Effects of catch crops on silage maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.): yield,nitrogen uptake efficiency and losses

Under the climatic conditions of north-western Europe, silage maize (Zea mays L.) production optimized with respect to nitrogen (N) fertilization and crop rotation is required to reduce N losses. Whether winter catch crops (CC) can serve as a beneficial biological tool in terms of N-loss abatement as well as maize yield also under optimized N management, is unclear. Therefore, a 2-year field experiment was conducted to study the short-term effects of a continuous maize-catch cropping system on maize yield performance, N₂O emission and N leaching, as affected by maize harvest/CC sowing date (10, 20, 30 September and 15 October, respectively, hd₁–hd₄) and CC species (rye, Secale cereale L. and Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam.). Treatments without CC served as control and N fertilization was applied as synthetic N to better adjust to maize N demand. The CC treatment (with or without) had no effect on maize dry matter and N yields, but the N uptake efficiency of maize responded significantly to the N accumulation (N_tot) of CC. Nitrate leaching mostly stayed below the critical load value for EU drinking water and rye significantly reduced nitrate leaching, given that environmental conditions allowed sufficiently high CC biomass accumulation. Annual nitrous oxide emission was unaffected by CC treatment. Restricted N fertilization of maize following CC led to N deficiency, since CC decomposition obviously was not synchronized with maize N demand. Under the given environmental conditions, rye may serve as beneficial CC in continuous maize cropping even in already optimized N management.     

Different Enzymatic Processing of γ‐Phosphoramidate and γ‐Phosphoester‐Modified ATP Analogues

Monitoring the activity of ATP‐consuming enzymes provides the basis for elucidating their modes of action and regulation. Although a number of ATP analogues have been developed for this, their scope is restricted because of the limited acceptance by respective enzymes. In order to clarify which kind of phosphate‐modified ATP analogues are accepted by the α‐β‐phosphoanhydride‐cleaving ubiquitin‐activating enzyme 1 (UBA1) and the β‐γ‐phosphoanhydride‐cleaving focal adhesion kinase (FAK), we tested phosphoramidate‐ and phosphoester‐modified ATP analogues. UBA1 and FAK were able to convert phosphoramidate‐modified ATP analogues, even with a bulky modification like biotin. In contrast, a phosphoester‐modified analogue was poorly accepted. These results demonstrate that minor variations in the design of ATP analogues for monitoring ATP utilization have a significant impact on enzymatic acceptance.     

Structural dynamics of a mobile substation during transport

Mobile substations can be defined as completely equipped electrical substations. There is a lack of existing scientific basis in the mechanical design of the structural components of the mobile substation. In concrete there are no capabilities to determine the dynamic behavior during transport and service conditions. Improper dimensioning of the structures results in an important degree of mechanical failures during transport. The dynamic response of structures on a mobile substation to transport motions depends on their strength of construction, ductility, and dynamic properties. Lightly damped structures that have one or more natural modes of oscillation within the frequency band of transport excitations can experience considerable amplification of both the forces and deflections. Thus, items of mobile substation equipment whose natural frequencies lie in the normal frequency range of transport motion are particularly vulnerable to damage and fatigue. Therefore we are interested in analyzing the natural frequencies, damping ratios (modal parameters) and level of accelerations of those components. In this paper it will be shown how above parameters can be retrieved from a road test on a mobile substation and be applied to develop adequate design rules and design tools as well as recommendations in order to guarantee the mechanical integrity of mobile substations during transport and service conditions. Finally the influence of conductor cables on the dynamic behavior of interconnected equipment will briefly be discussed.     

A State-of-the-art Elliptic Curve Cryptographic Processor Operating in the Frequency Domain

We propose a novel area/time efficient elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) processor architecture which performs all finite field arithmetic operations in the discrete Fourier domain. The proposed architecture utilizes a class of optimal extension fields (OEF) GF(q ^m ) where the field characteristic is a Mersenne prime q = 2 ⁿ  − 1 and m = n. The main advantage of our architecture is that it achieves extension field modular multiplication in the discrete Fourier domain with only a linear number of base field GF(q) multiplications in addition to a quadratic number of simpler operations such as addition and bitwise rotation. We achieve an area between 25k and 50k equivalent gates for the implementations over OEFs of size 169, 289 and 361 bits. With its low area and high speed, the proposed architecture is well suited for ECC in small device environments such as sensor networks. The work at hand presents the first hardware implementation of a frequency domain multiplier suitable for ECC and the first hardware implementation of ECC in the frequency domain.

Nano‐Explosions of Nanoparticles for Sudden Release of Substances by Embedded Azo‐Components as Obtained via the Miniemulsion Process

The solid and thermally instable azoinitiators V‐65 and VR‐110 were embedded within a polymer particle by using the miniemulsion process and afterwards quickly decomposed by thermal treatment below the glass temperature of the polymer. The resulting nitrogen gas overpressure inside the particles leads to a disruption of the polymer particle and a possible sudden release of encapsulated substances. It is shown, by electron microscopic measurements, that the number of burst particles correlates with the applied temperatures as well as the heating time. The surface deformation could be verified by scanning electron microscope analyses.

