Computerized Data Acquisition Research Articles

Development and Design of Energy Efficient Oil-Flooded Screw Compressors

It is estimated that about 17% of the world’s generated power is used for compression. Thus all, even minor improvement of the efficiency of compressors will substantially reduce CO2 emission. This paper presents development of family of energy efficient oil-flooded screw compressors for Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Ltd. The developmental techniques adopted to improve efficiency such as introduction of superior ‘N’ rotor profile, rotor clearance management, performance calculation using 3D CCM (Computational Continuum Mechanics), direct parametric interface to CAD (Computer Aided Design), which contains bearing selection for complete 3D solid modelling. Also, contemporary prototyping and experimental investigation is supported by the fully computerised data acquisition and processing. The cumulative improvement of all these elements of the design process resulted in a very efficient machine which guarantees the competitive position of Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Limited in the screw compressor market.

Thermal prediction and experimental validation of Friction Stir Welded Aerospace Grade Aluminium Alloy

An integrated three-dimensional Friction Stir Welding (FSW) model with moving coordinate system is developed for aerospace grade aluminium alloy. Most of the previous researcher’s work was based on the friction or stick and slip phenomenon with material modeling. In this present study, 3D heat transfer model is developed and integrated with both friction and stick-slip phenomenon using comsol multiphysics. The experiment was conducted on aerospace grade aluminium alloy 7075 with weld specimen size of 200mm X 100mm X 3mm. The temperature was recorded during welding with the help of high-temperature computerized data acquisition system (CDAQ 9212) in order to understand the thermal history of alloy at the pre-specified location. The recorded temperature values are validated with computed values. The measured temperature values at all thermocouple location in advancing side with error between 0.63 to 5.8 %, when compared with computed temperature.

Study on distributed lithium-ion power battery grouping scheme for efficiency and consistency improvement

The service life, safety, and capacity of lithium-ion power battery packs relies heavily on the consistency among battery cells. Grouping is an effective procedure to improve consistency by screening cells with similar performance and assembling them into an identical group. Battery grouping can be achieved via clustering techniques based on characteristics like static capacity, internal resistance etc. The dynamic characteristics-based method considers the battery performance during the entire charging-discharging process and has become one of the most promising grouping method. However, it suffers from high computational complexity. Nowadays, facing stricter quality standards and the increasing demand for battery products, existing dynamic characteristics-based grouping scheme cannot meet the performance and time requirement of the modern high-quality, large-scale battery manufacturing. In this paper, a novel grouping scheme based on distributed time-series clustering is proposed to match the need of both efficiency and consistency improvement. The proposed scheme designs an effective cloud-edge mode and utilizes an innovative two-stage trick to achieve parallel processing, which split the original centralized clustering approach into local clustering and global merging. The host computers for data acquisition and battery control are regarded as distributed edge computing resources to implement local clustering on the acquired battery discharging voltage sequence set. Cluster contours are extracted via a denoising contour extraction algorithm considering the irregularity of the discharging voltage sequences. The results of the above preliminary processing are uploaded to a cloud data center. A pragmatic merging scheme based on an integrated merging indicator is established to solve the decision-making problem of global merging on the cloud data center. The final global cluster set is transmitted back to host computers to instruct cell unloading operation. Experimental results based on real battery discharging voltage sequence data suggest that the proposed scheme can reduce the inconsistency rate by 43.56% and the time cost by 92.87%. The computing efficiency and resource utilization rate of the distributed scheme is much higher than the centralized scheme. Meanwhile, compared with three existing advanced grouping approaches, our scheme perform the best in reducing inconsistency rate. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A MEASUREMENT SYSTEM BASED ON LiDAR TECHNOLOGY TO CHARACTERIZE THE CANOPY OF SUGARCANE PLANTS

ABSTRACT Laser sensor applications associated with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology on platforms allow the evaluation of crop and forest biomass in a non-invasive way. This study presents the development of a measurement system based on LiDAR technology aimed at the proposed assessment of the height of sugarcane plants during the pre-harvest period. A laser sensor, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, and an inertial unit compose the measurement system. The equipment was integrated with a computer for data acquisition and installed on an agricultural tractor platform. The GNSS receiver with a real-time kinematic signal was synchronized to the laser sensor to obtain the point cloud and to the inertial unit to evaluate the intensity of the vibration from platform oscillation. Data acquisition was carried about 10 days before sugarcane harvest. The developed steps of acquisition and data processing enabled the generation of point clouds with a density of about 2,000 points m−2 and the extraction of metrics related to the height of sugarcane plants. The influence of vibration in the dataset was more significant in one of the experimental fields due the high-amplitude spectral power observed.

