for placement and removal of the 'buffer protection sheet' are dealt with in the 'buffer line'. The removal is, however, considered as being part of the backfilling sequence. Since the performance of the sheet is of fundamental importance to the placement and function of the buffer it deserves particular attention. Thus, the removal of the rubber sheet that serves to protect the buffer blocks in the installation phase may be difficult and can cause significant problems that may require retrieval of already placed canister, buffer and backfill. These matters are in focus in the present report. Arrangements for protecting already placed buffer blocks from moist air and water have been tested in earlier large-scale experiments, i.e. the Prototype Repository project at Aespoe but the experience from them has called for more effective protection of the clay blocks as described in the present report. Focus is on the construction of foundation components at the bottom of the deposition holes required for establishing a tight seal between rock and buffer blocks, and on the protection sheet and arrangements for limiting water pressure on it. Special attention is paid to the drainage of the space between rock and protection sheet that is necessary for avoiding failure of the sheet and to systems for achieving

31 CFR 356.31 - How does the STRIPS program work?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How does the STRIPS program work? 356.31 Section 356.31 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued...) Miscellaneous Provisions § 356.31 How does the STRIPS program work? (a) General. Notes or bonds may be “stripped...

Using Comic Strips as a Book Report Alternative

Science.gov (United States)

Reading Teacher, 2012

2012-01-01

Comic strips are great to share with parents, younger students, and peers. This article presents an activity where students use a six-paneled comic strip to summarize a story. This activity allows for multiple interpretations and enhances comprehension by drawing attention to story elements.

Identification of grazed grasses using epidermal characters | R ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The use of anatomical features of the abaxial epidermis of grasses is discussed for the identification of fragments of epidermis present in samples of rumen. The reliability of this technique, and the variation of the epidermal characters in two widely distributed species of grass, is given. A "Key" to identity certain genera of ...

Rehabilitation experiment by phytoremediation using lawn grass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-08-01

Measures against environmental contamination by radioactive materials originated from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (May, 2011), are being conducted in Fukushima and surrounding prefectures. Regarding to the measures, a phytoremediation experiment with several types of lawn grasses in a field scale have been carried out. Lawn grasses are generally characterized by shallow rhizosphere, high density and root mat formation. Decontamination effectiveness of radioactive cesium by plant uptake and by sod removing was investigated. As a result, the range of decontamination factors by plant uptake was below than 1% because of low transfer rate form soil to plant. On the other hand, maximum decontamination factor by sod removing reached about 100%. Decontamination activities with various methods will be implemented according to the national decontamination policy and related plans in each municipality. The phytoremediation method with lawn grass would be applicable in limited circumstances. (author)

Acid-base buffering in organ preservation solutions as a function of temperature: new parameters for comparing buffer capacity and efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Baicu, Simona C; Taylor, Michael J

2002-08-01

Control of acidity and preventing intracellular acidosis are recognized as critical properties of an effective organ preservation solution. Buffer capacity and efficiency are therefore important for comparing the relative merits of preservation fluids for optimum hypothermic storage, but these parameters are not available for the variety of organ preservation solutions of interest in transplantation today. Moreover, buffer capacity is dependent upon both concentration and pH such that buffer capacity is not easily predicted for a complex solution containing multiple buffer species. Using standard electrometric methods to measure acid dissociation constants, this study was undertaken to determine the maximum and relative buffer capacities of a variety of new and commonly used hypothermic preservation solutions as a function of temperature. The reference data provided by these measurements show that comparative buffer capacity and efficiency vary widely between the commonly used solutions. Moreover, the fluids containing zwitterionic sulfonic acid buffers such as Hepes possess superior buffering for alpha-stat pH regulation in the region of physiological importance.

Magnetic ring for stripping enhancement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selph, F.

1992-10-01

A ring designed to recycle ions through a stripping medium offers the possibility for increasing output of the desired charge state by up to 4x. This could be a very important component of a Radioactive Nuclear Beam Facility. In order for such a ring to work effectively it must satisfy certain design conditions. These include achromaticity at the stripper, a dispersed region for an extraction magnet, and a number of first and higher order optics constraints which are necessary to insure that the beam emittance is not degraded unduly by the ring. An example is given of a candidate design of a stripping ring

Turbulent transfer characteristics of radioiodine effluents from air to grass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markee, E. H. [ARFRO, Environmental Science Services Administration, Idaho Falls, Idaho (United States)

1967-07-01

A total of 20 controlled field releases of radioiodine have been performed at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho as a portion of a program to study the transmission of gaseous radioiodine through the air-vegetation-cow-milk-human chain. Most of the releases were conducted over typical pasture grasses during different wind and stability conditions. Radioiodine adherence to grass and carbon plates was measured during most of the tests. Vertical air concentration profiles and turbulence parameters were measured to determine flux characteristics. Analysis of the data reveals the complex interdisciplinary nature of transfer of radioiodine from air to a natural surface. The data are in reasonable agreement with the deposition models of Sheppard and Chamberlain when corrections for the physical and biological receptiveness of the grass and grass density are made. The average ratios of momentum to mass flux were found to be 0.9 in stable conditions and 1.4 in unstable conditions. These ratios demonstrate the effect on mass flux in the lowest 4m by a surface that acts as a partial sink for gaseous effluents. This series of releases indicates the need for further research on the biological receptiveness of grass and turbulent transfer within a grass canopy. (author)

Towards Optimal Buffer Size in Wi-Fi Networks

KAUST Repository

Showail, Ahmad J.

2016-01-19

Buffer sizing is an important network configuration parameter that impacts the quality of data traffic. Falling memory cost and the fallacy that ‘more is better’ lead to over provisioning network devices with large buffers. Over-buffering or the so called ‘bufferbloat’ phenomenon creates excessive end-to-end delay in today’s networks. On the other hand, under-buffering results in frequent packet loss and subsequent under-utilization of network resources. The buffer sizing problem has been studied extensively for wired networks. However, there is little work addressing the unique challenges of wireless environment. In this dissertation, we discuss buffer sizing challenges in wireless networks, classify the state-of-the-art solutions, and propose two novel buffer sizing schemes. The first scheme targets buffer sizing in wireless multi-hop networks where the radio spectral resource is shared among a set of con- tending nodes. Hence, it sizes the buffer collectively and distributes it over a set of interfering devices. The second buffer sizing scheme is designed to cope up with recent Wi-Fi enhancements. It adapts the buffer size based on measured link characteristics and network load. Also, it enforces limits on the buffer size to maximize frame aggregation benefits. Both mechanisms are evaluated using simulation as well as testbed implementation over half-duplex and full-duplex wireless networks. Experimental evaluation shows that our proposal reduces latency by an order of magnitude.

Pollution Swapping in Agricultural Systems: deciding between mitigation measures with conflicting outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Quinton, John; Stevens, Carly

2010-05-01

Pollution swapping occurs when a mitigation option introduced to reduce one pollutant results in an increase in a different pollutant. Although the concept of pollution swapping is widely understood it has received little attention in research and policy design. This study investigated diffuse pollution mitigation options applied in combinable crop systems. They are: cover crops, residue management, no-tillage, riparian buffer zones, contour grass strips and constructed wetlands. A wide range of water and atmospheric pollutants were considered, including nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and sulphur. It is clear from this investigation that there is no single mitigation option that will reduce all pollutants and in this poster we consider how choices may be made between mitigation measures which may have a positive effect on one pollutant but a negative effect on another.

Do repeated rumble strip hits improve driver alertness?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Watling, C.N.; Akerstedt, T.; Kecklund, L.G.; Anund, A.

2016-01-01

Driving while sleepy is associated with increased crash risk. Rumble strips are designed to alert a sleepy or inattentive driver when they deviate outside their driving lane. The current study sought to examine the effects of repeated rumble strip hits on levels of physiological and subjective

Complexation of buffer constituents with neutral complexation agents: part I. Impact on common buffer properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Riesová, Martina; Svobodová, Jana; Tošner, Zdeněk; Beneš, Martin; Tesařová, Eva; Gaš, Bohuslav

2013-09-17

The complexation of buffer constituents with the complexation agent present in the solution can very significantly influence the buffer properties, such as pH, ionic strength, or conductivity. These parameters are often crucial for selection of the separation conditions in capillary electrophoresis or high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and can significantly affect results of separation, particularly for capillary electrophoresis as shown in Part II of this paper series (Beneš, M.; Riesová, M.; Svobodová, J.; Tesařová, E.; Dubský, P.; Gaš, B. Anal. Chem. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/ac401381d). In this paper, the impact of complexation of buffer constituents with a neutral complexation agent is demonstrated theoretically as well as experimentally for the model buffer system composed of benzoic acid/LiOH or common buffers (e.g., CHES/LiOH, TAPS/LiOH, Tricine/LiOH, MOPS/LiOH, MES/LiOH, and acetic acid/LiOH). Cyclodextrins as common chiral selectors were used as model complexation agents. We were not only able to demonstrate substantial changes of pH but also to predict the general complexation characteristics of selected compounds. Because of the zwitterion character of the common buffer constituents, their charged forms complex stronger with cyclodextrins than the neutral ones do. This was fully proven by NMR measurements. Additionally complexation constants of both forms of selected compounds were determined by NMR and affinity capillary electrophoresis with a very good agreement of obtained values. These data were advantageously used for the theoretical descriptions of variations in pH, depending on the composition and concentration of the buffer. Theoretical predictions were shown to be a useful tool for deriving some general rules and laws for complexing systems.

Development of in-situ control diagnostics for application of epitaxial superconductor and buffer layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

B.C. Winkleman; T.V. Giel; Jason Cunningham

1999-07-30

The recent achievements of critical currents in excess of 1 x 10{sup 6} amp/cm{sup 2} at 77 K in YBCO deposited over suitably textured buffer/substrate composites have stimulated interest in the potential fabrication of these coated conductors as wire. Numerous approaches and manufacturing schemes for producing coated conductor wire are currently being developed. Recently, under the US DOE's sponsorship, the University of Tennessee Space Institute performed an extensive evaluation of leading coated conductor processing options. In general, it is their feeling that the science and chemistry that are being developed in the coated conductor wire program now need proper engineering evaluation to define the most viable options for a commercial fabrication process. All fabrication processes will need process control measurements. This report provides a specific review of the needs and available technologies for process control for many of the coated conductor processing options. This report also addresses generic process monitoring areas in which additional research and development is needed. The concentration is on the two different approaches for obtaining the textured substrates that have been identified as viable candidates. These are the Los Alamos National Laboratory's ion-beam assisted deposition, called IBAD, to obtain a highly textured yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer on nickel alloy strips, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory's rolling assisted, bi-axially textured substrate option called RABiTS{trademark}.

DEVELOPMENT OF IN-SITU CONTROL DIAGNOSTICS FOR APPLICATION OF EPITAXIAL SUPERCONDUCTOR AND BUFFER LAYERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

B.C. Winkleman; T.V. Giel, Jr.; J. Cunningham

1999-06-30

The recent achievements of critical currents in excess of 1x10{sup 6}amp/cm{sup 2} at 77K in YBCO deposited over suitably textured buffer/substrate composites have stimulated interest in the potential fabrication of these coated conductors as wire. Numerous approaches and manufacturing schemes for producing coated conductor wire are currently being developed. Recently, under the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE's) sponsorship, the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) performed an extensive evaluation of leading coated conductor processing options. In general, it is our feeling that the science and chemistry that are being developed in the coated conductor wire program now need proper engineering evaluation to define the most viable options for a commercial fabrication process. All fabrication processes will need process control measurements. This report provides a specific review of the needs and available technologies for process control for many of the coated conductor processing options. This report also addresses generic process monitoring areas in which additional research and development is needed. The concentration is on the two different approaches for obtaining the textured substrates that have been identified as viable candidates. These are the Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL) ion-beam assisted deposition, called IBAD, to obtain a highly textured yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer on nickel alloy strips, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) rolling assisted, bi-axially textured substrate option called RABiTS{trademark}.

Sources of N2O in organic grass-clover pastures

OpenAIRE

Ambus, P.

2002-01-01

Organic farming practises, and in particular dairy production systems based on grass-clover pastures are becoming increasingly abundant within Danish agriculture. Grass-clover pastures may provide a mitigation option to reduce grassland nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (Velthof et al. 1998). The objectives of this work was to examine the relationship between N2O emissions and transformations of inorganic N in organically managed grass-clover pastures of different ages. Results from the projec...

Evaluation of anatomy comic strips for further production and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Dong Sun; Kim, Dae Hyun; Park, Jin Seo; Jang, Hae Gwon

2013-01-01

The corresponding author of the study has been sketching comic strips to explain anatomy in a humorous manner. All the anatomy comic strips, including those in Korean (650 episodes) and English (451 episodes), can be viewed on the homepage (http://anatomy.co.kr). Such comic strips were created with the aim of assisting medical students. However, their impact was unknown, and therefore, we surveyed the students' responses. We noted that anatomy grades were better in the students who read the comic strips. The comics helped the trainees chat with individuals with and without a medical background. The authors also considered comments on the problems with the comic strips and attempted to find solutions. The episodes are being currently used and further produced for educational purposes. To support this effort, the readers' valuable opinions will be continuously collected and assessed. PMID:24179697

Evaluation of anatomy comic strips for further production and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Dong Sun; Kim, Dae Hyun; Park, Jin Seo; Jang, Hae Gwon; Chung, Min Suk

2013-09-01

The corresponding author of the study has been sketching comic strips to explain anatomy in a humorous manner. All the anatomy comic strips, including those in Korean (650 episodes) and English (451 episodes), can be viewed on the homepage (http://anatomy.co.kr). Such comic strips were created with the aim of assisting medical students. However, their impact was unknown, and therefore, we surveyed the students' responses. We noted that anatomy grades were better in the students who read the comic strips. The comics helped the trainees chat with individuals with and without a medical background. The authors also considered comments on the problems with the comic strips and attempted to find solutions. The episodes are being currently used and further produced for educational purposes. To support this effort, the readers' valuable opinions will be continuously collected and assessed.

The charge collection in silicon strip detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehringer, T.; Hubbeling, L.; Weilhammer, P.; Kemmer, J.; Koetz, U.; Riebesell, M.; Belau, E.; Klanner, R.; Lutz, G.; Neugebauer, E.; Seebrunner, H.J.; Wylie, A.

1983-02-01

The charge collection in silicon detectors has been studied, by measuring the response to high-energy particles of a 20μm pitch strip detector as a function of applied voltage and magnetic field. The results are well described by a simple model. The model is used to predict the spatial resolution of silicon strip detectors and to propose a detector with optimized spatial resolution. (orig.)

Management techniques for the control of Melinis minutiflora P. Beauv. (molasses grass: ten years of research on an invasive grass species in the Brazilian Cerrado

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Romero Martins

2017-09-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The invasion of exotic species is considered to be a major threat to the preservation of biodiversity. In the Parque Nacional de Brasília (National Park of Brasília, the invasive Melinis minutiflora (molasses grass occupies more than 10 % of the area of the park. The present, long-term, study compared two treatments of exposure to molasses grass: 1 fire and 2 integrated management (fire + herbicide sprays + manual removal. The aerial biomass of molasses grass in the experimental area initially represented ca. 55 % of the total aerial biomass, a percentage that apparently did not influence native plant species richness at this site. Fire alone was not sufficient to control molasses grass, which attained its pre-treatment biomass values after two years. Integrated management reduced, and maintained, biomass to less than 1 % of its original value after ten years, and maintained this level throughout the study, demonstrating that it is a promising strategy for the recovery of areas invaded by molasses grass in the Cerrado. However, because of the recolonization by molasses grass, long-term monitoring efforts are targeting outbreaks, which would require immediate intervention in order to maintain the native biological diversity of the region.

SODR Memory Control Buffer Control ASIC

Science.gov (United States)

Hodson, Robert F.

1994-01-01

The Spacecraft Optical Disk Recorder (SODR) is a state of the art mass storage system for future NASA missions requiring high transmission rates and a large capacity storage system. This report covers the design and development of an SODR memory buffer control applications specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The memory buffer control ASIC has two primary functions: (1) buffering data to prevent loss of data during disk access times, (2) converting data formats from a high performance parallel interface format to a small computer systems interface format. Ten 144 p in, 50 MHz CMOS ASIC's were designed, fabricated and tested to implement the memory buffer control function.

