Dragline swing automation

Draglines are very large machines that are used to remove overburden in open-cut coal mines. This paper outlines the design of a computer control system to implement an automated swing cycle on a production dragline. Subsystems and sensors have been developed to satisfy the constraints imposed by the task, the harsh operating environment and the mine's production requirements.

Failure to launch: The self-regulating Md -MYB10R6 gene from apple is active in flowers but not leaves of Petunia

Coloured foliage due to anthocyanin pigments (bronze/red/black) is an attractive trait that is often lacking in many bedding, ornamental and horticultural plants. Apples (Malus × domestica) containing an allelic variant of the anthocyanin regulator, Md-MYB10R6, are highly pigmented throughout the plant, due to autoregulation by MYB10 upon its own promoter. We investigated whether Md-MYB10R6 from apple is capable of functioning within the heterologous host Petunia hybrida to generate plants with novel pigmentation patterns. The Md-MYB10R6 transgene (MYB10–R6pro:MYB10:MYB10term) activated anthocyanin synthesis when transiently expressed in Antirrhinumroseadorsea petals and petunia leaf discs. Stable transgenic petunias containing Md-MYB10R6 lacked foliar pigmentation but had coloured flowers, complementing the an2 phenotype of ‘Mitchell’ petunia. The absence of foliar pigmentation was due to the failure of the Md-MYB10R6 gene to self-activate in vegetative tissues, suggesting that additional protein partners are required for Md-MYB10 to activate target genes in this heterologous system. In petunia flowers, where endogenous components including MYB-bHLH-WDR (MBW) proteins were present, expression of the Md-MYB10R6 promoter was initiated, allowing auto-regulation to occur and activating anthocyanin production. Md-MYB10 is capable of operating within the petunia MBW gene regulation network that controls the expression of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, AN1 (bHLH) and MYBx (R3-MYB repressor) in petals.

Speed-based diagnostics of aerodynamic and mass imbalance in large wind turbines

Any kind of imbalance in the operation of a wind turbine has adverse effect on the downstream torsional components as well as tower structure. It is crucial to detect imbalance at its very inception. The identification of the type of imbalance is also required so that appropriate measures of fault accommodation can be performed in the control system. In particular, it is important to distinguish between mass and aerodynamic imbalance. While the former is gradually caused by a structural anomaly (e.g. ice deposition, moisture accumulation inside blade), the latter is generally associated to a fault in the pitch control system. This paper proposes a technique for the detection and identification of imbalance fault in large scale wind turbines. Unlike most other existing method it requires only the rotor speed signal which is readily available in existing turbines. Signature frequencies have been proposed in this work to identify imbalance type based on their physical phenomenology. The performance of this technique has been evaluated by simulations using an existing benchmark model. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been confirmed by the simulation results.

Mesostructured lamellar chromium oxide

Mesostructured lamellar chromium oxide with an interlayer separation of 29 Angstrom has been prepared by employing a cationic surfactant. The introduction of phosphate groups in the oxide increases the interlayer separation to 32 Angstrom.

Supramolecular control of the magnetic anisotropy in two-dimensional high-spin Fe arrays at a metal interface

Magnetic atoms at surfaces are a rich model system for solid-state magnetic bits exhibiting either classical(1,2) or quantum(3,4) behaviour. Individual atoms, however, are difficult to arrange in regular patterns(1-5). Moreover, their magnetic properties are dominated by interaction with the substrate, which, as in the case of Kondo systems, often leads to a decrease or quench of their local magnetic moment(6,7). Here, we show that the supramolecular assembly of Fe and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid molecules on a Cu surface results in ordered arrays of high-spin mononuclear Fe centres on a 1.5nm square grid. Lateral coordination with the molecular ligands yields unsaturated yet stable coordination bonds, which enable chemical modification of the electronic and magnetic properties of the Fe atoms independently from the substrate. The easy magnetization direction of the Fe centres can be switched by oxygen adsorption, thus opening a way to control the magnetic anisotropy in supramolecular layers akin to that used in metallic thin films.

In situ reaction furnace for real-time XRD studies

The new furnace at the Materials Characterization by X-ray Diffraction beamline at Elettra has been designed for powder diffraction measurements at high temperature (up to 1373 K at the present state). Around the measurement region the geometry of the radiative heating element assures a negligible temperature gradient along the capillary and can accommodate either powder samples in capillary or small flat samples. A double capillary holder allows flow-through of gas in the inner sample capillary while the outer one serves as the reaction chamber. The furnace is coupled to a translating curved imaging-plate detector, allowing the collection of diffraction patterns up to 2[theta] [asymptotically equal to] 130°.