     

Improving reliability of large software systems

Improving field performance of telecommunication systems is the key objective of both telecom suppliers and operators, as an increasing amount of business critical systems worldwide are relying on dependable telecommunication. Early defect detection improves field performance in terms of reduced field failure rates and reduced intrinsic downtime. This paper describes an integrated approach to improve early defect detection and thus field reliability of telecommunication switching systems. The assumptions at the start of the projects discussed in this paper are: Wide application of code inspections and thorough module testing must lead to a lower fault detection density in subsequent phases. At the same time criteria for selecting the most critical components for code reviews, code inspections and module test are provided in order to optimize efficiency. The primary goal is to identify critical components and to make failure predictions as early as possible during the life cycle and hence reduce managerial risk combined with too early or too late release of such a system to the field. During test release time prediction and field performance prediction are both based on tailored and superposed ENHPP reliability models. Experiences from projects of Alcatel’s Switching and Routing Division are included to show practical impacts. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Maximizing the SDMA Mobile Radio Capacity Increase by DOA Sensitive Channel Allocation

In a cellular mobile radio system an SDMA (Space Division Multiple Access) component can be implemented for the reuse of radio channels physically incorporated by time, frequency or code slots. Since SDMA is based on the spatial separation of different users operating in the same channel, a DOA (Direction of arrival) sensitive channel allocation scheme is essential for maximizing system capacity. In this paper we present the Eigenvector method, a computationally efficient algorithm to do this job. We also present simulation results on the Eigenvector method operating in a typical urban mobile radio cell. The simulated blocking probabilities are then used to predict the capacity increase which can be expected after adding an SDMA component to a conventional mobile radio system.     

Fatigue assessment of offshore wind turbines on monopile foundations using multi‐band modal expansion

Offshore wind turbines (OWTs) are subjected to both quasi‐static loads originating from variations in the thrust force and dynamic loads linked to turbulence, waves and turbine dynamics. Both types of loads contribute to fatigue life progression and thus define the turbine's age. As a structural health monitoring solution, one could thus directly measure the stress history at fatigue critical locations. However, for OWTs on monopile foundations some fatigue critical locations are located below the seabed. Installing strain sensors at these hotspots is therefore impossible for existing wind turbines. This measurement restriction is overcome by reconstructing the full‐field response of the structure based on the limited number of accelerometers and strain sensors (installed at a few easily accessible locations) and a calibrated finite element model of the system. The system model uses a multi‐band modal expansion approach constituted of the quasi‐static and dynamic contributions. These contributions are superimposed to reconstruct the stress history at all degrees of freedom of the finite element model, and the subsequent assess fatigue life consumption at all fatigue hot spots of the OWT. In this paper, the proposed virtual sensing technique is validated by predicting the stresses in the transition piece with 12 days of consecutive measurements from an operational OWT. The data set contains both variations in environmental and operating conditions as well as extreme events. Finally, a full‐field strain assessment in the tower and foundation system of the OWT is demonstrated. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Toughened poly(butylene terephthalate)s and blends prepared by simultaneous chain extension,interfacial coupling,and dynamic vulcanization using oxazoline intermediates

Toughness of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) was improved by reactive blending of PBT with 2-substituted 1,3-oxazoline intermediates such as low-molecular-weight bisoxazolines, and oxazoline-functionalized nitrile rubbers derived from both nitrile liquid rubber (Nipol®) and high-molecular-weight hydrogenated nitrile rubber (Therban®). Conversion of 7 mol % of the nitrile groups of Nipol into 1,3-oxazoline, corresponding to less than 1 oxazoline group per chain, was sufficient to afford melt strengthening and substantially improved dispersion and interfacial adhesion of the nitrile rubber microphases in the PBT continuous phase. Also in the case of high molecular weight Therban, oxazoline functionalization significantly improved compatibility with PBT. Best results in terms of toughness/stiffness balance, with impact strength exceeding 200 kJ/m², was achieved when PBT was blended with both oxazoline-functionalized high-molecular-weight hydrogenated nitrile rubber and low-molecular-weight bisoxazoline chain extenders. The outstanding performance of such PBT blends, containing 10 and 20 wt % oxazoline-modified Therban and 0.6–1.1 wt % bisoxaoline chain extender, respectively, was attributed to simultaneous bisoxazoline-mediated PBT chain extension, interfacial coupling and dynamic vulcanization of the oxazoline-functionalized nitrile rubber. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 633–642, 1997     

Primary Cilia Structure Is Prolonged in Enteric Neurons of 5xFAD Alzheimer’s Disease Model Mice

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have long been acknowledged as mere disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). However, in recent years the gut with its autonomous nervous system and the multitude of microbial commensals has come into focus. Changes in gut properties have been described in patients and animal disease models such as altered enzyme secretion or architecture of the enteric nervous system. The underlying cellular mechanisms have so far only been poorly investigated. An important organelle for integrating potentially toxic signals such as the AD characteristic A-beta peptide is the primary cilium. This microtubule-based signaling organelle regulates numerous cellular processes. Even though the role of primary cilia in a variety of developmental and disease processes has recently been recognized, the contribution of defective ciliary signaling to neurodegenerative diseases such as AD, however, has not been investigated in detail so far. The AD mouse model 5xFAD was used to analyze possible changes in gut functionality by organ bath measurement of peristalsis movement. Subsequently, we cultured primary enteric neurons from mutant mice and wild type littermate controls and assessed for cellular pathomechanisms. Neurite mass was quantified within transwell culturing experiments. Using a combination of different markers for the primary cilium, cilia number and length were determined using fluorescence microscopy. 5xFAD mice showed altered gut anatomy, motility, and neurite mass of enteric neurons. Moreover, primary cilia could be demonstrated on the surface of enteric neurons and exhibited an elongated phenotype in 5xFAD mice. In parallel, we observed reduced β-Catenin expression, a key signaling molecule that regulates Wnt signaling, which is regulated in part via ciliary associated mechanisms. Both results could be recapitulated via in vitro treatments of enteric neurons from wild type mice with A-beta. So far, only a few reports on the probable role of primary cilia in AD can be found. Here, we reveal for the first time an architectural altered phenotype of primary cilia in the enteric nervous system of AD model mice, elicited potentially by neurotoxic A-beta. Potential changes on the sub-organelle level—also in CNS-derived neurons—require further investigations.