Refuges, flower strips, biodiversity and agronomic interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Grégory; Wateau, Karine; Legrand, Mickaël; Oste, Sandrine

2008-01-01

Several arthropods are natural predators of pests, and they are able to reduce and control their population development. FREDON Nord Pas-de-Calais (Federation Regionate de Defense contre les Organismes Nuisibles = Regional Federation for Pest Control) has begun for a long time to form farmers to the recognition of beneficial arthropods and to show them their usefulness. These beneficial insects or arachnids are present everywhere, in orchards and even in fields which are areas relatively poor in biodiversity. Adults feed in the flower strips instead larvae and some adults feed on preys such as aphids or caterpillars. Most of the time, beneficial insects can regulate pest but sometimes, in agricultural area, they can't make it early enough and efficiently. Their action begin too late and there biodiversity and number are too low. It's possible to enhance their action by manipulating the ecological infrastructures, like sewing flower strips or installing refuges. Flower strips increase the density of natural enemies and make them be present earlier in the field in order to control pests. Refuges permit beneficial's to spend winter on the spot. So they're able to be active and to grow in number earlier. From 2004 to 2007, on the one hand, FREDON Nord Pas-de-Calais has developed a research program. Its purpose was to inventory practices and also tools and means available and to judge the advisability of using such or such beneficial refuge in orchards. On the second hand, it studied the impact in orchard of refuges on population of beneficial's and the difference there were between manufactured refuges and homemade refuges. Interesting prospects were obtained with some of them. Otherwise, since 2003, FREDON has studied flower strips influence on beneficial population and their impact on pest control. In cabbage fields, results of trials have shown that flower strips lead to a reduction of aphid number under acceptable economic level, up to 50 meters from flower strips

Optimization of the process of steel strip perforation and nickel platting for the purpose of elimination of trichloroethylene from the cleaning process of perforated steel strip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petrović Aleksandra B.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the production of pocket type electrodes for Ni-Cd batteries perforation of proper steel strips and then nickel platting of perforated steel strips were made. In the nickel platting process, the organic solvent, trichloroethylene, has previously been used for cleaning. Due to the carcinogenic nature of trichloroethylene and the many operations previously required during cleaning, it was considered to do cleaning of perforated steel strips without use of the mentioned organic solvent. In the purpose of elimination of trichloroethylene from the cleaning process of perforated steel strips, the tests of perforation of steel strips with use of oils of different viscosity were made. It was shown that there was no dysfunction during the work of the perforation plants, meaning there was no additional heating of the strips, deterring of the steel filings, nor excessive wearing of the perforation apparatus. The perforation percent was the same irrelevant of the viscosity of the used oil. Before being perforated using the oils with different viscosity, the nickel platting steel strips were cleaned in different degreasers (based on NaOH as well as on KOH. It was shown that efficient cleaning without the use of trichloroethylene is possible with the use of oil with smaller viscosity in the perforated steel strips process and the degreaser based on KOH in the cleaning process, before nickel platting. It also appeared that the alkali degreaser based on KOH was more efficient, bath corrections were made less often and the working period of the baths was longer, which all in summary means less quantity of chemicals needed for degreasing of perforated steel strips.

Nowcasting daily minimum air and grass temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Savage, M. J.

2016-02-01

Site-specific and accurate prediction of daily minimum air and grass temperatures, made available online several hours before their occurrence, would be of significant benefit to several economic sectors and for planning human activities. Site-specific and reasonably accurate nowcasts of daily minimum temperature several hours before its occurrence, using measured sub-hourly temperatures hours earlier in the morning as model inputs, was investigated. Various temperature models were tested for their ability to accurately nowcast daily minimum temperatures 2 or 4 h before sunrise. Temperature datasets used for the model nowcasts included sub-hourly grass and grass-surface (infrared) temperatures from one location in South Africa and air temperature from four subtropical sites varying in altitude (USA and South Africa) and from one site in central sub-Saharan Africa. Nowcast models used employed either exponential or square root functions to describe the rate of nighttime temperature decrease but inverted so as to determine the minimum temperature. The models were also applied in near real-time using an open web-based system to display the nowcasts. Extrapolation algorithms for the site-specific nowcasts were also implemented in a datalogger in an innovative and mathematically consistent manner. Comparison of model 1 (exponential) nowcasts vs measured daily minima air temperatures yielded root mean square errors (RMSEs) <1 °C for the 2-h ahead nowcasts. Model 2 (also exponential), for which a constant model coefficient ( b = 2.2) was used, was usually slightly less accurate but still with RMSEs <1 °C. Use of model 3 (square root) yielded increased RMSEs for the 2-h ahead comparisons between nowcasted and measured daily minima air temperature, increasing to 1.4 °C for some sites. For all sites for all models, the comparisons for the 4-h ahead air temperature nowcasts generally yielded increased RMSEs, <2.1 °C. Comparisons for all model nowcasts of the daily grass

Dynamic mechanical properties of buffer material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaji, Kazuhiko; Taniguchi, Wataru

1999-11-01

The buffer material is expected to maintain its low water permeability, self-sealing properties, radionuclides adsorption and retardation properties, thermal conductivity, chemical buffering properties, overpack supporting properties, stress buffering properties, etc. over a long period of time. Natural clay is mentioned as a material that can relatively satisfy above. Among the kinds of natural clay, bentonite when compacted is superior because (i) it has exceptionally low water permeability and properties to control the movement of water in buffer, (ii) it fills void spaces in the buffer and fractures in the host rock as it swells upon water uptake, (iii) it has the ability to exchange cations and to adsorb cationic radioelements. In order to confirm these functions for the purpose of safety assessment, it is necessary to evaluate buffer properties through laboratory tests and engineering-scale tests, and to make assessments based on the ranges in the data obtained. This report describes the procedures, test conditions, results and examinations on the buffer material of dynamic triaxial tests, measurement of elastic wave velocity and liquefaction tests that aim at getting hold of dynamic mechanical properties. We can get hold of dependency on the shearing strain of the shearing modulus and hysteresis damping constant, the application for the mechanical model etc. by dynamic triaxial tests, the acceptability of maximum shearing modulus obtained from dynamic triaxial tests etc. by measurement of elastic wave velocity and dynamic strength caused by cyclic stress etc. by liquefaction tests. (author)

Biogas and Methane Yield from Rye Grass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomáš Vítěz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Biogas production in the Czech Republic has expanded substantially, including marginal regions for maize cultivation. Therefore, there are increasingly sought materials that could partially replace maize silage, as a basic feedstock, while secure both biogas production and its quality.Two samples of rye grass (Lolium multiflorum var. westerwoldicum silage with different solids content 21% and 15% were measured for biogas and methane yield. Rye grass silage with solid content of 15% reached an average specific biogas yield 0.431 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter and an average specific methane yield 0.249 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter. Rye grass silage with solid content 21% reached an average specific biogas yield 0.654 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter and an average specific methane yield 0.399 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter.

Polymer Inclusion Membranes with Strip Dispersion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yueh-Hsien Li

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The present work investigated the permeation of indium ions through a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM, prepared with cellulose triacetate (CTA as the base polymer, tris(2-butoxyethyl phosphate (TBEP as the plasticizer and di-(2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA as the extractant. With 5 M HCl aqueous solution as the strip solution, we observed an initial indium permeability of 2.4 × 10−4 m/min. However, the permeability decreases with time, dropping to about 3.4 × 10−5 m/min after 200 min of operation. Evidence was obtained showing that hydrolysis of CTA occurred, causing a dramatic decrease in the feed pH (protons transported from strip to feed solutions and a loss of extractant and plasticizer from the membrane, and then leading to the loss of indium permeability. To alleviate the problem of hydrolysis, we proposed an operation scheme called polymer inclusion membranes with strip dispersion: dispersing the strip solution in extractant-containing oil and then bringing the dispersion to contact with the polymer membrane. Since the strong acid was dispersed in oil, the membrane did not directly contact the strong acid at all times, and membrane hydrolysis was thus alleviated and the loss of indium permeability was effectively prevented. With the proposed scheme, a stable indium permeability of 2.5 × 10−4 m/min was obtained during the whole time period of the permeation experiment.

Validity of HydraTrend reagent strips for the assessment of hydration status.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbey, Bryce M; Heelan, Kate A; Brown, Gregory A; Bartee, Rodrick T

2014-09-01

Hydration is used by athletic governing organizations for weight class eligibility. The measurement of urine specific gravity (USG) as a measure of hydration by reagent strips is a controversial issue. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of HydraTrend reagent strips that facilitate the correction of USG for alkaline urine samples against refractometry for the assessment of USG. Fifty-one participants (33 males, age = 22.3 ± 1.3 years; 18 females, age = 22.4 ± 1.2 years) provided 84 urine samples. The samples were tested for USG using refractometry and reagent strips and for pH using reagent strips and a digital pH meter. Strong correlation coefficients were found between refractometry and reagent strips for USG (rs(82) = 0.812, p refractometry with USG >1.020, pass reagent strips with USG ≤1.020) occurred 39% (33/84) of the time and false negative results for National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) requirements (fail refractometry with USG >1.025, pass reagent strips with USG ≤1.025) occurred 14% (12/84) of the time. There were no false positives (pass refractometry and fail reagent strips) for NCAA or NFHS requirements. These data show that refractometry and reagent strips have strong positive correlations. However, the risk of a false negative result leading to incorrect certification of euhydration status outweighs the benefits of the HydraTrend reagent strips for the measurement of USG.

Effects of feeding dairy cows different legume-grass silages on milk phytoestrogen concentration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Höjer, A; Adler, S; Purup, Stig

2012-01-01

interval of legume-grass silage on phytoestrogen intake and milk phytoestrogen concentrations. In one experiment, 15 Swedish Red dairy cows were fed 2- or 3-cut red clover-grass silage, or 2-cut birdsfoot trefoil-grass silage. In a second experiment, 16 Norwegian Red dairy cows were fed short-term ley...... red clover-grass silage diet (1,494μg/kg of milk). Because of the metabolism of biochanin A, genistein, and prunetin, their concentrations in milk and the apparent recovery were low. Coumestrol was detected in only short-term and long-term ley silage mixtures, and its milk concentration was low....... Concentrations of secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol were higher in 2-cut birdsfoot trefoil-grass and long-term ley silage mixtures, those with legume species other than red clover, and the highest grass proportions. The 2-cut birdsfoot trefoil-grass silage diet also resulted in higher enterolactone...

Significance of wave form parameters in stripping chronopotentiometric metal speciation analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Town, R.M.; Leeuwen, van H.P.

2002-01-01

An analysis is presented of the significance of stripping chronopotentiometric (SCP) stripping peak parameters (peak potential, Ep, and peak half-width, w1/2) for determination of metal ion speciation. This study focuses on depletive SCP (low stripping current, I¿ constant), and considers the change

Results from the 5-year SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet asthma prevention (GAP) trial in children with grass pollen allergy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valovirta, Erkka; Petersen, Thomas H; Piotrowska, Teresa

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Allergy immunotherapy targets the immunological cause of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and allergic asthma and has the potential to alter the natural course of allergic disease. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to investigate the effect of the SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet...... compared with placebo on the risk of developing asthma. METHODS: A total of 812 children (5-12 years), with a clinically relevant history of grass pollen allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and no medical history or signs of asthma, were included in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial......, comprising 3 years of treatment and 2 years of follow-up. RESULTS: There was no difference in time to onset of asthma, defined by prespecified asthma criteria relying on documented reversible impairment of lung function (primary endpoint). Treatment with the SQ grass sublingual immunotherapy tablet...

A novel method to characterize silica bodies in grasses.

Science.gov (United States)

Dabney, Clemon; Ostergaard, Jason; Watkins, Eric; Chen, Changbin

2016-01-01

The deposition of silicon into epidermal cells of grass species is thought to be an important mechanism that plants use as a defense against pests and environmental stresses. There are a number of techniques available to study the size, density and distribution pattern of silica bodies in grass leaves. However, none of those techniques can provide a high-throughput analysis, especially for a great number of samples. We developed a method utilizing the autofluorescence of silica bodies to investigate their size and distribution, along with the number of carbon inclusions within the silica bodies of perennial grass species Koeleria macrantha. Fluorescence images were analyzed by image software Adobe Photoshop CS5 or ImageJ that remarkably facilitated the quantification of silica bodies in the dry ash. We observed three types of silica bodies or silica body related mineral structures. Silica bodies were detected on both abaxial and adaxial epidermis of K. macrantha leaves, although their sizes, density, and distribution patterns were different. No auto-fluorescence was detected from carbon inclusions. The combination of fluorescence microscopy and image processing software displayed efficient utilization in the identification and quantification of silica bodies in K. macrantha leaf tissues, which should applicable to biological, ecological and geological studies of grasses including forage, turf grasses and cereal crops.

Genetic engineering of grass cell wall polysaccharides for biorefining.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Rakesh; Gallagher, Joe A; Gomez, Leonardo D; Bosch, Maurice

2017-09-01

Grasses represent an abundant and widespread source of lignocellulosic biomass, which has yet to fulfil its potential as a feedstock for biorefining into renewable and sustainable biofuels and commodity chemicals. The inherent recalcitrance of lignocellulosic materials to deconstruction is the most crucial limitation for the commercial viability and economic feasibility of biomass biorefining. Over the last decade, the targeted genetic engineering of grasses has become more proficient, enabling rational approaches to modify lignocellulose with the aim of making it more amenable to bioconversion. In this review, we provide an overview of transgenic strategies and targets to tailor grass cell wall polysaccharides for biorefining applications. The bioengineering efforts and opportunities summarized here rely primarily on (A) reprogramming gene regulatory networks responsible for the biosynthesis of lignocellulose, (B) remodelling the chemical structure and substitution patterns of cell wall polysaccharides and (C) expressing lignocellulose degrading and/or modifying enzymes in planta. It is anticipated that outputs from the rational engineering of grass cell wall polysaccharides by such strategies could help in realizing an economically sustainable, grass-derived lignocellulose processing industry. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Electrode/Dielectric Strip For High-Energy-Density Capacitor

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Shiao-Ping S.

1994-01-01

Improved unitary electrode/dielectric strip serves as winding in high-energy-density capacitor in pulsed power supply. Offers combination of qualities essential for high energy density: high permittivity of dielectric layers, thinness, and high resistance to breakdown of dielectric at high electric fields. Capacitors with strip material not impregnated with liquid.

Strip reduction testing of lubricants developed during ENFORM project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gazvoda, S.; Andreasen, Jan Lasson; Olsson, David Dam

Strip reduction testing of lubricants developed during ENFORM project. Experiments were conducted with the strip reduction test [1] in order to classify experimental lubricants, developed during concerned project. One reference lubricant was used during testing....

Performance of Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria zizanioides for Phytoremediation of Contaminated Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Hasan Sharifah Nur Munirah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In tolerance towards metal uptake, there is a need to evaluate the performance of vetiver grass for metal removal to reduce water impurity. This study was aimed to evaluate contaminant removal by vetiver grass at varying root length and plant density and determine the metal uptake in vetiver plant biomass. Pollutant uptake of vetiver grass was conducted in laboratory experiment and heavy metal analysis was done using acid digestion and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Findings indicated that the removal of heavy metal was decreased in seven days of the experiment where iron shows the highest percentage (96%; 0.42 ppm of removal due to iron is highly required for growth of vetiver grass. Removal rate of heavy metals in water by vetiver grass is ranked in the order of Fe>Zn>Pb>Mn>Cu. Results also demonstrated greater removal of heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn at greater root length and higher density of vetiver grass because it increased the surface area for metal absorption by plant root into vetiver plant from contaminated water. However, findings indicated that accumulation of heavy metals in plant biomass was higher in vetiver shoot than in root due to metal translocation from root to the shoot. Therefore, the findings have shown effective performance of vetiver grass for metal removal in the phytoremediation of contaminated water.

Estimation of grass to cow's milk transfer coefficients for emergency situations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ujwal, P.; Karunakara, N.; Yashodhara, I.; Rao, Chetan; Kumara, Sudeep; Dileep, B.N.; Ravi, P.M.

2012-01-01

Several studies have been reported on soil to grass equilibrium transfer factors and grass to cow's milk transfer coefficients for 137 Cs for the environs of different nuclear power plants of both India and other parts of the world. In such studies, the activity concentration of 137 Cs is measured in grass collected from different places. Cow's milk samples are collected from nearby localities or from milk dairies and analyzed for 137 Cs and the grass to cow's milk transfer coefficient is estimated. In situation where 137 Cs is not present in measurable activity concentrations, its stable counterpart (Cs) is measured for the estimation of transfer coefficients. These transfer coefficient values are generally used in theoretical models to estimate the dose to the population for hypothetical situation of emergency. It should be noted that the transfer coefficients obtained for equilibrium conditions may not be totally applicable for emergency situation. However, studies aimed at evaluating transfer coefficients for emergency situations are sparse because nuclear power plants do not release 137 Cs during normal operating situations and therefore simulating situation of emergency release is not possible. Hence, the only method to estimate the grass to milk transfer coefficient for emergency situation is to spike the grass with small quantity of stable Cs. This paper reports the results of grass to milk transfer coefficients for stable isotope of Cesium (Cs) for emergency situation

Micro-strip Metal Foil Detectors for the Beam Profile Monitoring

CERN Document Server

Pugatch, V M; Fedorovitch, O A; Mikhailenko, A V; Prystupa, S V; Pylypchenko, Y

2005-01-01

The Micro-strip Metal Foil Detectors (MMFD) designed and used for the Beam Profile Monitoring (BPM) are discussed. Fast particles hitting a metal strip initiate Secondary Electron Emission (SEE) which occurs at 10 - 50 nm surface layers of a strip. The SEE yield is measured by a sensitive Charge Integrator with built-in current-to-frequency converter (1 Hz per 1 fA). The MMFD (deposited onto the 20 μm thick Si-wafer) with 32 Al strips (10 μm wide, 32 μm pitch) has been used for the BPM of the 32 MeV alpha-particle beam at the MPIfK (Heidelberg) Tandem generator for Single-Event-Upset studies of the BEETLE micro-chip. Similar MMFD (0.5 μm thick Ni-strips) with totally removed Si-wafer (by plasma-chemistry, at the working area of 8 x 10 mm2) has been applied for the on-line X-ray BPM at the HASYLAB (DESY). The number of photons (11.3 GeV, mean X-ray energy 18 keV) producing out of a strip a single SEE was evaluated as (1.5 ±0.5)* 104. MMFD has demonstrated stable...