Das Übersetzen von Texten der Musikgattung Lied : am Beispiel von zehn Liedern aus dem Zyklus Winterreise von Franz Schubert und deren Übersetzungen

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena on edistää ja kehittää saksalaisen liedmusiikin suomennosten tutkimusta. Tutkimusaineistona on käytetty kymmentä laulua Franz Schubertin säveltämästä laulusarjasta Winterreise (1827), joka pohjautuu Wilhelm Müllerin runoihin, ja Kyllikki Solanterän suomennoksia (1960) kyseisistä lauluista. Lähtökohtana oli lähtökielinen teksti, johon suomennosta verrattiin. Hypoteesina oli, että tavulukujen merkitys liedmusiikin kääntämisessä on suurempi kuin muiden lingvististen tai semanttisten ominaisuuksien, koska musiikki ja nuotit asettavat tiukat rajat käännökselle, eikä kääntäjä voi muuttaa kappaleen musiikillista rakennetta. Sanatarkan käännöksen sijaan kääntäjän tulee pyrkiä säilyttämään kappaleen semanttinen sisältö ja tunnelma riimejä unohtamatta. Aluksi kerrotaan taustatietoja säveltäjästä, sanoittajasta, teoksesta, liedmusiikista ja kääntäjästä. Teoriaosiossa kartoitetaan, mihin kategorioihin liedtekstien kääntäminen voidaan luokitella kuuluvaksi. Analyysi pohjautuu Wittbrodtin luokitteluun (1995). Teoriaosiossa käsitellään myös ekvivalenssia, adekvaattisuutta, näennäiskäännöksiä, tyyliä, uskollisuutta alkuperäisteokselle, vapaan kääntämisen rajoja ja käännösvirheitä tutkittavasta materiaalista valikoitujen esimerkkien pohjalta. Esimerkkejä edeltää aina teoriaosuus. Varsinainen vertailuosio, jossa vertaillaan lähtö- ja kohdetekstejä, on jaettu kuuteen osioon: säe- ja säkeistöluvut, sanaluvut, tavuluvut, kirjaimien poisjättö, suorat ja epäsuorat kysymykset sekä kappaleiden nimet. Sana- ja tavulukujen eroavaisuuksista esitetään myös taulukot. Sana- ja tavulukujen kohdalla pohditaan, mistä erot johtuvat. Kaiken kaikkiaan pohditaan myös, ovatko käännösratkaisut onnistuneita, ja miten kääntäjä on niihin päätynyt. Laulettavuutta käsittelevässä osiossa esitetään ensin aikaisempia pohdintoja ja tutkimustuloksia kyseisestä aiheesta. Lopuksi teen Mannilan Blueprint-metodin (2005) mukaiset testit. Metriikkatestin teen esimerkinomaisesti yhdelle säkeistölle ja musikaalisen testin teen kaikille kymmenelle laululle. Musikaalisessa testissä analysoidaan tarkemmin lähtökielisiä säkeitä ja niiden suomenkielisiä vastineita, joiden tavuluvut eroavat toisistaan. Loppupäätelmiä edeltävässä luvussa esitetään vielä suomalaisen lauluntekijän ajatuksia sanoittamisesta. Hypoteesi tavuluvuista osoittautui oikeaksi. 146 säkeestä vain viidessä eivät lähtö- ja kohdetekstin tavuluvut olleet identtiset, mikä todistaa sen, että kääntäjä pyrkii säilyttämään kappaleen rytmin. Kääntäjä on myös säilyttänyt kappaleiden riimit, mikä vaikuttaa osaltaan rytmin säilymiseen. Sanalukujen kohdalla taas vain 16 säkeellä oli identtiset sanaluvut, mikä kertoo siitä, että niitä tärkeämpää on säilyttää kappaleen semanttinen sisältö ja tunnelma. Käännösten voidaan katsoa kuuluvan useaan kategoriaan. Kappaleiden käännökset ovat suurimmalta osin ekvivalentteja, mutta osittain ne voidaan luokitella näennäiskäännöksiksi. Tyyli ei ole säilynyt virheettömänä aivan jokaisessa käännöksessä, mutta yhtään kääntäjän puutteellisesta kieli- tai kääntämistaidosta johtuvaa käännösvirhettä kappaleissa ei ole. Suomentaja ei ole tuottanut yhtään täydellisen sanatarkkaa käännöstä, vaikka leksikaalinen ero on osittain vain hiuksenhieno. Tämä osoittaa sen, että vapaan kääntämisen aste on liedmusiikin suomennoksissa suhteellisen korkea. Kaiken kaikkiaan Solanterän käännöksiä voi pitää suhteellisen onnistuneina.

The impacts and management of foxes Vulpes vulpes in Australia

1. The successful introduction of the red fox Vulpes vulpes into Australia in the 1870s has had dramatic and deleterious impacts on both native fauna and agricultural production. Historical accounts detail how the arrival of foxes in many areas coincided with the local demise of native fauna. Recent analyses suggest that native fauna can be successfully reintroduced to their former ranges only if foxes have been controlled, and several replicated removal experiments have confirmed that foxes are the major agents of extirpation of native fauna. Predation is the primary cause of losses, but competition and transmission of disease may be important for some species. 2. In agricultural landscapes, fox predation on lambs can cause losses of 1–30%; variation is due to flock size, health and management, as well as differences in the timing and duration of lambing and the density of foxes. 3. Fox control measures include trapping, shooting, den fumigation and exclusion fencing; baiting using the toxin 1080 is the most commonly employed method. Depending on the baiting strategy, habitat and area covered, baiting can reduce fox activity by 50–97%. We review patterns of baiting in a large sheep-grazing region in central New South Wales, and propose guidelines to increase landholder awareness of baiting strategies, to concentrate and coordinate bait use, and to maximize the cost-effectiveness of baiting programs. 4. The variable reduction in fox density within the baited area, together with the ability of the fox to recolonize rapidly, suggest that current baiting practices in eastern Australia are often ineffective, and that reforms are required. These might include increasing landholder awareness and involvement in group control programs, and the use of more efficient broadscale techniques, such as aerial baiting.