Effects of Lavandula and Ricinus Ϲommunis Oil as Inhibitors of Mild Steel Ϲorrosion in HCL and H2SO4 Media

Lavandula and ricinus communis oils were used as inhibitors of mild steel corrosion in 0.5 M HCl and in 0.5 M H2SO4. The inhibition effects of these oils were studied at ambient temperature of 25°C. Gravimetric and potentiodynamic polarization measurement methods were used for the experiments. A Digi-Ivy potentiostat, interfaced with a computer for data acquisition and analysis was used for the potentiodynamic polarization experiments. The inhibition performance decreased with increasing concentration of the mixed inhibitors in the test media for H2SO4 and increased with increasing concentration for the HCl acid medium. For the test in H2SO4, the low inhibitor concentrations of 2ml, 4ml, 6ml/250 ml H2SO4 were relatively similar and the obtained weight loss were 0.152g, 0.254g, and 0.21g respectively. At 336 h of the experiment, the concentration of 12 ml/250ml H2SO4 hаԁ the highest recorded weight loss value of 0.821g. For similar concentrations as above, the corrosion rate values of 0.84 mm/yr, 1.40 mm/yr and 1.16 mm/yr were achieved. In 0.5M HCl, the 2 ml, 4 ml, 6 ml, 8 ml / 250 mL HCl concentrations had low but constant weight loss until 144 h. The 2ml/ 250 mL HCl concentrations recorded 0.307gweight loss at 312 hr. The 12 ml/250 mL HCl concentration performed best with 0.088g weight loss at 312 h and the corrosion rate was 0.48mm/yr. Inhibition efficiency for the 12ml/250 ml HCl inhibitor concentration was 88% and in H2SO4, it was 96.35% at 336 h. Also obtained was polarization resistance which was 3.90E+02 Ω; corrosion rate- 0.68 mm/yr and current density was 5.84E-05 A cm-2 for the 2 ml/ 250 mL H2SO4 concentration in H2SO4 test medium. Similarly, for the 12 ml/ 250 mL HCl concentration, polarization resistance recorded 3.07E+02 Ω; corrosion rate was 0.86 mm/yr; and current density (Icorr) was7.41E-05 A/cm2.

Control and data acquisition system for the rolling machine

Rolling machines are often used for forming flat elements or pipes. Problems occur when used to produce cylindrical elements other than pipes, or when experimental materials are used. It is required to introduce flexible control of the rolling process parameters in such cases. It is necessary to monitor the device operating parameters. When a rolling machine works with experimental materials, there are no typical control and acquisition data systems available. The article presents the concept and capabilities of the control and computer data acquisition system supporting the rolling process. The main task of software system is acquisition of force and kinetic parameters related to the analysed process of the compression during rolling. This system allows current recording and analysis of five physical values. The acquisition data application is developed in National Instruments LabVIEW environment. The software algorithm is based on the state machine. The article contains a detailed description of hardware and software implementation of the functions mentioned.

Cryopreservation and microfluidics: a focus on the oocyte.

Cryopreservation of gametes and embryos has played a critical role in successful assisted reproductive technologies in rodents, domestic farm species, endangered species and humans. With improved success, and changing needs, the utility of gamete or embryo cryopreservation has escalated. In this review we address some of the foundational history of mammalian cryobiology, species-specific utilities, fundamental understandings of cryoprotectant agents and their use in slow-rate freezing and vitrification, and expand on the recent success and uses of oocyte vitrification and warming. In the area of female gamete cryopreservation, emphasis will be placed on not just cell survival, but also perceived and measured affects of cryopreservation on intracellular structures and functions that affect subsequent completion of meiosis with chromatin segregation fidelity, normal fertilisation and embryonic developmental competence. We compare and contrast data from cow, mouse and humans with a focus on using species-comparative developmental biology to guide future studies for improving methodologies for all species. The application of the relatively new technology microfluidics is discussed in relation to moving gradually (i.e. changing the solution over cells in an automated fashion) compared with the stepwise manual movement of cells through changing solution currently used. This use of microfluidics to change the way cells are exposed to cryoprotectant agents can provide new insights into the effects of osmotic stress and cellular strain rates previously unappreciated, precise methods of computational and biological data acquisition and appreciation of morphometric changes to cellular structure in response to different osmotic stresses and strain rates achieved with varying cryoprotectant exposures. Collectively, these devices and methodologies provide a means of achieving incremental improvement of oocyte and zygote cryopreservation with normalised and improved developmental competence. Finally, we look to the past and the future to acknowledge the accomplishment of leaders in the field of mammalian gamete and embryo cryobiology, their inspirational works, their tireless dissemination of information and the potential of new technologies in bioengineering to improve the efficiency and safety of gamete and embryo cryopreservation.