The buffer/container experiment: results, synthesis, issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, J.; Chandler, N.A.; Dixon, D.A.; Roach, P.J.; To, T.; Wan, A.W.L.

1997-12-01

A large in-ground experiment has examined how heat affects the performance of the dense sand bentonite 'buffer' that has been proposed for use in the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program. The experiment was performed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited at its Underground Research Laboratory, Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba between 1991 and 1994. The experiment placed a full-size heater representing a container of nuclear fuel waste in a 1.24-m diameter borehole filled with buffer below the floor of a room excavated at 240-m depth in granitic rock of the Canadian Shield. The buffer and surrounding rock were extensively instrumented for temperatures, total pressures, water pressures, suctions, and rock displacements. Power was provided to the heater for almost 900 days. The experiment showed that good rock conditions can be pre-selected, a borehole can be drilled, and buffer can be placed at controlled densities and water contents. The instrumentation generally worked well, and an extensive data base was successfully organized. Drying was observed in buffer close to the heater. This caused some desiccation cracking. However the cracks only extended approximately one third of the distance to the buffer-rock interface and did not form an advective pathway. Following sampling at the time of decommissioning, cracked samples of buffer were transported to the laboratory and given access to water. The hydraulic conductivities and swelling pressures of these resaturated samples were very similar to those of uncracked buffer. A good balance was achieved between the mass of water flowing into the experiment from the surrounding rock and the increased mass of water in the buffer. A good understanding was developed of the relationships between suctions, water contents, and total pressures in buffer near the buffer-rock interface. Comparisons between measurements and predictions of measured parameters show that a good understanding has been developed of the processes operating

The buffer/container experiment: results, synthesis, issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graham, J. [Univ. of Manitoba, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Chandler, N.A.; Dixon, D.A.; Roach, P.J.; To, T.; Wan, A.W.L

1997-12-01

A large in-ground experiment has examined how heat affects the performance of the dense sand bentonite 'buffer' that has been proposed for use in the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program. The experiment was performed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited at its Underground Research Laboratory, Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba between 1991 and 1994. The experiment placed a full-size heater representing a container of nuclear fuel waste in a 1.24-m diameter borehole filled with buffer below the floor of a room excavated at 240-m depth in granitic rock of the Canadian Shield. The buffer and surrounding rock were extensively instrumented for temperatures, total pressures, water pressures, suctions, and rock displacements. Power was provided to the heater for almost 900 days. The experiment showed that good rock conditions can be pre-selected, a borehole can be drilled, and buffer can be placed at controlled densities and water contents. The instrumentation generally worked well, and an extensive data base was successfully organized. Drying was observed in buffer close to the heater. This caused some desiccation cracking. However the cracks only extended approximately one third of the distance to the buffer-rock interface and did not form an advective pathway. Following sampling at the time of decommissioning, cracked samples of buffer were transported to the laboratory and given access to water. The hydraulic conductivities and swelling pressures of these resaturated samples were very similar to those of uncracked buffer. A good balance was achieved between the mass of water flowing into the experiment from the surrounding rock and the increased mass of water in the buffer. A good understanding was developed of the relationships between suctions, water contents, and total pressures in buffer near the buffer-rock interface. Comparisons between measurements and predictions of measured parameters show that a good understanding has been developed of the processes

Removal of nitrogen from swine manure by ammonia stripping; Reduccion del contenido en nitrogeno amoniacal del purin procino mediante la tecnica de stripping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hidalgo, M. D.; Alamo, J. del; Nunez, U.; Irusta, R. [Grupo de Tecnologia Ambiental . Laboratorio de Analisis y Estudios Medioambientales. Valladolid (Spain)

2001-07-01

Lab scale experiments were undertaken to investigate air stripping as method for removing ammonia from cattle effluents and, more concretely, from the liquid fraction of swine manure. The effects of packet size, influent pH, air to liquid flow ratio and liquid recirculation flow in the stripping tower were investigated. The high ammonia removal efficiency of the air stripping method indicates that it could provide an interim solution for current waste management problems in the swine industry. (Author) 5 refs.

International comparison of observation-specific spatial buffers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frank, Lawrence D; Fox, Eric H; Ulmer, Jared M

2017-01-01

the relative differences in resulting explanatory power on self-reported physical activity outcomes. BEMs were developed in five countries using 'sausage,' 'detailed-trimmed,' and 'detailed,' network buffers at a distance of 1 km around participant household addresses (n = 5883). RESULTS: BEM values were...... significantly different (p trimmed buffer comparisons and 89% of sausage versus detailed network buffer comparisons. Results showed that BEM coefficients in physical activity models did not differ significantly across buffering methods, and in most cases BEM...

Flexible strip supercapacitors for future energy storage

OpenAIRE

Zhang, R-R; Xu, Y-M; Harrison, D; Fyson, J; Qiu, F-L; Southee, D

2015-01-01

Flexible strip supercapacitors are developed and their electrochemical properties are characterized. Activated carbon is used as the electrode material and it is found to have a good porous structure which provides a large surface area for energy storage. Furthermore, this activated carbon performs well. The manufacturing processes for the supercapacitors are described in detail and the preparation process has good reproducibility. The strip supercapacitors are combined in series and parallel...

Comparative characteristics of polystyrene scintillation strips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gapienko, V.A.; Denisov, A.G.; Mel'nikov, E.A.

1992-01-01

Results are provided for a study of the main characteristics of polystyrene scintillation strips with a cross-section of 200 x 10 mm with two different scintillation-additive compositions: 1.5% p-terphenyl + 0.01% POPOP and 1.5% p-terphenyl + 0.01% DBP. The mean light-attenuation lengths are 180 cm and 260 cm, respectively, for strips with POPOP and DBP. The emittances of the polystyrene scintillators with DBP and POPOP additives have a ratio of 0.8:1.0 as recorded by an FEU-110 photomultiplier. 2 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

Multi-Buffer Simulations for Trace Language Inclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milka Hutagalung

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We consider simulation games played between Spoiler and Duplicator on two Büchi automata in which the choices made by Spoiler can be buffered by Duplicator in several buffers before she executes them on her structure. We show that the simulation games are useful to approximate the inclusion of trace closures of languages accepted by finite-state automata, which is known to be undecidable. We study the decidability and complexity and show that the game with bounded buffers can be decided in polynomial time, whereas the game with one unbounded and one bounded buffer is highly undecidable. We also show some sufficient conditions on the automata for Duplicator to win the game (with unbounded buffers.

Soil nitrogen mineralization not affected by grass species traits

Science.gov (United States)

Maged Ikram Nosshi; Jack Butler; M. J. Trlica

2007-01-01

Species N use traits was evaluated as a mechanism whereby Bromus inermis (Bromus), an established invasive, might alter soil N supply in a Northern mixed-grass prairie. We compared soils under stands of Bromus with those from three representative native grasses of different litter C/N: Andropogon...

Heat conductivity of buffer materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boergesson, L.; Fredrikson, Anders; Johannesson, L.E.

1994-11-01

The report deals with the thermal conductivity of bentonite based buffer materials. An improved technique for measuring the thermal conductivity of buffer materials is described. Measurements of FLAC calculations applying this technique have led to a proposal of how standardized tests should be conducted and evaluated. The thermal conductivity of bentonite with different void ratio and degree of water saturation has been determined in the following different ways: * Theoretically according to three different investigations by other researchers. * Laboratory measurements with the proposed method. * Results from back-calculated field tests. Comparison and evaluation showed that these results agreed very well, when the buffer material was almost water saturated. However, the influence of the degree of saturation was not very well predicted with the theoretical methods. Furthermore, the field tests showed that the average thermal conductivity in situ of buffer material (compacted to blocks) with low degree of water saturation was lower than expected from laboratory tests. 12 refs, 29 figs, 11 tabs

THE BUFFER CAPACITY OF AIRWAY EPITHELIAL SECRETIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusik eKim

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The pH of airway epithelial secretions influences bacterial killing and mucus properties and is reduced by acidic pollutants, gastric reflux, and respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF. The effect of acute acid loads depends on buffer capacity, however the buffering of airway secretions has not been well characterized. In this work we develop a method for titrating micro-scale (30 µl volumes and use it to study fluid secreted by the human airway epithelial cell line Calu-3, a widely used model for submucosal gland serous cells. Microtitration curves revealed that HCO3- is the major buffer. Peak buffer capacity (β increased from 17 to 28 mM/pH during forskolin stimulation, and was reduced by >50% in fluid secreted by cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR-deficient Calu-3 monolayers, confirming an important role of CFTR in HCO3- secretion. Back-titration with NaOH revealed non-volatile buffer capacity due to proteins synthesized and released by the epithelial cells. Lysozyme and mucin concentrations were too low to buffer Calu-3 fluid significantly, however model titrations of porcine gastric mucins at concentrations near the sol-gel transition suggest that mucins may contribute to the buffer capacity of ASL in vivo. We conclude that CFTR-dependent HCO3- secretion and epithelially-derived proteins are the predominant buffers in Calu-3 secretions.

Factors affecting palatability of four submerged macrophytes for grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jian; Wang, Long; Ma, Lin; Min, Fenli; Huang, Tao; Zhang, Yi; Wu, Zhenbin; He, Feng

2017-12-01

Grass carp can weaken the growth and reproductive capacity of submerged macrophytes by consuming valuable tissues, but factors affecting palatability of submerged macrophytes for grass carp rarely are considered. In this study, relative consumption rate of grass carp with regard to submerged macrophytes was in the following order: Hydrilla verticillata > Vallisneria natans > Ceratophyllum demersum > Myriophyllum spicatum. Firmness of macrophytes was in the following order: M. spicatum > C. demersum > H. verticillata = V. natans, whereas shear force was M. spicatum > C. demersum > H. verticillata > V. natans. After crude extracts of M. spicatum were combined with H. verticillata, grass carp fed on fewer macrophyte pellets that contained more plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). This indicated that structure and PSMs affected palatability of macrophytes.PSMs do not contribute to reduction in palatability through inhibition of intestinal proteinases activity, but they can cause a decrease in the abundance of Exiguobacterium, Acinetobacter-yielding proteases, lipases, and cellulose activity, which in turn can weaken the metabolic capacity of grass carp and adversely affect their growth. Thus, the disadvantages to the growth and development of grass carp caused by PSMs may drive grass carp to feed on palatable submerged macrophytes with lower PSMs.

The design and development of GRASS file reservation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Qiulan; Zhu Suijiang; Cheng Yaodong; Chen Gang

2010-01-01

GFRS (GRASS File Reservation System) is designed to improve the file access performance of GRASS (Grid-enabled Advanced Storage System) which is a Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) system developed at Computing Center, Institute of High Energy Physics. GRASS can provide massive storage management and data migration, but the data migration policy is simply based factors such as pool water level, the intervals for migration and so on, so it is short of precise control over files. As for that, we design GFRS to implement user-based file reservation which is to reserve and keep the required files on disks for High Energy physicists. CFRS can improve file access speed for users by avoiding migrating frequently accessed files to tapes. In this paper we first give a brief introduction of GRASS system and then detailed architecture and implementation of GFRS. Experiments results from GFRS have shown good performance and a simple analysis is made based on it. (authors)

Designing a New Raster Sub-System for GRASS-7

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Hruby

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with a design of a new raster sub-system intended for modern GIS systems open for client and server operation, database connection and strong application interface (API. Motivation for such a design comes from the current state of API working in GRASS 6. If found attractive, the here presented design and its implementation (referred as RG7 may be integrated to the future new generation of the GRASS Geographical Information System version 7-8. The paper describes in details the concept of raster tiling, computer storage of rasters and basic raster access procedures. Finally, the paper gives a simple benchmarking experiment of random read access to raster files imported from the Spearfish dataset. The experiment compares the early implementation of RG7 with the current implementation of rasters in GRASS 6. As the result, the experiment shows the RG7 to be significantly faster than GRASS in random read access to large raster files.

Study the Z-Plane Strip Capacitance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parikh, H.; Swain, S.

2005-01-01

The BaBaR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is currently undergoing an upgrade to improve its muon and neutral hadron detection system. The Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) that had been used till now have deteriorated in performance over the past few years and are being replaced by Limited Streamer Tube (LSTs). Each layer of the system consists of a set of up to 10 streamer tube modules which provide one coordinate (φ coordinate) and a single ''Z-plane'' which provides the Z coordinate of the hit. The large area Z-planes (up to 12m 2 ) are 1mm thick and contain 96 copper strips that detect the induced charge from avalanches created in the streamer tube wires. All the Z-planes needed for the upgrade have already been constructed, but only a third of the planes were installed last summer. After installing the 24 Z-planes last year, it was learned that 0.7% of the strips were dead when put inside the detector. This was mainly due to the delicate solder joint between the read-out cable and the strip, and since it is difficult to access or replace the Z-planes inside the detector, it is very important to perform various tests to make sure that the Z-planes will be efficient and effective in the long term. We measure the capacitance between the copper strips and the ground plane, and compare it to the theoretical value that we expect. Instead of measuring the capacitance channel by channel, which would be a very tedious job, we developed a more effective method of measuring the capacitance. Since all the Z-planes were built at SLAC, we also built a smaller 46 cm by 30 cm Z-plane with 12 strips just to see how they were constructed and to gain a better understanding about the solder joints

Effects of hydrostatic strain on eigenstates of Möbius strips

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Benny; Willatzen, Morten; Gravesen, Jens

2011-01-01

In this paper we theoretically investigate the allowed energies and associate wave-functions for Möbius strips with varying thicknesses. We show that the induced strain in fabricating these Möbius strips will have an pronounced impact on the energies and wave-functions for thick strips, while f...... for thin strips the impact of strain is negligible. We furthermore, show that a simpler strain free approximate theory base on differential geometry is in excellent agreement with detailed finite element calculations. © 2011 IEEE....

Programmable pH buffers

Science.gov (United States)

Gough, Dara Van; Huber, Dale L.; Bunker, Bruce C.; Roberts, Mark E.

2017-01-24

A programmable pH buffer comprises a copolymer that changes pK.sub.a at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water. The copolymer comprises a thermally programmable polymer that undergoes a hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic phase change at the LCST and an electrolytic polymer that exhibits acid-base properties that are responsive to the phase change. The programmable pH buffer can be used to sequester CO.sub.2 into water.

Comparative growth analysis of cool- and warm-season grasses in a cool-temperate environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belesky, D.P.; Fedders, J.M.

1995-01-01

Using both cool-season (C3) and warm-season (C4) species is a viable means of optimizing herbage productivity over varying climatic conditions in temperate environments. Despite well-documented differences in water, N, and radiation use, no consistent evidence demonstrates productivity differences among C3 and C4 perennial grass species under identical management. A field study was conducted to determine relative growth rates (RGR), nitrogen productivity (NP), and mean radiation productivity (RP) (dry matter production as a function of incident radiation) of cool- and warm-season grasses managed identically. Results were used to identify management practices thd could lead to optimal productivity in combinations or mixtures of cool- and warm-season grasses. Dry matter yields of warm-season grasses equaled or surpassed those of cool-season grasses, despite a 40% shorter growth interval. Certain cool- and warm-season grasses appear to be suitable for use in mixtures, based on distribution of herbage production; however, actual compatibility may be altered by defoliation management. Relative growth rates varied among years and were about 40% lower for canopies clipped to a 10-cm residue height each time 20-cm of growth accumulated compared with other treatments. The RGR of warm-season grasses was twice that of cool-season grasses Nitrogen productivity (g DM g-1 N d -1) and mean radiation productivity (g DM MJ-1) for warm-season grasses was also more than twice that of cool-season grasses. Radiation productivity of cool-season grasses was dependent on N, while this was not always the case for warm-season grasses. The superior production capability of certain warm-season compared with cool-season grasses in a cool-temperate environment can be sustained under a range of defoliation treatments and demonstrates suitability for use in frequently defoliated situations

Low-resistance strip sensors for beam-loss event protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullán, M.; Benítez, V.; Quirion, D.; Zabala, M.; Pellegrini, G.; Lozano, M.; Lacasta, C.; Soldevila, U.; García, C.; Fadeyev, V.; Wortman, J.; DeFilippis, J.; Shumko, M.; Grillo, A.A; Sadrozinski, H.F.-W.