Agronomy looking forward, thinking broadly.

Global trends in human population and agriculture dictate that future calls made on the resources (physical, human, financial) and systems involved in producing food will be increasingly more demanding and complex. Both plant breeding and improved agronomy lift the potential yield of crops, a key component in progressing farm yield, so society can reasonably expect both agronomy as a science and agronomists as practitioners to contribute to the successful delivery of necessary change. By reflecting on current trends in agricultural production (diversification, intensification, integration, industrialisation, automation) and deconstructing a futuristic scenario of attempting agricultural production on Mars, it seems the skills agronomists will require involve not only the mandatory elements of their discipline but also additional skills that enable engagement with, even leadership of, teams who integrate (in sum or part) engineering, (agri-)business, economics and operational management, and build the social capital required to create and maintain a diverse array of enhanced and new ethical production systems and achieve increasing efficiencies within them.

The effect of initial spacing and thinning on wood quality and graded sawn recovery of mature Caribbean pine grown in Queensland.

A mature Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis) silviculture experiment provided initial square spacing treatments of 1.8 m2, 2.4 m2, 3.0 m2 and 3.6 m2 (equal to 3088, 1737, 1111 and 772 stems/ha) that were thinned at age 10 years to 600, 400 and 200 stems/ha, retaining an unthinned control for each initial spacing. The trial was destructively sampled at age of 28 years and discs taken along 8 various stem heights were analysed for variation in basic density and SilviScan wood properties. In addition, the logs from ten stocking × thinning treatments were processed in a sawing study. Results indicate thinning effects were generally more pronounced than initial spacing effects. Fast growing trees produced wood with significantly higher average wood densities and higher average stiffness values. Detailed SilviScan densitometry results obtained radially and at various stem heights enabled construction of tree maps for wood properties, providing insights into the variation in juvenile to mature wood proportion across the initial and post-thinning stocking treatments studied. Dried dressed recovery was strongly related to tree size, and log value decreased consistently from butt to top logs across all treatments. The estimated value per hectare was highest in unthinned plots due to values being multiplied by high stem numbers per hectare. However, a complete economic analysis considering all cost structures is required to investigate the optimal silviculture to maximise economic returns to growers and processors. Improved understanding of the relationship between initial spacing, post-thinning stocking and wood and end-product quality should help to customize future forest management strategies required to produce better quality wood and wood products.

Indolic compounds in the leaves of Tecoma stans

Indole, tryptophan, tryptamine and skatole were isolated from the leaves of Tecoma stans. Anthranilic acid was also identified in its free form, in contrast to its glucoside, in Jasminum grandiflorum. The presence of both indole and anthranilic acid in the leaves of Tecoma stans indicates that they are the true substrate and product of indole oxygenase from the leaves of Tecoma stans.

Duality and energy averaging for e+e- annihilation in potential models

Analytical expressions for the corrections to duality are obtained for nonsingular potentials, and are found to be small numerically. An alternative consistent way of energy smoothing, developed by Strutinsky, is elucidated. This may be of use even when potential models are not valid.

Photograph of oil painting portrait of Samuel Loewen; Berlin Portraits Men

Handwritten description on verso

High global diversity of cycloviruses amongst dragonflies

Members of the family Circoviridae, specifically the genus Circovirus, were thought to infect only vertebrates; however, members of a sister group under the same family, the proposed genusCyclovirus, have been detected recently in insects. In an effort to explore the diversity of cycloviruses and better understand the evolution of these novel ssDNA viruses, here we present five cycloviruses isolated from three dragonfly species (Orthetrum sabina, Xanthocnemis zealandica and Rhionaeschna multicolor) collected in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, respectively. The genomes of these five viruses share similar genome structure to other cycloviruses, with a circular ~1.7 kb genome and two major bidirectionally transcribed ORFs. The genomic sequence data gathered during this study were combined with all cyclovirus genomes available in public databases to identify conserved motifs and regulatory elements in the intergenic regions, as well as determine diversity and recombinant regions within their genomes. The genomes reported here represent four different cyclovirus species, three of which are novel. Our results confirm that cycloviruses circulate widely in winged-insect populations; in eight different cyclovirus species identified in dragonflies to date, some of these exhibit a broad geographical distribution. Recombination analysis revealed both intra-and inter-species recombination events amongst cycloviruses, including genomes recovered from disparate sources (e.g. goat meat and human faeces). Similar to other well-characterized circular ssDNA viruses, recombination may play an important role in cyclovirus evolution. © 2013 SGM.