FMRI Neurofeedback and its Application to Psychiatric Disorders

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback can train subjects to control their brain activity with real-time processing and high spatial resolution, as many advances in MRI data acquisition methods, computer hardware, and processing algorithms have improved the sensitivity and speed of fMRI neurofeedback. FMRI neurofeedback has been applied to psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some studies reported that fMRI neurofeedback improved the symptoms of patients with psychiatric disorders, although it remains unclear if the regulation of the targeted brain regions or the functional connectivities themselves improved the symptoms. It is necessary that researchers pay enough attention to their study's design, because many non-specific factors such as introduction, mental strategies, self-efficacy, attention, motivation, learning ability, and reward influence the results in fMRI neurofeedback studies. If the long-term effect of fMRI neurofeedback on the symptoms of psychiatric disorders are recognized, fMRI neurofeedback will be useful in treating heterogeneous patients with psychiatric disorders without side effects.

Magnetic Detection of Steel Corrosion at a Buried Position Near the Ground Level Using a Magnetic Resistance Sensor

Magnetic Detection of Steel Corrosion at a Buried Position Near the Ground Level Using a Magnetic Resistance Sensor

EFFECTS OF NICORANDIL ON ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN ACTIVITY IN SKELETAL MUSCLE MITOCHONDRIA

In skeletal muscle, pharmacological modulation of the mitochondrial ATP‐sensitive K+ channel (mitoKATP) represents an strategy in myoprotection against metabolic stress. The role of mitoKATP channel in different tissues has been proposed by its participation in several signaling routes that promotes the production of ATP, affecting the transfer of energy between mitochondria and cellular ATPases. However, it has been reported that the action of activators of mitoKATP channels besides acting on the channels, could also have effects on different structures at mitochondrial level. Nicorandil has been recognized as a selective mitoKATP channel opener, making it a useful tool for determining the importance of this mitochondrial site. It is considered an effective drug for the treatment against ischemia‐reperfusion injury and fatigue in skeletal muscle, however its effects on mitochondrial respiration remains unclear. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the effects of nicorandil on the activity of the electron transport chain (ETC) in isolated mitochondria derived from chicken skeletal muscle.Mitochondria from pectoralis muscle of 2‐week‐old Arbor Acres chickens were isolated by differential centrifugation. The rate of oxygen consumption was determined at room temperature using a Clark‐type oxygen electrode coupled to an oxygen monitor YSI 5300 and a computer for data acquisition. The determinations started after adding 10 mM glutamate/malate as respiratory substrate for complex I (state 4) and 1 mM ADP was added to determine oxygen consumption in the phosphorylating state (state 3). The activities of the ETC complexes were (I–IV) were assayed spectrophotometrically in a Perkin Elmer Lambda 18UV/vis spectrophotometer using 0.5 mg/mL mitochondria resuspended in 50 mM KH2PO4buffer. NADH‐oxidoreductase (complex I) activity was evaluated by measuring the oxidation of NADH at an absorbance of 340 nm; Succinate‐DCIP oxidoreductase (complex II) activity was measured at 600 nm by following the reduction of 2,6‐dichlorophenolindophenol (DCIP). Antimycin A‐sensitive succinate‐cytochrome oxidoreductase (complex III) activity was followed by measuring at 550 nm the reduction of cytochrome. Cytochrome oxidase (complex IV) activity was evaluated by measuring the oxidation of reduced cytochrome at 550 nm.Nicorandil (10 μM) significantly decreased respiration (31.59 ± 6.15 %.) compared with control condition; this effect on oxygen consumption in the respiratory state 3 is associated with changes in the enzymatic activity of complexes II, III and IV. These findings suggest and question the assumption that sensitivity to nicorandil implies involvement of mitoKATP channels. Therefore, we suggest that effects pharmacological by nicorandil may be related to its effects on respiratory chain complexes.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Integrated radiation monitoring and interlock system for the LHD deuterium experiments