2014-01-01

AC-coupled silicon strip sensors can be damaged in case of a beam loss due to the possibility of a large charge accumulation in the bulk, developing very high voltages across the coupling capacitors which can destroy them. Punch-through structures are currently used to avoid this problem helping to evacuate the accumulated charge as large voltages are developing. Nevertheless, previous experiments, performed with laser pulses, have shown that these structures can become ineffective in relatively long strips. The large value of the implant resistance can effectively isolate the “far” end of the strip from the punch-through structure leading to large voltages. We present here our developments to fabricate low-resistance strip sensors to avoid this problem. The deposition of a conducting material in contact with the implants drastically reduces the strip resistance, assuring the effectiveness of the punch-through structures. First devices have been fabricated with this new technology. Initial results with laser tests show the expected reduction in peak voltages on the low resistivity implants. Other aspects of the sensor performance, including the signal formation, are not affected by the new technology

EBIPM | Finding the Tools to Manage Invasive Annual Grasses

Science.gov (United States)

management decisions for a given landscape based on ecological principles. Take a look at our video " Grass Management How much could prevention save you? Guidelines to Implement EBIPM Weed Prevention Areas Grass Facts/ID The EBIPM Model Crooked River Weed Management Area Guide Tools for Educators EBIPM High

A buffer overflow detection based on inequalities solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Guoai; Zhang Miao; Yang Yixian

2007-01-01

A new buffer overflow detection model based on Inequalities Solution was designed, which is based on analyzing disadvantage of the old buffer overflow detection technique and successfully converting buffer overflow detection to Inequalities Solution. The new model can conquer the disadvantage of the old technique and improve efficiency of buffer overflow detection. (authors)

Silicon strip detector qualification for the CMS experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaussen, Gordon

2008-10-06

To provide the best spatial resolution for the particle trajectory reconstruction and a very fast readout, the inner tracking system of CMS is build up of silicon detectors with a pixel tracker in the center surrounded by a strip tracker. The silicon strip tracker consists of so-called modules representing the smallest detection unit of the tracking device. These modules are mounted on higher-level structures called shells in the tracker inner barrel (TIB), rods in the tracker outer barrel (TOB), disks in the tracker inner disks (TID) and petals in the tracker end caps (TEC). The performance of the participating two shells of the TIB, four rods of the TOB and two petals of the TEC (representing about 1% of the final strip tracker) could be studied in different magnetic fields over a period of approximately two month using cosmic muon signals. The last test before inserting the tracker in the CMS experiment was the Tracker Slice Test performed in spring/summer 2007 at the Tracker Integration Facility (TIF) at CERN after installing all subdetectors in the tracker support tube. Approximately 25% of the strip tracker +z side was powered and read out using a cosmic ray trigger built up of scintillation counters. In total, about 5 million muon events were recorded under various operating conditions. These events together with results from commissioning runs were used to study the detector response like cluster charges, signal-to-noise ratios and single strip noise behaviour as well as to identify faulty channels which turned out to be in the order of a few per mille. The performance of the silicon strip tracker during these different construction stages is discussed in this thesis with a special emphasis on the tracker end caps. (orig.)

Silicon strip detector qualification for the CMS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaussen, Gordon

2008-01-01

To provide the best spatial resolution for the particle trajectory reconstruction and a very fast readout, the inner tracking system of CMS is build up of silicon detectors with a pixel tracker in the center surrounded by a strip tracker. The silicon strip tracker consists of so-called modules representing the smallest detection unit of the tracking device. These modules are mounted on higher-level structures called shells in the tracker inner barrel (TIB), rods in the tracker outer barrel (TOB), disks in the tracker inner disks (TID) and petals in the tracker end caps (TEC). The performance of the participating two shells of the TIB, four rods of the TOB and two petals of the TEC (representing about 1% of the final strip tracker) could be studied in different magnetic fields over a period of approximately two month using cosmic muon signals. The last test before inserting the tracker in the CMS experiment was the Tracker Slice Test performed in spring/summer 2007 at the Tracker Integration Facility (TIF) at CERN after installing all subdetectors in the tracker support tube. Approximately 25% of the strip tracker +z side was powered and read out using a cosmic ray trigger built up of scintillation counters. In total, about 5 million muon events were recorded under various operating conditions. These events together with results from commissioning runs were used to study the detector response like cluster charges, signal-to-noise ratios and single strip noise behaviour as well as to identify faulty channels which turned out to be in the order of a few per mille. The performance of the silicon strip tracker during these different construction stages is discussed in this thesis with a special emphasis on the tracker end caps. (orig.)

Magnetorheological elastomer and its application on impact buffer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, J; Yu, M; Zhu, L X; Dong, X M

2013-01-01

In this study, a new magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) based buffer is proposed and its vibration isolation performance is investigated. The MRE buffer with a compact structure is first designed in order to accomplish the maximization of the variable stiffness range. The working characteristics of the MRE buffer are then measured and the model of MRE is established. On the basis of the experimental data, the control model of the MRE buffer is also formulated. A two-degree-of-freedom dynamic model with an MRE buffer is then developed. An intelligent control strategy, human simulated intelligent control (HSIC), is proposed to reduce the impact during the drop crash. Finally, the proposed MRE buffer and controller are validated numerically and experimentally. The results show that the proposed MRE buffer and the control strategy can reduce the impact acceleration effectively.

Designing hybrid grass genomes to control runoff generation

Science.gov (United States)

MacLeod, C.; Binley, A.; Humphreys, M.; King, I. P.; O'Donovan, S.; Papadopoulos, A.; Turner, L. B.; Watts, C.; Whalley, W. R.; Haygarth, P.

2010-12-01

Sustainable management of water in landscapes requires balancing demands of agricultural production whilst moderating downstream effects like flooding. Pasture comprises 69% of global agricultural areas and is essential for producing food and fibre alongside environmental goods and services. Thus there is a need to breed forage grasses that deliver multiple benefits through increased levels of productivity whilst moderating fluxes of water. Here we show that a novel grass hybrid that combines the entire genomes of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne - the grass of choice for Europe’s forage agriculture) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) has a significant role in flood prevention. Field plot experiments established differences in runoff generation with the hybrid cultivar reducing runoff by 50% compared to perennial ryegrass cultivar, and by 35% compared to a meadow fescue cultivar (34 events over two years, replicated randomized-block design, statistically significant differences). This important research outcome was the result of a project that combined plant genetics, soil physics and plot scale hydrology to identify novel grass genotypes that can reduce runoff from grassland systems. Through a coordinated series of experiments examining effects from the gene to plot scale, we have identified that the rapid growth and then turnover of roots in the L. perenne x F. pratensis hybrid is likely to be a key mechanism in reducing runoff generation. More broadly this is an exciting first step to realizing the potential to design grass genomes to achieve both food production, and to deliver flood control, a key ecosystem service.

Metal films with imprinted nanostructures by template stripping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, René Lynge; Pors, Anders; Dreier, Jes

We present a novel template stripping procedure for fabricating metal films with imprinted nanostructures. The basic idea is to deposit a gold film onto a nano-structured substrate and subsequently strip the film from the substrate surface thereby revealing imprinted nanostructures in the film...... result is a thin gold film with imprinted nano-cavities....

DESIGN OF GRASS BRIQUETTE MACHINE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

E-mail addresses: 1 mike.ajieh@gmail.com, 2 dracigboanugo@yahoo.com, ... machine design was considered for processing biomass of grass origin. The machine operations include pulverization, compaction and extrusion of the briquettes.

Grass and weed killer poisoning

Science.gov (United States)

... medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002838.htm Grass and weed killer poisoning To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Many weed killers contain dangerous chemicals that are harmful if ...

Role of carbohydrate metabolism in grass tetany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, J.K.; Madsen, F.C.; Lentz, D.E.; Hansard, S.L.

1977-01-01

Clinical hypomagnesemia is confined primarily to beef cattle in the United States but also occurs in dairy cattle in other countries, probably due to different management practices. During periods when grass tetany is likely, early vegetative temperate zone grasses are usually low in total readily available carbohydrates and magnesium but high in potassium and nitrogen. The tetany syndrome may include hypoglycemia and ketosis, suggesting an imbalance in intermediary energy metabolism. Many enzyme systems critical to cellular metabolism, including those which hydrolyze and transfer phosphate groups, are activated by Mg. Thus, by inference, Mg is required for normal glucose utilization, fat, protein, nucleic acid and coenzyme synthesis, muscle contraction, methyl group transfer, and sulfate, acetate, and formate activation. Numerous clinical and experimental studies suggest an intimate relationship between metabolism of Mg and that of carbohydrate, glucagon, and insulin. The objective is to review this literature and suggest ways in which these relationships might contribute to a chain of events leading to grass tetany.

IgE-binding capacity of recombinant timothy grass (Phleum pratense) pollen allergens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laffer, S.; Vrtala, S.; Duchêne, M.; van Ree, R.; Kraft, D.; Scheiner, O.; Valenta, R.

1994-01-01

A panel of 60 cDNA clones coding for IgE-binding proteins from timothy grass pollen was immunocharacterized with sera from 30 patients allergic to grass pollen and antibodies raised against natural grass pollen allergens. In the cases of five representative patients in whom the IgE reactivity

Liquidity, Reconstitution, and the Value of U.S. Treasury Strips.

OpenAIRE

Daves, Phillip R; Ehrhardt, Michael C

1993-01-01

An apparent pricing anomaly exists in the market for U.S. Treasury strips: zero-coupon strips created from principal payments typically trade at significantly higher prices than otherwi se identical zero-coupon strips created from coupon payments. In additi on to documenting this phenomenon, this study demonstrates that differences in liquidity and differences in reconstitution characteristics explain much of this price variation. Copyright 1993 by American Finance Association.

Status of exotic grasses and grass-like vegetation and potential impacts on wildlife in New England

Science.gov (United States)

DeStefano, Stephen

2013-01-01

The Northeastern section of the United States, known as New England, has seen vast changes in land cover and human population over the past 3 centuries. Much of the region is forested; grasslands and other open-land cover types are less common, but provide habitat for many species that are currently declining in abundance and distribution. New England also consists of some of the most densely populated and developed states in the country. The origin, distribution, and spread of exotic species are highly correlated with human development. As such, exotics are common throughout much of New England, including several species of graminoids (grasses and grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes). Several of the more invasive grass species can form expansive dense mats that exclude native plants, alter ecosystem structure and functions, and are perceived to provide little-to-no value as wildlife food or cover. Although little research has been conducted on direct impacts of exotic graminoids on wildlife populations in New England, several studies on the common reed (Phragmites australis) in salt marshes have shown this species to have variable effects as cover for birds and other wildlife, depending on the distribution of the plant (e.g., patches and borders of reeds are used more by wildlife than expansive densely growing stands). Direct impacts of other grasses on wildlife populations are largely unknown. However, many of the invasive graminoid species that are present in New England have the capability of outcompeting native plants and thereby potentially affecting associated fauna. Preservation, protection, and restoration of grassland and open-land cover types are complex but necessary challenges in the region to maintain biological and genetic diversity of grassland, wetland, and other open-land obligate species.

Deuteron stripping reactions with Tabakin potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, A.

1976-05-01

Deuteron stripping reactions are considered. Due to the strong repulsion between nucleons at very short distances, we have investigated the nuclear short-range correlations. The neutron proton nuclear potential in the deuteron is taken as a short-range repulsive core surrounded by a long-range attractive potential. The neutron-proton potential is taken as the Tabakin separable potential to take into account the short-range correlations. The differential cross-sections for deuteron stripping reactions have been calculated in two different cases by taking Yamaguchi or Breit et al type parameters for the Tabakin potential used. The angular distributions for different (d,p) stripping reactions on the different target nuclei 28 Si, 32 , 34 S, 36 Ar, 40 , 48 Ca, 50 , 52 , 54 Cr have been calculated using the DWBA calculations. Our present theoretical calculations for the angular distributions of the different reactions cosidered have been fitted to the experimental data, where good agreement is obtained. The extracted spectroscopic factors from the present work are found to be more reliable

Precipitation stripping of neodymium from carboxylate extractant with aqueous oxalic acid solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konishi, Yasuhiro; Asai, Satoru; Murai, Tetuya

1993-01-01

This paper describes a precipitation stripping method in which neodymium ions are stripped from carboxylate extractant in organic solvent and simultaneously precipitated with aqueous oxalic acid solution. For the single-stage process, a quantitative criterion for precipitating oxalate powders was derived theoretically, and stripping experiments were done under the precipitation conditions. The resultant precipitates were neodymium oxalate, which is completely free from contamination by the carboxylate extractant and the organic solvent. The overall rate of stripping was controlled by the transfer of neodymium carboxylate in the organic solution, indicating that the presence of oxalic acid in the aqueous phase has no effect on the stripping rate. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of combining the conventional stripping and precipitation stages in a solvent extraction process for separation and purification of rare earths

Evaluation of molecular basis of cross reactivity between rye and Bermuda grass pollen allergens.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Ruby; Bhalla, Prem L; Singh, Mohan B

2009-12-01

Allergenic cross reactivity between the members of the Pooids (Lolium perenne, Phleum pratense, and Poa pratensis) and Chloridoids (Cynodon dactylon and Paspalum notatum) is well established. Studies using crude extracts in the past have demonstrated limited cross reactivity between the Pooids and the Chloridoids suggesting separate diagnosis and therapy. However, little is known regarding the molecular basis for the limited cross reactivity observed between the 2 groups of grasses. The present study was undertaken to gain insights into the molecular basis of cross allergenicity between the major allergens from rye and Bermuda grass pollens. Immunoblot inhibition tests were carried out to determine the specificity of the proteins involved in cross reactivity. Crude pollen extract and bacterially expressed and purified recombinant Lol p 1and Lol p 5 from rye grass were subjected to cross inhibition experiments with crude and purified recombinant Cyn d 1 from Bermuda grass using sera from patients allergic to rye grass pollen. The immunoblot inhibition studies revealed a high degree of cross inhibition between the group 1 allergens. In contrast, a complete lack of inhibition was observed between Bermuda grass group 1 allergen rCyn d 1, and rye grass group 5 allergen rLol p 5. Crude rye grass extract strongly inhibited IgE reactivity to Bermuda grass, whereas crude Bermuda grass pollen extract showed a weaker inhibition. Our data suggests that a possible explanation for the limited cross reactivity between the Pooids and Chloridoids may, in part, be due to the absence of group 5 allergen from Chloridoid grasses. This approach of using purified proteins may be applied to better characterize the cross allergenicity patterns between different grass pollen allergens.

Grass defoliation affecting survival and growth of seedlings of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Two experiments were conducted, one in the field and the other in the greenhouse, to investigate the effects of the intensity and frequency of grass defoliation on the survival and growth of Acacia karroo seedlings. In the greenhouse, seedlings growing with heavily clipped grasses had higher biomass production than those ...

Analysis of Some Heavy Metals in Grass ( Paspalum Orbiculare ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The increased deposition of trace metals from vehicle exhausts on plants has raised concerns about the risks of the quality of food consumed by humans since the heavy metals emitted through the exhaust by vehicles can enter food chain through deposition on grass grazed by animals. Grass (Paspalum Orbiculare) and ...

The thermodynamic-buffer enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Stucki, J W

1980-08-01

Oxidative phosphorylation operates at optimal efficiency if and only if the condition of conductance matching L33/L11 = square root 1-q2 is fulfilled. In this relation L11 is the phenomenological conductance of phosphorylation, L33 the phenomenological conductance of the load, i.e. the irreversible ATP-utilizing processes in the cell, and q the degree of coupling of oxidative phosphorylation driven by respiration. Since during short time intervals L11 and q are constant whereas L33 fluctuates in the cell, oxidative phosphorylation would only rarely operate at optimal efficiency due to violation of conductance matching. This paper demonstrates that the reversible ATP-utilizing reaction catalyzed by adenylate kinase can effectively compensate deviations from conductance matching in the presence of a fluctuating L33 and hence allows oxidative phosphorylation to operate at optimal efficiency in the cell. Since the adenylate kinase reaction was found to buffer a thermodynamic potential, i.e. the phosphate potential, this finding was generalized to the concept of thermodynamic buffering. The thermodynamic buffering ability of the adenylate kinase reaction was demonstrated by experiments with incubated rat-liver mitochondria. Considerations of changes introduced in the entropy production by the adenylate kinase reaction allowed to establish the theoretical framework for thermodynamic buffering. The ability of thermodynamic buffering to compensate deviations from conductance matching in the presence of fluctuating loads was demonstrated by computer simulations. The possibility of other reversible ATP-utilizing reactions, like the ones catalyzed by creatine kinase and arginine kinase, to contribute to thermodynamic buffering is discussed. Finally, the comparison of the theoretically calculated steady-stae cytosolic adenine nucleotide concentrations with experimental data from perfused livers demonstrated that in livers from fed rats conductance matching is fulfilled on a

Reforestation of strip-mined lands in West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

H. Spencer Potter; Sidney Weitzman; George R., Jr. Trimble

1951-01-01

The early 1940's witnessed a striking increase in strip-mining throughout the eastern coal region. West Virginia, with its extensive coal resources, naturally was caught in the full current of this shift in mining methods. Today the raw gash on the hillside - almost infallibly the mark of a strip-mine operation - is a familiar sight in the State.

Stripping foils for the PSB H- injection system

CERN Document Server

Aiba, M; Goddard, B; Weterings, W

2009-01-01

Beam physics considerations for the stripping foil of the PSB H- injection system are described, including the arguments for the foil type, thickness, geometry and positioning. The foil performance considerations are described, including expected stripping efficiency, emittance growth, energy straggling, temperature and lifetime. The required movement ranges and tolerances are detailed, together with the assumptions used.

Quality Tests of Double-Sided Silicon Strip Detectors

CERN Document Server

Cambon, T; CERN. Geneva; Fintz, P; Guillaume, G; Jundt, F; Kuhn, C; Lutz, Jean Robert; Pagès, P; Pozdniakov, S; Rami, F; Sparavec, K; Dulinski, W; Arnold, L

1997-01-01

The quality of the SiO2 insulator (AC coupling between metal and implanted strips) of double-sided Silicon strip detectors has been studied by using a probe station. Some tests performed on 23 wafers are described and the results are discussed. Remark This note seems to cause problems with ghostview but it can be printed without any problem.

Evaluation of a portable urinary pH meter and reagent strips.

Science.gov (United States)

De Coninck, Vincent; Keller, Etienne Xavier; Rodríguez-Monsalve, María; Haymann, Jean-Philippe; Doizi, Steeve; Traxer, Olivier

2018-04-27

To evaluate a portable electronic pH meter and to put its accuracy in perspective with reagent strips read by a layperson, a healthcare professional and an electronic reading device. Based on a pre-analysis on 20 patients, a sample size of 77 urine aliquots from healthy volunteers was necessary to obtain sufficient study power. Measurements of urinary pH were obtained by use of reagent strips, a portable pH meter and a laboratory pH meter (gold standard). Reagents strips were read by a professional experienced in interpreting strips, a layperson, and an electronic strip reader. The mean matched pair difference between measurement methods was analyzed by the paired t-test. The degree of correlation and agreement were evaluated by the Pearson's correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman plots, respectively. The mean matched pair difference between the gold standard and all other pH measurement methods was the smallest with the portable electronic pH meter (bias 0.01, 95% CI -0.07 to 0.08; p=0.89), followed by strips read by a professional (bias -0.09, 95% CI -0.21 to 0.02; p=0.10), layperson (bias -0.17, 95% CI -0.31 to -0.04; p=0.015) and electronic strip reader (bias -0.29, 95% CI -0.41 to -0.16; pmeter achieved the highest Pearson's correlation coefficient and narrowest 95% limits of agreement, followed by strip interpretation by a professional, the electronic strip reader and the layperson. In order to quantify the ability of pH measurement methods to correctly classify values within a predefined urinary pH target range, we performed classification tests for several stones. The portable electronic pH meter outperformed all other measurement methods for negative predictive values. Findings of the current study support that the portable electronic pH meter is a reliable pH measuring device. It seems to be more accurate compared to reagent strips readings.

A new strips tracker for the upgraded ATLAS ITk detector

Science.gov (United States)

David, C.

2018-01-01

The ATLAS detector has been designed and developed to function in the environment of the present Large Hadron Collider (LHC). At the next-generation tracking detector proposed for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the so-called ATLAS Phase-II Upgrade, the fluences and radiation levels will be higher by as much as a factor of ten. The new sub-detectors must thus be faster, of larger area, more segmented and more radiation hard while the amount of inactive material should be minimized and the power supply to the front-end systems should be increased. For those reasons, the current inner tracker of the ATLAS detector will be fully replaced by an all-silicon tracking system that consists of a pixel detector at small radius close to the beam line and a large area strip tracker surrounding it. This document gives an overview of the design of the strip inner tracker (Strip ITk) and summarises the intensive R&D activities performed over the last years by the numerous institutes within the Strips ITk collaboration. These studies are accompanied with a strong prototyping effort to contribute to the optimisation of the Strip ITk's structure and components. This effort culminated recently in the release of the ATLAS Strips ITk Technical Design Report (TDR).

Comparison of blood glucose test strips in the detection of neonatal hypoglycaemia

OpenAIRE

Wilkins, B H; Kalra, D

1982-01-01

Blood glucose levels were estimated in 101 neonatal blood samples using three glucose test strip methods and the results compared with those from a laboratory. BM-test-glycemie 20-800 test strips and Reflotest-hypoglycemie test strips gave a rapid and reliable estimate of blood glucose level in the range 0-8 mmol/l (0-140 mg/100 ml). Dextrostix test strips tended to overestimate all blood glucose levels.

Whole rice bran for beef heifers raised on alexander grass pasture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. R. Salvador

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of beef heifers exclusively fed alexander grass (Urochloa plantaginea (Link Hitch or alexander grass and whole rice meal as supplement offered from Monday to Friday. The experimental design was completely randomized, with repeated measures over time, and consisted of two treatments and three replications of area. Heifers receiving whole rice meal exhibited higher average daily gain after day 42 of pasture use and a 21% higher body weight at the end of the grazing period. The stocking rate, weight gain per area, hip height, weight-height ratio, and body condition score were similar for heifers exclusively fed alexander grass and alexander grass plus rice bran. Beef heifers raised exclusively on alexander grass from 15 to 18 months of age reached adequate body development, reproductive tract score (4.22 points and pelvic area (206.3 cm² to be bred at 18-20 months of age.

Toward Genomics-Based Breeding in C3 Cool-Season Perennial Grasses

Science.gov (United States)

Talukder, Shyamal K.; Saha, Malay C.

2017-01-01

Most important food and feed crops in the world belong to the C3 grass family. The future of food security is highly reliant on achieving genetic gains of those grasses. Conventional breeding methods have already reached a plateau for improving major crops. Genomics tools and resources have opened an avenue to explore genome-wide variability and make use of the variation for enhancing genetic gains in breeding programs. Major C3 annual cereal breeding programs are well equipped with genomic tools; however, genomic research of C3 cool-season perennial grasses is lagging behind. In this review, we discuss the currently available genomics tools and approaches useful for C3 cool-season perennial grass breeding. Along with a general review, we emphasize the discussion focusing on forage grasses that were considered orphan and have little or no genetic information available. Transcriptome sequencing and genotype-by-sequencing technology for genome-wide marker detection using next-generation sequencing (NGS) are very promising as genomics tools. Most C3 cool-season perennial grass members have no prior genetic information; thus NGS technology will enhance collinear study with other C3 model grasses like Brachypodium and rice. Transcriptomics data can be used for identification of functional genes and molecular markers, i.e., polymorphism markers and simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Genome-wide association study with NGS-based markers will facilitate marker identification for marker-assisted selection. With limited genetic information, genomic selection holds great promise to breeders for attaining maximum genetic gain of the cool-season C3 perennial grasses. Application of all these tools can ensure better genetic gains, reduce length of selection cycles, and facilitate cultivar development to meet the future demand for food and fodder. PMID:28798766

Toward Genomics-Based Breeding in C3 Cool-Season Perennial Grasses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shyamal K. Talukder

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Most important food and feed crops in the world belong to the C3 grass family. The future of food security is highly reliant on achieving genetic gains of those grasses. Conventional breeding methods have already reached a plateau for improving major crops. Genomics tools and resources have opened an avenue to explore genome-wide variability and make use of the variation for enhancing genetic gains in breeding programs. Major C3 annual cereal breeding programs are well equipped with genomic tools; however, genomic research of C3 cool-season perennial grasses is lagging behind. In this review, we discuss the currently available genomics tools and approaches useful for C3 cool-season perennial grass breeding. Along with a general review, we emphasize the discussion focusing on forage grasses that were considered orphan and have little or no genetic information available. Transcriptome sequencing and genotype-by-sequencing technology for genome-wide marker detection using next-generation sequencing (NGS are very promising as genomics tools. Most C3 cool-season perennial grass members have no prior genetic information; thus NGS technology will enhance collinear study with other C3 model grasses like Brachypodium and rice. Transcriptomics data can be used for identification of functional genes and molecular markers, i.e., polymorphism markers and simple sequence repeats (SSRs. Genome-wide association study with NGS-based markers will facilitate marker identification for marker-assisted selection. With limited genetic information, genomic selection holds great promise to breeders for attaining maximum genetic gain of the cool-season C3 perennial grasses. Application of all these tools can ensure better genetic gains, reduce length of selection cycles, and facilitate cultivar development to meet the future demand for food and fodder.

Doped LZO buffer layers for laminated conductors

Science.gov (United States)

Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans [Knoxville, TN; Schoop, Urs [Westborough, MA; Goyal, Amit [Knoxville, TN; Thieme, Cornelis Leo Hans [Westborough, MA; Verebelyi, Darren T [Oxford, MA; Rupich, Martin W [Framingham, MA

2010-03-23

A laminated conductor includes a metallic substrate having a surface, a biaxially textured buffer layer supported by the surface of the substrate, the biaxially textured buffer layer comprising LZO and a dopant for mitigating metal diffusion through the LZO, and a biaxially textured conductor layer supported by the biaxially textured buffer layer.

Modelling of excess noise attnuation by grass and forest | Onuu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

, guinea grass (panicum maximum) and forest which comprises iroko (milicia ezcelea) and white afara (terminalia superba) trees in the ratio of 2:1 approximately. Excess noise attenuation spectra have been plotted for the grass and forest for ...

Buffer regulation of calcium puff sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraiman, Daniel; Dawson, Silvina Ponce

2014-01-01

Puffs are localized Ca 2+ signals that arise in oocytes in response to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 ). They are the result of the liberation of Ca 2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum through the coordinated opening of IP 3 receptor/channels clustered at a functional release site. The presence of buffers that trap Ca 2+ provides a mechanism that enriches the spatio–temporal dynamics of cytosolic calcium. The expression of different types of buffers along the cell's life provides a tool with which Ca 2+ signals and their responses can be modulated. In this paper we extend the stochastic model of a cluster of IP 3 R-Ca 2+ channels introduced previously to elucidate the effect of buffers on sequences of puffs at the same release site. We obtain analytically the probability laws of the interpuff time and of the number of channels that participate of the puffs. Furthermore, we show that under typical experimental conditions the effect of buffers can be accounted for in terms of a simple inhibiting function. Hence, by exploring different inhibiting functions we are able to study the effect of a variety of buffers on the puff size and interpuff time distributions. We find the somewhat counter-intuitive result that the addition of a fast Ca 2+ buffer can increase the average number of channels that participate of a puff. (paper)

Buffer regulation of calcium puff sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraiman, Daniel; Dawson, Silvina Ponce

2014-02-01

Puffs are localized Ca(2 +) signals that arise in oocytes in response to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). They are the result of the liberation of Ca(2 +) from the endoplasmic reticulum through the coordinated opening of IP3 receptor/channels clustered at a functional release site. The presence of buffers that trap Ca(2 +) provides a mechanism that enriches the spatio-temporal dynamics of cytosolic calcium. The expression of different types of buffers along the cell's life provides a tool with which Ca(2 +) signals and their responses can be modulated. In this paper we extend the stochastic model of a cluster of IP3R-Ca(2 +) channels introduced previously to elucidate the effect of buffers on sequences of puffs at the same release site. We obtain analytically the probability laws of the interpuff time and of the number of channels that participate of the puffs. Furthermore, we show that under typical experimental conditions the effect of buffers can be accounted for in terms of a simple inhibiting function. Hence, by exploring different inhibiting functions we are able to study the effect of a variety of buffers on the puff size and interpuff time distributions. We find the somewhat counter-intuitive result that the addition of a fast Ca(2 +) buffer can increase the average number of channels that participate of a puff.

Effect of grass species on NDF ruminal degradability and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

uzivatel

Abstract. The objective of this study was to compare the ruminal degradability of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) .... Felina were evaluated in the present study. The grass was harvested from the primary growth of monocultured grasses on 19 and 26 May of 2004 and 27 May and 10 ...... Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant.

Defoliation effects of perennial grasses – continuing confusion | DL ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Although an adequate knowledge of growth patterns and defoliation effects in perennial grasses is a prerequisite for the rational use of veld and pastures for animal production, our knowledge of this subject is far from adequate. The results of various physiological and clipping studies on tropical and sub-tropical grasses are ...

Seed production and establishment of western Oregon native grasses

Science.gov (United States)

Dale C. Darris

2005-01-01

It is well understood that native grasses are ecologically important and provide numerous benefits. However, unfavorable economics, low seed yields for some species, genetic issues, and a lack of experience behind the production and establishment of most western Oregon native grasses remain significant impediments for their expanded use. By necessity, adaptation of...

The depletion properties of silicon microstrip detectors with variable strip pitch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krizmanic, J.F.

1994-01-01

We have investigated the depletion properties of trapezoidal shaped silicon microstrip detectors which have variable strip pitch. Four types of detectors were examined: three detectors have constant strip width and a fourth has a varying strip width. The detectors are single sided with readout performed via p + strips. The depletion properties of the devices were measured using two different methods. The first used capacitance versus voltage measurements, while the second used a 1060 nm wavelength laser coupled to a single mode fiber with a mode field diameter less than 10 μm. The small laser spot size allowed for the depletion depth to be measured in a localized area of the detector. The laser induced charge on an electrode was measured as a function of reverse bias voltage using a sensitive charge preamplifier. The depletion voltages of the detectors demonstrate a strong dependence upon the ratio of strip width to strip pitch. Moreover, these measurements show that a large value of this ratio yields a lower depletion voltage and vice versa. (orig.)

A GEM readout with radial zigzag strips and linear charge-sharing response

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Aiwu; Hohlmann, Marcus; Azmoun, Babak; Purschke, Martin L.; Woody, Craig

2018-04-01

We study the position sensitivity of radial zigzag strips intended to read out large GEM detectors for tracking at future experiments. Zigzag strips can cover a readout area with fewer strips than regular straight strips while maintaining good spatial resolution. Consequently, they can reduce the number of required electronic channels and related cost for large-area GEM detector systems. A non-linear relation between incident particle position and hit position measured from charge sharing among zigzag strips was observed in a previous study. We significantly reduce this non-linearity by improving the interleaving of adjacent physical zigzag strips. Zigzag readout structures are implemented on PCBs and on a flexible foil and are tested using a 10 cm × 10 cm triple-GEM detector scanned with a strongly collimated X-ray gun on a 2D motorized stage. Angular resolutions of 60-84 μrad are achieved with a 1.37 mrad angular strip pitch at a radius of 784 mm. On a linear scale this corresponds to resolutions below 100 μm.

Grass as a C booster for manure-biogas in Estonia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pehme, Sirli; Hamelin, Lorie; Veromann, Eve

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the environmental consequences of using grass (from both unused and cultivated boreal grasslands) as a co-substrate to dairy cow manure for biogas production. Environmental impact categories assessed were global warming, acidification and nutrient enrichment...... (distinguishing between N and P). Scenarios studied were: traditional management of dairy cow manure, monodigestion of manure, manure co-digestion with reed canary grass and manure co-digestion with residual grass from semi-natural grasslands. The latter scenario showed the best environmental performance...... for the global warming category, for other categories it did not show clear benefits. Using reed canary grass specially produced for biogas purpose resulted in a climate change impact just as big as the reference manure management, mainly as a result of indirect land use changes. Increased impacts also occurred...

Reduction in clover-grass yield caused by different traffic intensities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Green, Ole; Jørgensen, Rasmus Nyholm; Kristensen, Kristian

Different traffic intensities have been shown to have a negative influence on the yield of grass and clover. A full scale grass-clover field trial was established to estimate the effect on clover-grass yields as a function of different wheel loads and tire pressures. The trial comprised 16...... close to the north, south and east border of the field. No significant interactions were found between the timing of crop and soil damage as affected by wheel load and tire pressure. However, at specific times, there was a significant effect of wheel load and secondary by the tire pressure. At all...... measurement times, the yield was lower using a wheel load of 4745 kg than for a wheel load of 2865 kg.     Key words (for Electronic Reference Library) Traffic intensities, tire load/pressure, clover/grass, yield loss, ...

Static mechanical properties of buffer material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaji, Kazuhiko; Suzuki, Hideaki

1999-11-01

The buffer material is expected to maintain its low water permeability, self-sealing properties, radionuclides adsorption and retardation properties, thermal conductivity, chemical buffering properties, overpack supporting properties, stress buffering properties, etc. over a long period of time. Natural clay is mentioned as a material that can relatively satisfy above. Among the kinds of natural clay, bentonite when compacted is superior because (i) it has exceptionally low water permeability and properties to control the movement of water in buffer, (ii) it fills void spaces in the buffer and fractures in the host rock as it swells upon water uptake, (iii) it has the ability to exchange cations and to adsorb cationic radioelements. In order to confirm these functions for the purpose of safety assessment, it is necessary to evaluate buffer properties through laboratory tests and engineering-scale tests, and to make assessments based on the ranges in the data obtained. This report describes the procedures, test conditions, results and examinations on the buffer material of unconfined compression tests, one-dimensional consolidation tests, consolidated-undrained triaxial compression tests and consolidated-undrained triaxial creep tests that aim at getting hold of static mechanical properties. We can get hold of the relationship between the dry density and tensile stress etc. by Brazilian tests, between the dry density and unconfined compressive strength etc. by unconfined compression tests, between the consolidation stress and void ratio etc. by one-dimensional consolidation tests, the stress pass of each effective confining pressure etc. by consolidated-undrained triaxial compression tests and the axial strain rate with time of each axial stress etc. by consolidated-undrained triaxial creep tests. (author)

Napier Grass and Legume Silage for Smallholder Farmers in Coastal Kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muinga, R.W.; Mambo, L.C.; Bimbuzi, S.