The Large Helical Device (LHD) successfully started the deuterium experiment in March 2017, in which further plasma performance improvement is envisaged to provide a firm basis for the helical reactor design. Some major upgrades of facilities have been made for safe and productive deuterium experiments. For radiation safety, the tritium removal system, the integrated radiation monitoring system, and the access control system have been newly installed. Each system has new interlock signals that will prevent any unsafe plasma operation or plant condition. Major interlock extensions have been implemented as a part of the integrated radiation monitoring system, which also has an inter-connection to the LHD central operation and control system. The radiation monitoring system RMSAFE (Radiation Monitoring System Applicable to Fusion Experiments) is already operating for monitoring γ(X)-rays in LHD. Some neutron measurements have been additionally applied for the deuterium experiments. The LHD data acquisition system LABCOM can acquire and process 24 h every day continuous data streams. Since γ(X)-ray and neutron measurements require higher availability, the sensors, controllers, data acquisition computers, network connections, and visualization servers have been designed to be duplicated or multiplexed for redundancy. The radiation monitoring displays in the LHD control room have been carefully designed to have excellent visual recognition, and to make users immediately aware of several alerts regarding the dose limits. The radiation safety web pages have been also upgraded to always show both dose rates of γ(X)-rays and neutrons in real time.

Fuels derived from starch digestion have different effects on energy intake and metabolic responses of cows in the postpartum period

Absorbed fuels from the digestion of starch include propionic acid (PA) produced by ruminal fermentation and glucose (GLU) from intestinal digestion, which may be partially metabolized to lactic acid (LA) by intestinal tissues. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of these fuels on dry matter intake (DMI) and feeding behavior of cows in the postpartum period. We hypothesized that these fuels affect feed intake differently and that their effects are related to differences in their hepatic metabolism. Glucose was expected to have little effect on feed intake because little or no GLU is extracted from the blood by the liver. Whereas both LA and PA are anaplerotic and can stimulate oxidation of acetyl CoA in hepatocytes, hepatic extraction of PA is greater than LA, which depends on cytosolic redox state. Continuous isoenergetic infusions (150 kcal of ME/h) of PA, LA, or GLU or no infusion were administered abomasally to 8 ruminally cannulated multiparous Holstein cows (12.4 ± 6.2 d postpartum) in a duplicate 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment, with four 1-d infusion periods, balanced for carry-over effects. Treatment sequences were assigned to cows randomly, and treatments included control (CON, no infusion), PA (0.41 mol/h), LA (0.46 mol/h), and GLU (0.22 mol/h). Solutions containing treatments were infused at 500 mL/h for 22 h/d and provided ∼3.3 Mcal/d. Feeding behavior was recorded by a computerized data acquisition system. Gross energy digestibility of the diet was determined for each cow and used to calculate metabolizable energy intake (MEI) from the diet. Total MEI was calculated as the sum of MEI from the diet plus energy from infusions. Data were analyzed statistically with a mixed model including the fixed effect of treatment and random effects of block and cow within block. Each treatment was compared with CON by contrasts. Compared with CON, PA decreased DMI by 24% (14.3 vs. 18.9 kg/d) and total MEI by 13% (34.8 vs. 40.2 Mcal/d) with a tendency to decrease meal frequency. Lactic acid decreased DMI by 14% (16.3 vs. 18.9 kg/d) compared with CON by decreasing meal size 20% but did not affect MEI. Glucose infusion did not affect DMI or MEI. Treatment effects on DMI and MEI were consistent with their expected effects on hepatic oxidation. Depression of feed intake in diets containing highly fermentable starch is likely because of differences in hepatic metabolism.