1999-01-01

Inadequate feed during the dry season is a major cause of low dairy productivity in Kenya. Napier grass is grown by smallholder dairy farmers due to its high biomass yield especially during the rainy season when it can be ensiled to ensure feed available in the dry season.The objective of the study was to determine the silage quality of mixtures of Napier grass and Legume forages. Maize bran was used as the main source of readily available carbohydrates replacing molasses. The mixtures were compared to the conventional Napier grass/legume has higher nutritive value than silage made from Napier grass only and that maize bran could replace molasses as a source of readily available carbohydrates

Analyzing rasters, vectors and time series using new Python interfaces in GRASS GIS 7

Science.gov (United States)

Petras, Vaclav; Petrasova, Anna; Chemin, Yann; Zambelli, Pietro; Landa, Martin; Gebbert, Sören; Neteler, Markus; Löwe, Peter

2015-04-01

GRASS GIS 7 is a free and open source GIS software developed and used by many scientists (Neteler et al., 2012). While some users of GRASS GIS prefer its graphical user interface, significant part of the scientific community takes advantage of various scripting and programing interfaces offered by GRASS GIS to develop new models and algorithms. Here we will present different interfaces added to GRASS GIS 7 and available in Python, a popular programming language and environment in geosciences. These Python interfaces are designed to satisfy the needs of scientists and programmers under various circumstances. PyGRASS (Zambelli et al., 2013) is a new object-oriented interface to GRASS GIS modules and libraries. The GRASS GIS libraries are implemented in C to ensure maximum performance and the PyGRASS interface provides an intuitive, pythonic access to their functionality. GRASS GIS Python scripting library is another way of accessing GRASS GIS modules. It combines the simplicity of Bash and the efficiency of the Python syntax. When full access to all low-level and advanced functions and structures from GRASS GIS library is required, Python programmers can use an interface based on the Python ctypes package. Ctypes interface provides complete, direct access to all functionality as it would be available to C programmers. GRASS GIS provides specialized Python library for managing and analyzing spatio-temporal data (Gebbert and Pebesma, 2014). The temporal library introduces space time datasets representing time series of raster, 3D raster or vector maps and allows users to combine various spatio-temporal operations including queries, aggregation, sampling or the analysis of spatio-temporal topology. We will also discuss the advantages of implementing scientific algorithm as a GRASS GIS module and we will show how to write such module in Python. To facilitate the development of the module, GRASS GIS provides a Python library for testing (Petras and Gebbert, 2014) which

Optimization of protein buffer cocktails using Thermofluor.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhard, Linda; Mayerhofer, Hubert; Geerlof, Arie; Mueller-Dieckmann, Jochen; Weiss, Manfred S

2013-02-01

The stability and homogeneity of a protein sample is strongly influenced by the composition of the buffer that the protein is in. A quick and easy approach to identify a buffer composition which increases the stability and possibly the conformational homogeneity of a protein sample is the fluorescence-based thermal-shift assay (Thermofluor). Here, a novel 96-condition screen for Thermofluor experiments is presented which consists of buffer and additive parts. The buffer screen comprises 23 different buffers and the additive screen includes small-molecule additives such as salts and nucleotide analogues. The utilization of small-molecule components which increase the thermal stability of a protein sample frequently results in a protein preparation of higher quality and quantity and ultimately also increases the chances of the protein crystallizing.

Biotechnological application of sustainable biogas production through dry anaerobic digestion of Napier grass.

Science.gov (United States)

Dussadee, Natthawud; Ramaraj, Rameshprabu; Cheunbarn, Tapana

2017-05-01

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), represents an interesting substrate for biogas production. The research project evaluated biogas potential production from dry anaerobic digestion of Napier grass using batch experiment. To enhance the biogas production from ensiled Napier grass, thermal and alkaline pre-treatments were performed in batch mode. Alkali hydrolysis of Napier grass was performed prior to batch dry anaerobic digestion at three different mild concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The study results confirmed that NaOH pretreated sample produced high yield of biogas than untreated (raw) and hot water pretreated samples. Napier grass was used as the mono-substrate. The biogas composition of carbon dioxide (30.10%), methane (63.50%) and 5 ppm of H 2 S was estimated from the biogas. Therefore, fast-growing, high-yielding and organic matter-enriched of Napier grass was promising energy crop for biogas production.

BUFFER CAPACITY IN HETEROGENEOUS MULTICOMPONENT SYSTEMS. REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oxana Spinu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The quantitative basis of the theory of buffer properties for two-phase acid-base buffer systems and for multicomponent heterogeneous systems has been derived. The analytical equations with respect to all components for diverse multicomponent systems were deduced. It has been established, that the buffer capacities of components are mutually proportional.

Sediment removal by prairie filter strips in row-cropped ephemeral watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew J. Helmers; Xiaobo Zhou; Heidi Asbjornsen; Randy Kolka; Mark D. Tomer; Richard M. Cruse

2012-01-01

Twelve small watersheds in central Iowa were used to evaluate the eff ectiveness of prairie filter strips (PFS) in trapping sediment from agricultural runoff. Four treatments with PFS of different size and location (100% rowcrop, 10% PFS of total watershed area at footslope, 10% PFS at footslope and in contour strips, 20% PFS at footslope and in contour strips)...

Buffer lining manufacturing method for radioactive waste container

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawakami, Susumu; Sugino, Hiroyuki

1998-01-01

A recessed portion is formed on an upper surface of a filler layer made of a buffer powder filled into a container main body, the upper portion of the vessel main body is closed by a shrinkable liquid tight film. It is placed in a pressurizing container and pressed to mold a buffer lining base material integrated with the vessel main body. A flat upper surface and a containing space are formed by shaving to form a buffer lining. A disposing vessel containing radioactive wastes is inserted into the containing space, and the containing space is closed by a buffer block. The upper surface is sealed by a lid. With such a constitution, since a buffer lining integrated with the vessel main body can be formed easily inside the vessel main body, the disposing vessel can be contained in the containing vessel in a state surrounded by the buffer easily and stably without laying or piling over a large quantity of buffer blocks. (T.M.)

Effect of short-duration overnight cattle kraaling on grass production ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... grass species, such as Urochloa mosambicensis and Panicum maximum, were more abundant in abandoned kraal sites than the surrounding vegetation. We conclude that shortduration overnight cattle kraaling improves grass quality and biomass. Keywords: biomass, crude protein, diversity, fibre, nutrient hotspots ...

Conceptual model for reinforced grass on inner dike slopes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, H.J.; ComCoast

2005-01-01

A desk study has been carried out in order to develop a conceptual model for the erosion of inner dike slopes with reinforced grass cover. Based on the results the following can be concluded: The presence of a geosynthetic in a grass slope can be taken into account in the EPM method by increasing

Efficiency measurements for 3D silicon strip detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parzefall, Ulrich, E-mail: ulrich.parzefall@physik.uni-freiburg.d [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 3, D-79104 Freiburg (Germany); Dalla Betta, Gian-Franco [INFN Trento and Universita di Trento, via Sommarive 14, 38050 Povo di Trento (Italy); Boscardin, Maurizio [FBK-irst, Center for Materials and Microsystems, via Sommarive 18, 38050 Povo di Trento (Italy); Eckert, Simon [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 3, D-79104 Freiburg (Germany); Eklund, Lars; Fleta, Celeste [University of Glasgow, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Jakobs, Karl; Koehler, Michael; Kuehn, Susanne; Pahn, Gregor [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 3, D-79104 Freiburg (Germany); Parkes, Chris; Pennicard, David [University of Glasgow, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Ronchin, Sabina [FBK-irst, Center for Materials and Microsystems, via Sommarive 18, 38050 Povo di Trento (Italy); Zoboli, Andrea [INFN Trento and Universita di Trento, via Sommarive 14, 38050 Povo di Trento (Italy); Zorzi, Nicola [FBK-irst, Center for Materials and Microsystems, via Sommarive 18, 38050 Povo di Trento (Italy)

2010-11-01

Silicon strip detectors are widely used as part of the inner tracking layers in particle physics experiments. For applications at the luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the sLHC, silicon detectors with extreme radiation hardness are required. The 3D detector design, where electrodes are processed from underneath the strips into the silicon bulk material, provides a way to enhance the radiation tolerance of standard planar silicon strip detectors. Detectors with several innovative 3D designs that constitute a simpler and more cost-effective processing than the 3D design initially proposed were connected to read-out electronics from LHC experiments and subsequently tested. Results on the amount of charge collected, the noise and the uniformity of charge collection are given.

First results from a silicon-strip detector with VLSI readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anzivino, G.; Horisberger, R.; Hubbeling, L.; Hyams, B.; Parker, S.; Breakstone, A.; Litke, A.M.; Walker, J.T.; Bingefors, N.

1986-01-01

A 256-strip silicon detector with 25 μm strip pitch, connected to two 128-channel NMOS VLSI chips (Microplex), has been tested using straight-through tracks from a ruthenium beta source. The readout channels have a pitch of 47.5 μm. A single multiplexed output provides voltages proportional to the integrated charge from each strip. The most probable signal height from the beta traversals is approximately 14 times the rms noise in any single channel. (orig.)

Buffer Sizing in 802.11 Wireless Mesh Networks

KAUST Repository

Jamshaid, Kamran; Shihada, Basem; Xia, Li; Levis, Philip

2011-01-01

We analyze the problem of buffer sizing for TCP flows in 802.11-based Wireless Mesh Networks. Our objective is to maintain high network utilization while providing low queueing delays. The problem is complicated by the time-varying capacity of the wireless channel as well as the random access mechanism of 802.11 MAC protocol. While arbitrarily large buffers can maintain high network utilization, this results in large queueing delays. Such delays may affect TCP stability characteristics, and also increase queueing delays for other flows (including real-time flows) sharing the buffer. In this paper we propose sizing link buffers collectively for a set of nodes within mutual interference range called the 'collision domain'. We aim to provide a buffer just large enough to saturate the available capacity of the bottleneck collision domain that limits the carrying capacity of the network. This neighborhood buffer is distributed over multiple nodes that constitute the network bottleneck; a transmission by any of these nodes fully utilizes the available spectral resource for the duration of the transmission. We show that sizing routing buffers collectively for this bottleneck allows us to have small buffers (as low as 2 - 3 packets) at individual nodes without any significant loss in network utilization. We propose heuristics to determine these buffer sizes in WMNs. Our results show that we can reduce the end-to-end delays by 6× to 10× at the cost of losing roughly 5% of the network capacity achievable with large buffers.

Buffer Sizing in 802.11 Wireless Mesh Networks

KAUST Repository

Jamshaid, Kamran

2011-10-01

We analyze the problem of buffer sizing for TCP flows in 802.11-based Wireless Mesh Networks. Our objective is to maintain high network utilization while providing low queueing delays. The problem is complicated by the time-varying capacity of the wireless channel as well as the random access mechanism of 802.11 MAC protocol. While arbitrarily large buffers can maintain high network utilization, this results in large queueing delays. Such delays may affect TCP stability characteristics, and also increase queueing delays for other flows (including real-time flows) sharing the buffer. In this paper we propose sizing link buffers collectively for a set of nodes within mutual interference range called the \\'collision domain\\'. We aim to provide a buffer just large enough to saturate the available capacity of the bottleneck collision domain that limits the carrying capacity of the network. This neighborhood buffer is distributed over multiple nodes that constitute the network bottleneck; a transmission by any of these nodes fully utilizes the available spectral resource for the duration of the transmission. We show that sizing routing buffers collectively for this bottleneck allows us to have small buffers (as low as 2 - 3 packets) at individual nodes without any significant loss in network utilization. We propose heuristics to determine these buffer sizes in WMNs. Our results show that we can reduce the end-to-end delays by 6× to 10× at the cost of losing roughly 5% of the network capacity achievable with large buffers.

KRITIK SOSIAL DALAM KOMIK STRIP PAK BEI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yudhi Novriansyah

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to do interpret the marking which flange social criticism and know laboring ideology in story of Comic Strip Pak Bei. Research based on theory of structural semiotic according to Ferdinand De Saussure. Using analysis of Syntagmatic as first level of meaning to the text network and also picture, and analysis of Paradigmatic as second level of meaning or implicit meaning (connota-tion, myth, ideology Analysis done to six Comic choice edition of Strip Pak Bei period of November 2004 - Februari 2005 which tend to flange social criticism. At band of syntagmatic, result of research indicate that story theme lifted from social problems that happened in major society. The fact clear progressively when connected by Intertextual with information and texts which have preexisted. At band of Paradigmatic, social criticism tend to emerge dimly, is not transparent. Because of Comic Strip Pak Bei expand in the middle of Java cultural domination that developing myth of criticize as action menacing compatibility and orderliness of society. Story of Comic Strip Pak Bei also confirm dominant ideology in Java society culture, namely ideology of Patriarkhi and Feudalism which still go into effect until now. This prove ideology idea according to Louis Althusser which not again opposition between class, but have been owned and practiced by all social class.

Pesticide-contaminated feeds in integrated grass carp aquaculture: toxicology and bioaccumulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pucher, J; Gut, T; Mayrhofer, R; El-Matbouli, M; Viet, P H; Ngoc, N T; Lamers, M; Streck, T; Focken, U

2014-02-19

Effects of dissolved pesticides on fish are widely described, but little is known about effects of pesticide-contaminated feeds taken up orally by fish. In integrated farms, pesticides used on crops may affect grass carp that feed on plants from these fields. In northern Vietnam, grass carp suffer seasonal mass mortalities which may be caused by pesticide-contaminated plants. To test effects of pesticide-contaminated feeds on health and bioaccumulation in grass carp, a net-cage trial was conducted with 5 differently contaminated grasses. Grass was spiked with 2 levels of trichlorfon/fenitrothion and fenobucarb. Unspiked grass was used as a control. Fish were fed at a daily rate of 20% of body mass for 10 d. The concentrations of fenitrothion and fenobucarb in pond water increased over time. Effects on fish mortality were not found. Fenobucarb in feed showed the strongest effects on fish by lowering feed uptake, deforming the liver, increasing blood glucose and reducing cholinesterase activity in blood serum, depending on feed uptake. Fenobucarb showed increased levels in flesh in all treatments, suggesting bio-concentration. Trichlorfon and fenitrothion did not significantly affect feed uptake but showed concentration-dependent reduction of cholinesterase activity and liver changes. Fenitrothion showed bioaccumulation in flesh which was dependant on feed uptake, whereas trichlorfon was only detected in very low concentrations in all treatments. Pesticide levels were all detected below the maximum residue levels in food. The pesticide-contaminated feeds tested did not cause mortality in grass carp but were associated with negative physiological responses and may increase susceptibility to diseases.

Microbiological Quality of Panicum maximum Grass Silage with Addition of Lactobacillus sp. as Starter

Science.gov (United States)

Sumarsih, S.; Sulistiyanto, B.; Utama, C. S.

2018-02-01

The aim of the research was to evaluate microbiological quality of Panicum maximum grass silage with addition Lactobacillus sp as starter. The completely randomized design was been used on this research with 4 treaments and 3 replications. The treatments were P0 ( Panicum maximum grass silage without addition Lactobacillus sp ), P1 ( Panicum maximum grass silage with 2% addition Lactobacillus sp), P2 (Panicum maximum grass silage with 4% addition Lactobacillus sp) and P3 (Panicum maximum grass silage with 6% addition Lactobacillus sp).The parameters were microbial populations of Panicum maximum grass silage (total lactic acid bacteria, total bacteria, total fungi, and Coliform bacteria. The data obtained were analyzed variance (ANOVA) and further tests performed Duncan’s Multiple Areas. The population of lactic acid bacteria was higher (PMicrobiological quality of Panicum maximum grass silage with addition Lactobacillus sp was better than no addition Lactobacillus sp.

Analysis of diffusive mass transport in a cracked buffer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garisto, N.C.; Garisto, F.

1989-11-01

In the disposal vault design for the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program, cylindrical containers of used nuclear fuel would be placed in vertical boreholes in rock and surrounded with a bentonite-based buffer material. The buffer is expected to absorb and/or retard radionuclides leaching from the fuel after the containers fail. There is some evidence, however, that the buffer may be susceptible to cracking. In this report we investigate numerically the consequences of cracking on uranium diffusion through the buffer. The derivation of the mass-transport equations and the numerical solution method are presented for the solubility-limited diffusion of uranium in a cracked buffer system for both swept-away and semi-impermeable boundary conditions at the rock-buffer interface. The results indicate that for swept-away boundary conditions the total uranium flux through the cracked buffer system is, as expected, greater than through the uncracked buffer. The effect of the cracks is strongly dependent on the ratio D/D eff , where D and D eff are the pore-water and the effective buffer diffusion coefficient, respectively. However, although a decrease in D eff enhances the effect of cracks on the total cumulative flux (relative to the uncracked buffer), it also decreases the total cumulative flux through the cracked buffer system (relative to a cracked buffer with a larger D eff value). Finally, for semi-impermeable boundary conditions, the effect of cracks on the total radionuclide flux is relatively small

Cosmogenic Be-7 in grass of Maamora site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-khoukhi, T.; Fidah, M.; Oublaid, B.

1994-01-01

Be-7 is one of the radionuclides produced by the nuclear reactions of protons and alpha particulates of galactic and solar cosmic rays as well as the secondary neutrons produced during those reactions. it is submitted, as soon as it is produced, to the physical and chemical laws of the environment, such as air motions or the fixing to the atmospheric aerosols. In the framework of environmental radioactivity monitoring programme of Maamora site (Morocco), samples of grass were collected, prepared and analyzed using gamma spectrometry. The preparation consists of drying and ashing the grass. The detector used is coaxial Ge HP with 20% efficiency. Samples were counted for more than 50000 s. The activity of Be-7 calculated for samples collected in 10 km around Maamora site varies between 4 and 20 Bq/g of ashed grass. 3 refs. (author)

Characterization and Calibration of Large Area Resistive Strip Micromegas Detectors

CERN Document Server

Losel, Philipp Jonathan; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

Resisitve strip Micromegas detectors behave discharge tolerant. They have been tested extensively as smaller detectors of about 10 x 10 cm$^2$ in size and they work reliably at high rates of 100\\,kHz/cm$^2$ and above. Tracking resolutions well below 100\\,$\\mu$m have been observed for 100 GeV muons and pions. Micromegas detectors are meanwhile proposed as large area muon precision trackers of 2-3\\,m$^2$ in size. To investigate possible differences between small and large detectors, a 1\\,m$^2$ detector with 2048 resistive strips at a pitch of 450 $\\mu$m was studied in the LMU Cosmic Ray Facility (CRF) using two 4 $\\times$ 2.2 m$^2$ large Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) chambers for cosmic muon reference tracking. Segmentation of the resistive strip anode plane in 57.6\\,mm x 95\\,mm large areas has been realized by the readout of 128 strips with one APV25 chip each and by 11 95\\,mm broad trigger scintillators placed along the readout strips.\\\\ This allows for mapping of homogenity in pulse height and efficiency, deter...

Humor in elementary science: Development and evaluation of comic strips about sound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ertuğrul Özdemir

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Comic strips on newspapers, magazines and Internet are one of the most accessible materials that may be used in science classroom as instructional tool. However, it is sometimes difficult to find and adapt appropriate comic strips useful for instructional purposes, because most of them are irrelevant. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate instructional comic strips aiming to contribute learning about sound related concepts. In this study, a series of instructional comic strips were created and implemented to a group of seventh grade students. Students’ responses to a number of open-ended questions were evaluated through qualitative content analysis. According to results, most of the students believed that comic strips help learning through simplifying science concepts and making retention of them easier. In addition, comic strips seemed to contribute students’ enjoyment toward science and perception of success in science.

BENTO buffer development program in Finland - Key issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Autio, J.; Korkiala-Tanttu, L.; Vaehaenen, M.; Koskinen, K.; Korkeakoski, P.; Haapala, K.

2010-01-01

Document available in extended abstract form only. Posiva launched a programme, BENTO, to develop technology of using bentonite in spent nuclear fuel repositories. The main purpose of the BENTO programme is to produce buffer designs and verify that they fulfil the requirements, especially safety requirements. To achieve this objective, resources and the level of expertise and know-how has to be increased. There are several uncertainties related to the functioning of the buffer components at present. An issue is defined as being significant if there is sufficient uncertainty that the buffer system might not fulfil the requirements because of the issue. These significant issues need to be resolved in order to develop a proper design and to verify the fulfilment of the requirements. The list of significant issues may change with time. Therefore it is crucial to develop adequate expertise, know-how and laboratory facilities to manage the changes. Moreover, there is confidence that by solving the open issues a defendable construction license application can be submitted in 2012. The basic nature of the programme is a combination of material and process research with the design and manufacturing of buffer components to produce feasible buffer design with proven long-term functional properties. The development work carried out under BENTO-programme has been initially divided into four different projects. During the course of work the number of projects and their content can be adjusted. The four BENTO projects are: 1. Manufacturing (MANU); 2. Design (DESI); 3. Modelling (MODE); 4. Material and Process Research (MARE). BENTO programme aims at producing feasible buffer designs which fulfil the requirements specified in Posiva's requirement management system. The designs are produced in DESI-project by following the design development scheme which starts from specification of design basis and ends in documented detailed designs and therefore DESIgn is specified as one

Performance of a new test strip for freestyle blood glucose monitoring systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lock, John Paul; Brazg, Ronald; Bernstein, Robert M; Taylor, Elizabeth; Patel, Mona; Ward, Jeanne; Alva, Shridhara; Chen, Ting; Welsh, Zoë; Amor, Walter; Bhogal, Claire; Ng, Ronald

2011-01-01

a new strip, designed to enhance the ease of use and minimize interference of non-glucose sugars, has been developed to replace the current FreeStyle (Abbott Diabetes Care, Alameda, CA) blood glucose test strip. We evaluated the performance of this new strip. laboratory evaluation included precision, linearity, dynamic range, effects of operating temperature, humidity, altitude, hematocrit, interferents, and blood reapplication. System accuracy, lay user performance, and ease of use for finger capillary blood testing and accuracy for venous blood testing were evaluated at clinics. Lay users also compared the speed and ease of use between the new strip and the current FreeStyle strip. for glucose concentrations blood glucose results obtained by lay users fell within ± 5, 10, and 15 mg/dL, respectively, of the reference. For glucose concentrations ≥75 mg/dL, 68%, 95%, 99%, and 99% of the lay user results fell within  ±  5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, respectively, of the reference. Comparable accuracy was obtained in the venous blood study. Lay users found the new test strip easy to use and faster and easier to use than the current FreeStyle strip. The new strip maintained accuracy under various challenging conditions, including high concentrations of various interferents, sample reapplication up to 60 s, and extremes in hematocrit, altitude, and operating temperature and humidity. our results demonstrated excellent accuracy of the new FreeStyle test strip and validated the improvements in minimizing interference and enhancing ease of use.

Brassinosteroid Mediated Cell Wall Remodeling in Grasses under Abiotic Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaolan Rao

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Unlike animals, plants, being sessile, cannot escape from exposure to severe abiotic stresses such as extreme temperature and water deficit. The dynamic structure of plant cell wall enables them to undergo compensatory changes, as well as maintain physical strength, with changing environments. Plant hormones known as brassinosteroids (BRs play a key role in determining cell wall expansion during stress responses. Cell wall deposition differs between grasses (Poaceae and dicots. Grass species include many important food, fiber, and biofuel crops. In this article, we focus on recent advances in BR-regulated cell wall biosynthesis and remodeling in response to stresses, comparing our understanding of the mechanisms in grass species with those in the more studied dicots. A more comprehensive understanding of BR-mediated changes in cell wall integrity in grass species will benefit the development of genetic tools to improve crop productivity, fiber quality and plant biomass recalcitrance.

Flow and transport through a damaged buffer - exploration of the impact of a cemented and an eroded buffer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neretnieks, Ivars [Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden)

2006-12-15

The compacted bentonite buffer that surrounds the canister with spent fuel is designed not to allow water to flow through it in any appreciable quantities. Should the buffer be severely damaged water could flow to the canister and bring with it corrosive agent such as sulphide. This could speed up the rate of copper corrosion. Should the canister have a damage or be corroded so that the spent fuel inside the canister comes in contact with the water radionuclides could dissolve in the water and be carried away. Two modes of canister damage and their consequences for solute transport are explored in this report. In one case the buffer can potentially be eroded by the water seeping in the fractures in the surrounding rock and attain a high hydraulic conductivity allowing water to flow through it, at least locally. In another case it is conjectured that the buffer is cemented and becomes brittle. Then a crack could conceivably form in the cemented buffer allowing water to flow through it directly to the canister surface. Both cases are hypothetical although in the erosion case the erosion rate could possibly be quantified. The cases studied are to be seen as exploratory calculations for 'what if' cases. Some worst case assumptions have been used to explore bounding scenarios. Thus for the erosion case it is assumed that the hydraulic conductivity is so high that the buffer exerts negligible resistance to water flow. This implies that all the water that can flow through the fractures intersecting the deposition hole can reach the canister. Similarly for the cemented buffer case it is assumed that the crack in the buffer directly connects the rock fracture to the canister surface. For these circumstances it is found that the flowrate that can enter the deposition hole will be approximately two times as large as the water flow that would pass a projected area equal to that of the deposition hole. Thus if the flux in the rock some distance from the deposition

Flow and transport through a damaged buffer - exploration of the impact of a cemented and an eroded buffer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neretnieks, Ivars

2006-12-01

The compacted bentonite buffer that surrounds the canister with spent fuel is designed not to allow water to flow through it in any appreciable quantities. Should the buffer be severely damaged water could flow to the canister and bring with it corrosive agent such as sulphide. This could speed up the rate of copper corrosion. Should the canister have a damage or be corroded so that the spent fuel inside the canister comes in contact with the water radionuclides could dissolve in the water and be carried away. Two modes of canister damage and their consequences for solute transport are explored in this report. In one case the buffer can potentially be eroded by the water seeping in the fractures in the surrounding rock and attain a high hydraulic conductivity allowing water to flow through it, at least locally. In another case it is conjectured that the buffer is cemented and becomes brittle. Then a crack could conceivably form in the cemented buffer allowing water to flow through it directly to the canister surface. Both cases are hypothetical although in the erosion case the erosion rate could possibly be quantified. The cases studied are to be seen as exploratory calculations for 'what if' cases. Some worst case assumptions have been used to explore bounding scenarios. Thus for the erosion case it is assumed that the hydraulic conductivity is so high that the buffer exerts negligible resistance to water flow. This implies that all the water that can flow through the fractures intersecting the deposition hole can reach the canister. Similarly for the cemented buffer case it is assumed that the crack in the buffer directly connects the rock fracture to the canister surface. For these circumstances it is found that the flowrate that can enter the deposition hole will be approximately two times as large as the water flow that would pass a projected area equal to that of the deposition hole. Thus if the flux in the rock some distance from the deposition hole is 1

The combined effect of fertiliser nitrogen and phosphorus on herbage yield and change in soil nutrients of a grass/clover and grass-only sward

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schils, R.L.M.; Snijders, P.J.M.

2004-01-01

The combined effect of reduced nitrogen ( N ) and phosphorus ( P ) application on the production of grass- only and grass/ clover swards was studied in a five- year cutting experiment on a marine clay soil, established on newly sown swards. Furthermore, changes in soil N, P and carbon ( C ) were

A capillary pumping device utilizing super-hydrophobic silicon grass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kung, Chun-Fei; Chang, Chien-Cheng; Chu, Chin-Chou

2011-01-01

In this study, we show that a compact silicon grass surface can be generated by utilizing the induced coupled plasma method with suitably chosen fabrication parameters. This super-hydrophobic structure suspends deionized water on top of the grass and keeps the contact angle at around 153°. The silicon grass is used to improve the driving efficiency of a capillary pumping micro-duct (without sidewalls), which is completely defined by a bottom hydrophilic stripe (adjacent to a Teflon substrate) and a fully top-covered hydrophobic Teflon surface which is coated on a glass substrate. The channel has a height of 3 µm and a width of 100 µm. In this work, the Teflon substrate is replaced with the silicon grass surface. When the fluid is flowing through the micro-duct on the stripe, the interface between the silicon grass and the hydrophilic stripe forms a stable air cushion barrier to the fluid, thus effectively reducing the frictional force. By changing only the interface with this replacement, we demonstrate that the average measured velocities of the new design show improvements of 21% and 17% in the driving efficiency over the original design for transporting deionized water and human blood, respectively. It is also shown that the measured data of the present design are closer to the values predicted by a theoretical analysis which relates the flow velocity to the contact angles, surface tension and fluid viscosity

Liquid growth hormone: preservatives and buffers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kappelgaard, Anne-Marie; Anders, Bojesen; Skydsgaard, Karen

2004-01-01

injection are dependent on the preservative used in the formulation and the concentration of GH. Injection pain may also be related to the buffer substance and injection volume. A liquid formulation of GH, Norditropi SimpleXx, has been developed that dispenses with the need for reconstitution before...... solution. More pain was also reported following large volume injections and following injections with solutions containing high protein concentrations. In summary, optimization of the preservative and buffer content of a liquid GH formulation may reduce injection pain and lead to improved patient...... administration. The formulation uses phenol (3 mg/ml) as a preservative (to protect product from microbial degradation or contamination) and histidine as a buffer. Alternative preservatives used in other GH formulations include m-cresol (9 mg/ml) and benzyl alcohol (3-9 mg/ml). Buffering agents include citrate...

Science comic-strips on display at Microcosm

CERN Document Server

Alix Marcastel

2011-01-01

To mark the publication of his new comic-strip "Les Vies de Marie Curie", the Genevan artist Fiami will be placing some of his previous creations on the theme "women and science" on display at CERN. The new comic-strip pays tribute to the illustrious Nobel prize-winner by taking a light-hearted look at the history of chemistry and how the role of women scientists in society has evolved through the ages.   It's no easy task,  presenting the history of science to the general public in a light-hearted way. As part of the various events organised in the Fête de la Science and the Europeans Researchers Night, CERN will be hosting an exhibition entirely devoted to the comic-strips created by Fiami. The artist describes his comics as "a relaxed way of looking at serious and apparently highly complex subjects."  Fiami's very latest creation, Les Vies de Marie Curie, published in June 2011, celebrates th...

Tree-grass interactions in savannas

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Scholes, RJ

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Savannas occur where trees and grasses interact to create a biome that is neither grassland nor forest. Woody and gramineous plants interact by many mechanisms, some negative (competition) and some positive (facilitation). The strength and sign...

Remote sensing of St. Augustine Decline (SAD) disease. [spectral reflectance of healthy and diseased grass

Science.gov (United States)

Odle, W. C.

1976-01-01

Laboratory and field spectral reflectance measurements of healthy and infected St. Augustine grass were made using several different instruments. Spectral differences between healthy and infected grass occured in the visible and near infrared regions. Multiband and color infrared photographs were taken of healthy and diseased turf from ground-based platforms and low altitude aircraft. Qualitative (density slicing) and quantitative (transmission densitometry) analyses revealed distinct tonal differences between healthy and St. Augustine disease (SAD) infected grass. Similar experiments are described for determining if healthy and diseased grass can be distinguished from waterstressed grass and grass deficient in either nitrogen or iron.

Diet Affects Muscle Quality and Growth Traits of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus): A Comparison Between Grass and Artificial Feed.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Honghao; Xia, Jianguo; Zhang, Xi; He, Xugang; Li, Li; Tang, Rong; Chi, Wei; Li, Dapeng

2018-01-01

Fish muscle, the main edible parts with high protein level and low fat level, is consumed worldwide. Diet contributes greatly to fish growth performance and muscle quality. In order to elucidate the correlation between diet and muscle quality, the same batch of juvenile grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus ) were divided into two groups and fed with either grass ( Lolium perenne, Euphrasia pectinata and Sorghum sudanense ) or artificial feed, respectively. However, the different two diets didn't result in significant differences in all the detected water quality parameters (e.g., Tm, pH, DO, NH 3 /[Formula: see text]-N, [Formula: see text]-N, [Formula: see text], TN, TP, and TOC) between the two experimental groups. After a 4-month culture period, various indexes and expression of myogenic regulatory factor (MRFs) and their related genes were tested. The weight gain of the fish fed with artificial feed (AFG) was nearly 40% higher than the fish fed with grass (GFG). Significantly higher alkaline phosphatase, total cholestrol, high density cholestrol and total protein were detected in GFG as compared to AFG. GFG also showed increased hardness, resilience and shear force in texture profile analysis, with significantly bigger and compact muscle fibers in histologic slices. The fat accumulation was most serious in the abdomen muscle of AFG. Additionally, the expression levels of MyoG, MyoD, IGF - 1 , and MSTNs were higher, whereas Myf - 5, MRF4 , and IGF -2 were lower in most positional muscles of GFG as compared to AFG. Overall, these results suggested that feeding grass could promote muscle growth and development by stimulating muscle fiber hypertrophy, as well as significantly enhance the expression of CoL1A s. Feeding C. idellus with grass could also improve flesh quality by improving muscle characteristics, enhancing the production of collagen, meanthile, reducing fat accumulation and moisture in muscle, but at the cost of a slower growth.

Diet Affects Muscle Quality and Growth Traits of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus: A Comparison Between Grass and Artificial Feed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Honghao Zhao

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Fish muscle, the main edible parts with high protein level and low fat level, is consumed worldwide. Diet contributes greatly to fish growth performance and muscle quality. In order to elucidate the correlation between diet and muscle quality, the same batch of juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus were divided into two groups and fed with either grass (Lolium perenne, Euphrasia pectinata and Sorghum sudanense or artificial feed, respectively. However, the different two diets didn't result in significant differences in all the detected water quality parameters (e.g., Tm, pH, DO, NH3/NH4+-N, NO3--N, NO2-, TN, TP, and TOC between the two experimental groups. After a 4-month culture period, various indexes and expression of myogenic regulatory factor (MRFs and their related genes were tested. The weight gain of the fish fed with artificial feed (AFG was nearly 40% higher than the fish fed with grass (GFG. Significantly higher alkaline phosphatase, total cholestrol, high density cholestrol and total protein were detected in GFG as compared to AFG. GFG also showed increased hardness, resilience and shear force in texture profile analysis, with significantly bigger and compact muscle fibers in histologic slices. The fat accumulation was most serious in the abdomen muscle of AFG. Additionally, the expression levels of MyoG, MyoD, IGF-1, and MSTNs were higher, whereas Myf-5, MRF4, and IGF-2 were lower in most positional muscles of GFG as compared to AFG. Overall, these results suggested that feeding grass could promote muscle growth and development by stimulating muscle fiber hypertrophy, as well as significantly enhance the expression of CoL1As. Feeding C. idellus with grass could also improve flesh quality by improving muscle characteristics, enhancing the production of collagen, meanthile, reducing fat accumulation and moisture in muscle, but at the cost of a slower growth.

The Argonne silicon strip-detector array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wuosmaa, A H; Back, B B; Betts, R R; Freer, M; Gehring, J; Glagola, B G; Happ, Th; Henderson, D J; Wilt, P [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Bearden, I G [Purdue Univ., Lafayette, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics

1992-08-01

Many nuclear physics experiments require the ability to analyze events in which large numbers of charged particles are detected and identified simultaneously, with good resolution and high efficiency, either alone, or in coincidence with gamma rays. The authors have constructed a compact large-area detector array to measure these processes efficiently and with excellent energy resolution. The array consists of four double-sided silicon strip detectors, each 5x5 cm{sup 2} in area, with front and back sides divided into 16 strips. To exploit the capability of the device fully, a system to read each strip-detector segment has been designed and constructed, based around a custom-built multi-channel preamplifier. The remainder of the system consists of high-density CAMAC modules, including multi-channel discriminators, charge-sensing analog-to-digital converters, and time-to-digital converters. The array`s performance has been evaluated using alpha-particle sources, and in a number of experiments conducted at Argonne and elsewhere. Energy resolutions of {Delta}E {approx} 20-30 keV have been observed for 5 to 8 MeV alpha particles, as well as time resolutions {Delta}T {<=} 500 ps. 4 figs.