Effects of acetic acid or sodium acetate infused into the rumen or abomasum on feeding behavior and metabolic response of cows in the postpartum period

Effects of continuous isomolar infusions of acetic acid (AcA) or sodium acetate (NAc) infused into the rumen (RU) or into the abomasum (AB) on feeding behavior, dry matter intake (DMI), and metabolic response of cows in the early postpartum period were evaluated. Six rumen-cannulated multiparous Holstein cows (11.8 ± 3.9 d in milk; mean ± SD) were utilized in a 6 × 6 Latin square design experiment balanced for carryover effects with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Treatments were AcA and NAc, with sodium chloride (CON) as a control, infused at a rate of ˜0.75 mol/h (0.5 L/h) into the RU or AB for the first 8 h following feeding, with a rest day between infusion days. Treatment sequences were assigned randomly to cows. Feeding behavior was recorded by a computerized data acquisition system and blood was sampled at 0, 4, and 8 h relative to the start of infusion. We hypothesized that AcA is more hypophagic than NAc, and that infusion into the AB is more hypophagic than infusion into the RU. Dry matter intakes (DMI) for the CON treatments were similar at 6.2 kg/8 h for RU and 6.1 kg/8 h for AB, and the AcA and NAc treatments interacted with site of infusion to affect DMI. The NAc-RU treatment did not reduce DMI (7.0 kg/8 h), whereas AcA-RU (2.6 kg/8 h), AcA-AB (3.7 kg/8 h), and NAc-AB (4.0 kg/8 h) decreased DMI compared with CON. Following infusions of AcA compared with NAc, there was a residual effect on DMI for the remainder of the day, but treatments did not affect DMI during the rest day. Treatments increased plasma acetate and β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations over time (interaction) and decreased plasma insulin concentration compared with CON. Plasma glucose concentration decreased over time after AcA-AB infusion compared with other treatments and CON. Plasma nonesterified fatty acid concentration increased over time for AcA compared with NAc and CON, suggesting an increase in lipolysis to compensate the decrease in DMI. In contrast to the other treatments, NAc-RU did not decrease DMI compared with control but we cannot determine the reason for this from the data available from the current study.

A Literature Survey Of Methods To Study And Analyze The Gating System Design For Its Effect On Casting Quality

For the optimum design of gating system, the study of filling process is of great significance since it directly affects casting quality. The goal of proper mould filing cannot be achieved without proper gating design which influences the flow pattern, further affects the temperature distribution and modifies the progression of solidification. But it is not only expensive but difficult to observe the molten metal flow in the mould directly due to the opacity of sand mould.For the study and analysis of flow of molten metal through the gating system and into the mould cavity, many researchers have tried various techniques which can be broadly classified as direct observation method and through modelling the process by water analogy or by computational modelling.To get accurate and dependable prediction of the subtle transient events, one has to make a judicious combination of both methods for casting with an alloy system. Many researchers attempted to use numerical simulation techniques to analyse the molten flow through the gating system, which has an advantage to accurately predict subtle transient events and gain more profound information about the behaviour of metal stream. Considerable materials are available in literature to understand the influence of gating system design on mould filling using various techniques of direct observation validating the given design of gating system by using real time X-ray radiography to observe the flow of molten metal in a sand mould, or by using contact wire sensing method along with computerized data acquisition, or by using water analogy method to observe the flow of water in a transparent mould.Also few researchers attempted optimization of gating system in casting to control defects and maximize the effective yield of the cast products. This paper comprehensively review the available literature for various techniques to study, analyse and predict the flow behaviour of the melt in order to minimize the related defects arising due to melt flow and also increasing the effective yield of the casting with minimum effect on its quality.

Short communication: Short-term intravenous amino acid infusions as a method to detect limiting amino acids in dairy cattle diets

We hypothesized that the addition of limiting AA increases dry matter intake (DMI) by reducing anaplerosis and hepatic oxidation. Accordingly, the objective of this work was to examine the effects of short-term intravenous infusions of Met, Lys, and His (which are considered the most limiting AA) on DMI as a method to detect whether specific AA are limiting in dairy cow diets. We conducted 4 experiments using Holstein cows in the immediate postpartum period to address this objective. The first experiment used 4 cows 6 to 10 d postpartum (PP) in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with 1-d periods including 12 h for infusions and 12 h for recovery. Treatments were continuous infusions of 5 (low), 10 (medium), or 15% (high) of the calculated requirement of metabolizable Met, Lys, and His or 0.9% saline (control, CONT). In the second and third experiments, 8 cows (4-12 d PP) were divided into 2 groups of 4 cows, and each group received a different diet formulated to either be low in Lys (experiment 2) or Met (experiment 3). Each experiment was a crossover design with two 1-d periods with 12-h infusions (continuous) and 12 h for recovery. Treatments were 15% of the calculated requirement of metabolizable Met, Lys, and His (high), or 0.9% saline (CONT). In the fourth experiment, 5 cows (4-14 d PP) were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Periods were 2 d in which treatments were continuously infused for the first 46 h. Treatments were 0.9% saline (CONT), all (Lys, Met, and His), LM (Lys and Met), LH (Lys and His), and MH (Met and His); dosages were equal to the estimated shortage in each specific AA. In each experiment, feed intake was recorded by a computerized data acquisition system, milk yield was recorded, and milk composition was analyzed for fat, protein, lactose, and milk urea nitrogen (MUN) concentrations. Treatments did not affect DMI or yield of milk or milk components in the first experiment. In the second experiment, AA treatment increased protein percentage and reduced lactose percentage but had no effect on protein and lactose yields or DMI. In the third experiment, the AA treatment tended to increase yields of milk, lactose, and protein as well as MUN concentration but did not affect DMI. In the fourth experiment, no effects were detected for DMI and milk yield, whereas the all, LH, and LM treatments reduced milk lactose concentration compared with CONT, and MH increased MUN concentration compared with CONT and other treatments. These results failed to provide support for our hypothesis that short-term addition of these potentially limiting AA will increase DMI. This may be due to our hypothesis being inaccurate or to other factors; other limiting AA could have prevented the effects of Lys, Met, and His infusions or the infusion periods could have been too short to induce a response in DMI. Accordingly, short-term infusion of AA is probably not a sensitive method to detect limiting AA in dairy cow diets.

The development of data acquisition and processing application system for RF ion source

As the key ion source component of nuclear fusion auxiliary heating devices, the radio frequency (RF) ion source is developed and applied gradually to offer a source plasma with the advantages of ease of control and high reliability. In addition, it easily achieves long-pulse steady-state operation. During the process of the development and testing of the RF ion source, a lot of original experimental data will be generated. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a stable and reliable computer data acquisition and processing application system for realizing the functions of data acquisition, storage, access, and real-time monitoring. In this paper, the development of a data acquisition and processing application system for the RF ion source is presented. The hardware platform is based on the PXI system and the software is programmed on the LabVIEW development environment. The key technologies that are used for the implementation of this software programming mainly include the long-pulse data acquisition technology, multi-threading processing technology, transmission control communication protocol, and the Lempel–Ziv–Oberhumer data compression algorithm. Now, this design has been tested and applied on the RF ion source. The test results show that it can work reliably and steadily. With the help of this design, the stable plasma discharge data of the RF ion source are collected, stored, accessed, and monitored in real-time. It is shown that it has a very practical application significance for the RF experiments.

Increased anaplerosis of the tricarboxylic acid cycle decreased meal size and energy intake of cows in the postpartum period

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of anaplerosis of the tricarboxylic acid cycle on feeding behavior and energy intake of cows in the postpartum period. We infused propionic acid (PA) and glycerol (GL) continuously into the abomasum and hypothesized that PA will decrease meal size and energy intake compared with GL because PA enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle, likely stimulating oxidation of acetyl CoA and satiety compared with GL. Three experiments (Exp.) were conducted using 20 Holstein cows between 3 and 22 d postpartum (8 cows in Exp. 1 and 6 cows each for Exp. 2 and 3). Treatments were compared using isoenergetic (Exp. 1, 193 kcal/h) and isomolar (Exp. 2, ∼0.5 mol/h) continuous infusions of PA (99.5%) and GL (99.7%) to the abomasum using a double crossover design with four 2-d infusion periods each, and 2 mol of PA or GL pulse-dosed to the abomasum using a crossover design (Exp. 3). Treatment sequences were assigned alternately to cows based upon date of parturition. Feeding behavior was recorded by a computerized data acquisition system for Exp. 1 and 2. Propionic acid decreased dry matter intake (DMI) compared with GL 16.7 and 23.4% in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. The decrease in DMI was because PA decreased meal size compared with GL by 12.6 and 15.3% in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. Propionic acid decreased total metabolizable energy intake (diet plus treatment infusions) compared with GL for both experiments. Compared with PA, GL increased plasma glucose and insulin concentrations for Exp. 2 only. In Exp. 3, PA decreased hepatic acetyl CoA content 34%, whereas GL increased hepatic acetyl CoA content 32%, resulting in lower hepatic acetyl CoA content for PA compared with GL at 30 min (18.0 vs. 36.9 nmol/g), which persisted at 60 min after dosing (21.9 vs. 32.8 nmol/g). Consistent with our hypothesis, the obligatory anaplerotic metabolite PA decreased meal size, DMI, and total metabolizable energy intake compared with GL, likely because of differences in their hepatic metabolism.