Determination of residual stresses in roll compacted titanium strips

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mothosi, KL

2017-01-01

Full Text Available residual stresses using x-ray diffraction (XRD) surface probing technique. Preliminary results were obtained for the surface residual stress at the center of the titanium strips for the 100 and 325 mesh strips rolled at 0.1 roll gap for 20 and 50 mm set...

Optimising carbon electrode materials for adsorptive stripping voltammetry

OpenAIRE

Chaisiwamongkhol, K; Batchelor-McAuley, C; Sokolov, S; Holter, J; Young, N; Compton, R

2017-01-01

Different types of carbon electrode materials for adsorptive stripping voltammetry are studied through the use of cyclic voltammetry. Capsaicin is utilised as a model compound for adsorptive stripping voltammetry using unmodified and modified basal plane pyrolytic graphite (BPPG) electrodes modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes, carbon black or graphene nanoplatelets, screen printed carbon electrodes (SPE), carbon nanotube modified screen printed electrodes, and carbon paste electrodes....

Insects traversing grass-like vertical compliant beams

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chen; Fearing, Ronald; Full, Robert

2014-03-01

Small running animals encounter many challenging terrains. These terrains can be filled with 3D, multi-component obstacles. Here, we study cockroaches (Blaberus discoidalis) moving through grass-like vertical compliant beams during escape. We created an apparatus to control and vary geometric parameters and mechanical properties of model grass including height, width, thickness, lateral and fore-aft spacings, angle, number of layers, stiffness, and damping. We observed a suite of novel locomotor behaviors not previously described on simpler 2D ground. When model grass height was >2 × body length and lateral spacing was test our hypothesis, we modified body shape by adding either a rectangular or an oval plate onto its dorsal surface, and found that P dropped by an order of magnitude and t more than doubled. Upon removal of either plate, both P and t recovered. Locomotor kinematics and geometry effectively coupled to terrain properties enables negotiation of 3D, multi-component obstacles, and provides inspiration for small robots to navigate such terrain with minimal sensing and control.

Method of stripping solid particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

A method of stripping loaded solid particles is specified in which uniform batches of the loaded particles are passed successively upwardly through an elution column in the form of discrete plugs, the particles of which do not intermingle substantially with the particles of the vertically adjacent plug(s), and are contacted therein with eluant liquid flowed downwardly, strong eluate being withdrawn from the lower region of the column, the loaded particles being supplied as a slurry in a carrier liquid, and successive batches of loaded particles being isolated as measured batches and being separated from their carrier liquid before being contacted with strong eluate and slurried with the strong eluate into the lower region of the column. An example describes the stripping of ion exchange resin particles loaded with complex uranium ions. (author)

Process for recovering uranium using an alkyl pyrophosphoric acid and alkaline stripping solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worthington, R.E.; Magdics, A.

1987-01-01

A process is described for stripping uranium for a pregnant organic extractant comprising an alkyl pyrophosphoric acid dissolved in a substantially water-immiscible organic diluent. The organic extractant contains tetravalent uranium and an alcohol or phenol modifier in a quantity sufficient to retain substantially all the unhydrolyzed alkyl pyrophosphoric acid in solution in the diluent during stripping. The process comprises adding an oxidizing agent to the organic extractant and thereby oxidizing the tetravalent uranium to the +6 state in the organic extractant, and contacting the organic extractant containing the uranium in the +6 state with a stripping solution comprising an aqueous solution of an alkali metal or ammonium carbonate or hydroxide thereby stripping uranium from the organic extractant into the stripping solution. The resulting barren organic extractant containing substantially all of the unhydrolyzed alkyl pyrophosphoric acid dissolved in the diluent is separated from the stripping solution containing the stripped uranium, the barren extractant being suitable for recycle

Hand-arm vibration disorder among grass-cutter workers in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Azmir, Nor Azali; Ghazali, Mohd Imran; Yahya, Musli Nizam; Ali, Mohamad Hanafi

2016-09-01

Prolonged exposure to hand-transmitted vibration from grass-cutting machines has been associated with increasing occurrences of symptoms and signs of occupational diseases related to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). A cross-sectional study was carried out using an adopted HAVS questionnaire on hand-arm vibration exposure and symptoms distributed to 168 male workers from the grass and turf maintenance industry who use hand-held grass-cutting machines as part of their work. The prevalence ratio and symptom correlation to HAVS between high and low-moderate exposure risk groups were evaluated. There were positive HAVS symptoms relationships between the low-moderate exposure group and the high exposure group among hand-held grass-cutting workers. The prevalence ratio was considered high because there were indicators that fingers turned white and felt numb, 3.63, 95% CI [1.41, 9.39] and 4.24, 95% CI [2.18, 8.27], respectively. Less than 14.3% of workers stated that they were aware of the occupational hand-arm vibration, and it seemed to be related to the finger blanching and numbness. The results suggest that HAVS is under-diagnosed in Malaysia, especially in the agricultural sectors. More information related to safety and health awareness programmes for HAVS exposure is required among hand-held grass-cutting workers.

Single electron attachment and stripping cross sections for relativistic heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, H.J.

1979-06-01

The results of a Bevalac experiment to measure the single electron attachment and stripping cross sections for relativistic (0.5 1 , and fully stripped, N 0 , ion beams emerging from the targets. Separate counters measured the number of ions in each charge state. The ratios N 1 /N 0 for different target thicknesses were fit to a simple growth curve to yield electron attachment and stripping cross sections. The data are compared to relativistic extrapolations of available theories. Clear evidence for two separate attachment processes, radiative and non-radiative, is found. Data are compared to a recently improved formulation for the stripping cross sections

Role of ammonia and biogenic amines in intake of grass silage by ruminants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Os, van M.

1997-01-01

In Northern- and Western-Europe, grass silage is a major component in winter feeding rations for ruminants. The intake of ensiled grass is often lower than the intake of hay or the fresh grass of similar digestibility. This intake depression is attributed to the fermentation products

Observational study on the pavement performance effects of shoulder rumble strip on shoulders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean Coffey

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Rumble strip implementation has shown a constant increase with its safety benefits. Rumble strips are milled into the roadway shoulder to produce noise and vibrations when driven on. With the milling process, the pavement performance is expected to be negatively impacted by the decreased depth, though not mathematically quantified. Using methods defined by the Long-Term Pavement Performance Program, the severity of the shoulder site’s distresses, with and without shoulder rumble strips, will be quantified. The quantification would permit the design to compensate for the impact. This design compensation allows the implementation of hard shoulder running, the use of shoulder as a travel lane during congestion, and retains the shoulder rumble strip safety instead of removing, as suggested by some proposed projects. While hard shoulder running would not impact specific time periods, the safety benefit of rumble strips could be needed at any time. This study aims to quantify the rumble strip impact to enable the full shoulder strength for hard shoulder running while retaining the safety benefits of rumble strips. Keywords: Rumble strips, Shoulder, Cracking, Pavement performance, Hard shoulder running

[Mechanisms of grass in slope erosion control in Loess sandy soil region of Northwest China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chun-Hong; Gao, Jian-En; Xu, Zhen

2013-01-01

By adopting the method of simulated precipitation and from the viewpoint of slope hydrodynamics, in combining with the analysis of soil resistance to erosion, a quantitative study was made on the mechanisms of grass in controlling the slope erosion in the cross area of wind-water erosion in Loess Plateau of Northwest China under different combinations of rainfall intensity and slope gradient, aimed to provide basis to reveal the mechanisms of vegetation in controlling soil erosion and to select appropriate vegetation for the soil and water conservation in Loess Plateau. The grass Astragalus adsurgens with the coverage about 40% could effectively control the slope erosion. This grass had an efficiency of more than 70% in reducing sediment, and the grass root had a greater effect than grass canopy. On bare slope and on the slopes with the grass plant or only the grass root playing effect, there existed a functional relation between the flow velocity on the slopes and the rainfall intensity and slope gradient (V = DJ(0.33 i 0.5), where V is flow velocity, D is the comprehensive coefficient which varies with different underlying surfaces, i is rainfall intensity, and J is slope gradient). Both the grass root and the grass canopy could markedly decrease the flow velocity on the slopes, and increase the slope resistance, but the effect of grass root in decreasing flow velocity was greater while the effect in increasing resistance was smaller than that of grass canopy. The effect of grass root in increasing slope resistance was mainly achieved by increasing the sediment grain resistance, while the effect of canopy was mainly achieved by increasing the slope form resistance and wave resistance. The evaluation of the soil resistance to erosion by using a conceptual model of sediment generation by overland flow indicated that the critical shear stress value of bare slope and of the slopes with the grass plant or only the grass root playing effect was 0.533, 1.672 and 0

Trace analysis of lead and cadmium in seafoods by differential pulse anodic stripping voltametry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumera, F.C.; Verceluz, F.P.; Kapauan, P.A.

1979-01-01

A method for the simultaneous determination of cadmium and lead in seafoods is described. The sample is dry ashed in a muffle furnace elevating the temperature gradually up to 500 0 C. The ashed sample is treated with concentrated nitric acid, dried on a heating plate and returned to the muffle furnace for further heating. The treated ash is then dissolved in 1 N HCL acetate buffer and citric acid are added and the pH adjusted to 3.6-4. The resulting solution is analyzed for lead and cadmium by differential pulse anodic stripping voltametry (DPASV) using a wax-impregnated graphite thin film electrode. The average recoveries of 0.4 of cadmium and lead added to 5 fish samples were 97% and 99% respectively. The standard deviations, on a homogenized shark sample for lead and cadmium analysis were 6.7 ppb and 12.3 ppb, respectively, and the relative standard deviations were 21.0% and 15.5% respectively. Studies on instrumental parameters involved in the DPASV step of analysis and methods of measuring peak current signals were also made. (author)

slice of LEP beamtube with getter strip

CERN Multimedia

1989-01-01

A section of the LEP beam pipe. This is the chamber in which LEP's counter-rotating electron and positron beams travel. It is made of lead-clad aluminium. The beams circulate in the oval cross-section part of the chamber. In the rectangular cross-section part, LEP's innovative getter-strip vacuum pump is installed. After heating to purify the surface of the getter, the strip acts like molecular sticky tape, trapping any stray molecules left behind after the accelerator's traditional vacuum pumps have done their job.

Influence for high intensity irradiation on characteristics of silicon strip-detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anokhin, I.E.; Pugatch, V.M.; Zinets, O.S.

1995-01-01

Full text: Silicon strip detectors (SSD) are widely used for the coordinate determination of short-range as well as minimum ionizing particles with high spatial resolution. Submicron position sensitivity of strip-detectors for short-range particles has been studied by means of two dimensional analyses of charges collected by neighboring strips as well as by measurement of charge collection times [1]. Silicon strip detectors was also used for testing high energy electron beam [2]. Under large fluences the radiation defects are stored and such characteristics of strip-detectors as an accuracy of the coordinate determination and the registration efficiency are significantly changed. Radiation defects lead to a decrease of the lifetime and mobility of charge carriers and therefore to changes of conditions for the charge collection in detectors. The inhomogeneity in spatial distribution if defects and electrical field plays an important role in the charge collection. In this report the role of the diffusion and drift in the charge collection in silicon strip-detectors under irradiation up to 10 Mrad has been studied. The electric field distribution and its dependence on the radiation dose in the detector have been calculated. It is shown that for particles incident between adjacent strips the coordinate determination precision depends strongly on the detector geometry and the electric field distribution, particularly in the vicinity of strips. Measuring simultaneously the collected charges and collection times on adjacent strips one can essentially improve reliability of the coordinate determination for short-range particles. Usually SSD are fabricated on n-type wafers. It is well known that under high intensity irradiation n-Si material converts into p-Si as far as p-type silicon is more radiative hard than n-type silicon [3] it is reasonable to fabricate SSD using high resistivity p-Si. Characteristics of SSD in basis n-and P-Si have been compared and higher

Comparisons of boll weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) pheromone traps with and without kill strips.

Science.gov (United States)

Suh, C P C; Armstrong, J S; Spurgeon, D W; Duke, S

2009-02-01

Boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), eradication programs typically equip pheromone traps with an insecticide-impregnated kill strip. These strips are intended to kill captured insects, thereby simplifying trap servicing and reducing the loss of weevils from predation and escape. However, the effectiveness of kill strips has not been extensively evaluated. We examined the influences of kill strips on weevil captures, trap servicing, and the incidences of weevil predation and trap obstruction (e.g., by spider webs). Evaluations were conducted weekly during three different production periods (pre- to early-, late-, and postseason) of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., to represent different environmental conditions and weevil population levels. Within each period, mean weekly captures of weevils in traps with and without kill strips were statistically similar. On average, traps with kill strips took 9 s longer to service than traps without kill strips, but statistical differences were only detected during the late-season period. Overall, the mean weekly proportion of traps with evidence of weevil predation or trap obstruction was significantly lower for traps with kill strips (0.25) than for traps without kill strips (0.37). However, this reduction in the frequency of weevil predation or trap obstruction was too small to produce a corresponding increase in the numbers of weevils captured. In light of these findings, the use of kill strips is likely unnecessary in eradication programs, but may be a consideration in situations when the numbers of deployed traps are reduced and chronic problems with weevil predation or trap obstruction exist.

Postharvest residues from grass seed crops for bioenergy

OpenAIRE

Simić, Aleksandar; Čolić, Vladislava; Vučković, Savo; Dželetović, Željko; Bijelić, Zorica; Mandić, Violeta

2016-01-01

During grass seed production, a large amount of low forage quality biomass has been produced. Tall growing perennial grasses such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) can be used as an alternative source for bioenergy production as they can be grown in less cultivated areas, their residues in seed production could be valuable energy source and can be potentially used as a dual purpose crop (bioenergy and forage). In this research, potentials o...

Analysis of Fusarium causing dermal toxicosis in marram grass planters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snijders, CHA; Samson, RA; Hoekstra, ES; Ouellet, T; Miller, JD; deRooijvanderGoes, PCEM; Baar, AJM; Dubois, AEJ; Kauffman, HF

1996-01-01

In the European coastal dunes, marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) is planted in order to control sand erosion. In the years 1986 to 1991, workers on the Wadden islands in the Netherlands planting marram grass showed lesions of skin and mucous membranes, suggesting a toxic reaction. Fusarium culmorum

A parallel buffer tree

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sitchinava, Nodar; Zeh, Norbert

2012-01-01

We present the parallel buffer tree, a parallel external memory (PEM) data structure for batched search problems. This data structure is a non-trivial extension of Arge's sequential buffer tree to a private-cache multiprocessor environment and reduces the number of I/O operations by the number of...... in the optimal OhOf(psortN + K/PB) parallel I/O complexity, where K is the size of the output reported in the process and psortN is the parallel I/O complexity of sorting N elements using P processors....

Grass fields as reservoirs for polyphagous predators (Arthropoda) of aphids (Homopt., Aphididae)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gravesen, Eigil Vestergaard; Toft, Søren

1987-01-01

In a 4 ha grass field in Denmark three separate plots of 15 times 25 m were cultivated with barley. In each plot a central area of 5 times 5 m were fenced off by a plastic barrier. Thus, each plot consisted of an unfenced area, accessible for predators immigrating from the grass field, and an una......In a 4 ha grass field in Denmark three separate plots of 15 times 25 m were cultivated with barley. In each plot a central area of 5 times 5 m were fenced off by a plastic barrier. Thus, each plot consisted of an unfenced area, accessible for predators immigrating from the grass field...

Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques for grass nutrient estimations in savannah ecosystems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ramoelo, Abel

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Information on the distribution of grass quality (nutrient concentration) is crucial in understanding rangeland vitality and facilitates effective management of wildlife and livestock. The spatial distribution of grass nutrient concentration occurs...

Numerical analysis of edge effects in side illuminated strip detectors for digital radiology

CERN Document Server

Krizaj, D

2000-01-01

The influence of edge defects on side illuminated X-ray strip detectors for digital radiology is investigated by numerical device modeling. By assuming positive fixed oxide charges on side and top surfaces simulations have shown strong curvature of the equipotential lines in the edge region. A fraction of the edge generated current surpasses the edge guard-ring junction and is collected by the readout strips. As a consequence, strips cannot be placed close to the edge of the structure and collection efficiency is reduced. An n-on-n instead of a p-on-n strip detector is proposed enabling collection of edge generated carriers by a very narrow guard-ring junction and placement of the readout strip close to the edge without increase of the strip leakage current.

Moisture Buffer Value of Building Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rode, Carsten; Peuhkuri, Ruut; Time, Berit

2007-01-01

When building materials are in contact with indoor air they have some effect to moderate the variations of indoor humidity in occupied buildings. But so far there has been a lack of a standardized quantity to characterize the moisture buffering capability of materials. It has been the objective o...... is a test protocol which expresses how materials should be tested for determination of their Moisture Buffer Value. Finally, the paper presents some of the results of a Round Robin Test on various typical building materials that has been carried out in the project....... of a recent Nordic project to define such a quantity, and to declare it in the form of a NORDTEST method. The Moisture Buffer Value is the figure that has been developed in the project as a way to appraise the moisture buffer effect of materials, and the value is described in the paper. Also explained...