High Sensitivity Very Low Frequency Receiver for Earthquake Data Acquisition

A high sensitivity very low frequency (VLF) receiver is developed based on AD744 monolithic operational amplifier (Op-Amp) for earthquake data acquisition. In research related natural phenomena such as atmospheric noise, lightning and earthquake, a VLF receiver particularly with high sensitivity is utterly required due to the low power of VLF wave signals received by the antenna. The developed receiver is intended to have high sensitivity reception for the signals in frequency range of 10-30 kHz allocated for earthquake observation. The VLF receiver which is portably designed is also equipped with an output port connectable to the soundcard of personal computer for further data acquisition. After obtaining the optimum design, the hardware realization is implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB) for experimental characterization. It shows that the sensitivity of realized VLF receiver is almost linear in the predefined frequency range for the input signals lower than -12dBm and to be quadratic for the higher level input signals.

The effects of fructose and phosphate infusions on dry matter intake of lactating cows

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of fructose and phosphate (Pi) infusions on dry matter intake by dairy cows to further understand the mechanisms controlling feed intake related to hepatic energy status. We performed 3 experiments in which we infused fructose and Pi intravenously or abomasally to Holstein cows. The first experiment used 8 cows (4-8 d postpartum) in a duplicated 4 × 4 Latin square experiment with 1 square of multiparous and 1 square of primiparous cows. A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used including jugular infusions of solutions (1 L/h) containing fructose or glucose (0.6 mol/h) and Pi (NaH2PO4) or NaCl (0.3 mol/h). Periods were 24 h, including 2 h for infusions and 22 h for recovery. The second experiment used 4 multiparous cows (74-81 d postpartum) in a 4 × 4 Latin square design and infused fructose or glucose and either Pi or no Pi at the same rates as experiment 1. Periods were 24 h, including 1 h for infusions and 23 h for recovery. The third experiment used 4 ruminally cannulated multiparous cows (15-26 d postpartum) in a 4 × 4 Latin square design and infused fructose or glucose and either Pi or NaCl at the same rates as experiment 1 but to the abomasum. Periods were 24 h, including 1 h for infusions and 23 h for recovery. In each experiment, feed intake was recorded by a computerized data acquisition system; blood was analyzed for the concentrations of glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, and Pi; and the liver was analyzed for the concentration of Pi (experiments 2 and 3 only). Overall, fructose infusion increased DMI by fresh cows when infused intravenously and abomasally, but it did not affect DMI by mid-lactation cows. Fructose infusion also reduced hepatic Pi, and Pi infusion increased hepatic Pi when infused abomasally but not intravenously. These results suggest that fructose increases feed intake, likely by sequestering Pi and preventing ATP production. When infused intravenously to multiparous cows, Pi increased DMI and did not affect hepatic Pi content. However, when infused abomasally, Pi reduced DMI and increased hepatic Pi content. These results suggest that although Pi infusion prevents the effect of fructose loading and reduces DMI, it also increases intake through a competing mechanism. Examining long-term effect of Pi infusion on DMI could determine if competing mechanisms complicate the determination of P requirement for dairy cows. These results are consistent with the control of feed intake by hepatic energy status in dairy cows.

Toward a virtual reconstruction of an antique three-dimensional marble puzzle

The reconstruction of broken objects is an important field of research for many applications, such as art restoration, surgery, forensics, and solving puzzles. In archaeology, the reconstruction of broken artifacts is a very time-consuming task due to the handling of fractured objects, which are generally fragile. However, it can now be supported by three-dimensional (3-D) data acquisition devices and computer processing. Those techniques are very useful in this domain because they allow the remote handling of very accurate models of fragile parts, they permit the extensive testing of reconstruction solutions, and they provide access to the parts for the entire research community. An interesting problem has recently been proposed by archaeologists in the form of a huge puzzle composed of a thousand fragments of Pentelic marble of different sizes found in Autun (France), and all attempts to reconstruct the puzzle during the last two centuries have failed. Archaeologists are sure that some fragments are missing and that some of the ones we have come from different slabs. We propose an inexpensive transportable system for 3-D acquisition setup and a 3-D reconstruction method that is applied to this Roman inscription but is also relevant to other applications.