Academic literature on the topic 'Phase-only control'

Optical waveguide phased arrays have highlighted advantages than other electro-optical material optical arrays in scanning angle, response speed etc. For diffraction fields of uniform waveguide have strong side-lobes, which have influence on scanning performance of phased arrays. So side-lobes compression is one of the main issues for optical waveguide phased array device development. Based on photoelectric effect, the relations of voltage and phase are analysised. Phase-only array beam control using a Genetic Algorithm, an efficiency-optimized scheme, for uniform optical waveguide array with process errors is proposed. Phase distributions are arranged as randomly increasing distributions and random distributions. The results show phase-only optical waveguide arrays control, without the reconstruction of devices, has fine side-lobes compression effects with -9.89[dB] side-lobes intensity ratio. So the performance of scanning beams gets well improved.

2010/2011
The material presented in this thesis is the result of the Ph.D. activity carried on between January 2009 and December 2012 at the Ph.D. school in Information Engineering of the University of Trieste. After a brief introduction on the involved topics, the final objective of this thesis is that of presenting the original results, consisting in the development of power pattern synthesis algorithms for arbitrary antenna arrays including, in particular, arrays for satellite applications. Since the earlier satellite missions of last century, satellite communication systems have received growing attention due to the opportunities they offer and their greater flexibility with respect to alternative solutions adopting other media, such as, for example, fiber optic cables. The enormous spread of satellites, for both military and civilian applications, has been achieved thanks to the experienced technological progress, which has allowed an increase of satellite capacities. The need of constantly increasing the capacity of commercial communications satellites resulted in the continuing evolution of the antenna systems onboard the satellites. The business environment has driven the architecture of satellites' systems towards more efficiency and cost consciousness while at the same time, providing flexible access to a growing diversity of services and customers. Antennas that provide a multiplicity of frequency reuse coverage beams through either spatial or polarization isolation have been developed, resulting in the evolution of satellite antennas from a simple omnidirectional dipole to multiple-beam, dual-polarized configurations with frequency reuse between the beams for increased capacity. These requirements translate into high-gain, high-efficiency antennas with low side-lobe levels and excellent polarization purity. Moreover, since new requirements are often determined after the satellite is operational, antennas adjustable to produce a wide variety of radiation patterns have become popular. These are the so-called multiple-beam antennas, which can adjust their radiation coverage areas according to new demands. Multiple-beam antennas are currently being used for direct-broadcast satellites, personal communication satellites, military communication satellites, and high-speed Internet applications. High-gain multiple-beam antenna systems usually take one of three generic forms: lens, reflector or direct radiating array. Thus, arrays of antennas can be used in multiple-beam systems either to feed other types of antennas, or directly as radiating structures. The material of this thesis is mainly related to the synthesis algorithms for antenna arrays. In particular, many analytical and numerical techniques for the power pattern synthesis of antenna arrays have been carefully studied and analyzed. Some of them are suitable only for linear or rectangular arrays, the others for arrays of more complicated geometries. Furthermore, it is extremely important, for power synthesis techniques in satellite applications, to be able to consider additional constraints. These typically are the phase-only reconfigurability of the radiated beams, the control of the cross-polar patterns, which allows the polarization re-use and/or the control of the cross-polar interference, the dynamic range ratio reduction which comports simpler feeding networks and lower mutual coupling between array elements, and the near-field reduction, which allows to take into account the antennas operating environment. A numerical iterative algorithm has been developed during the Ph.D. school in Information Engineering, suitable for arrays of arbitrary geometry, thus including sparse and conformal arrays, which are often used in satellite applications. The algorithm allows to solve the power pattern synthesis problem, which is an inherently non linear problem. The solution is achieved using the alternating projections algorithm, which is a numerical iterative technique for finding a point of the intersection between two sets. It will be seen that the projections method has previously already been applied to problems of image processing and also in the antenna pattern synthesis. However, the results and the computational burden are strongly related to the projection operators, which in turn, strictly depend on the definition of the adopted distance, thus on the definition of the sets adopted in the formulation of the problem. Thus, the main originality of the developed algorithms consists in an extremely advantageous definition of the sets involved in the solving scheme, which, along with the adopted distance, allow an easy evaluation of the projection operators and thus a simple solving procedure. The thesis is organized as follows. Chapter 1 introduces the satellite antennas, analyzing some solutions adopted in the past. Particular attention is devoted to multiple-beam antennas (MBAs) and in particular to arrays of antennas, which can constitute the feeding system of reflector MBAs, or which can be used as direct radiating antennas themselves. Chapter 2 presents analytical and numerical methods of power pattern synthesis for antenna arrays proposed in the literature. First, the classical analytical methods, suitable for linear arrays of equally spaced elements are presented. Then, numerical iterative methods are analyzed. Attention is devoted to both deterministic and stochastic algorithms. A section is dedicated to the near-field constraint, due to its importance in practical real applications. In fact, taking into account the effect of the antenna operating environment is of fundamental importance: obstacles or mounting platforms, as well as other electronic devices located in proximity of the antenna, may strongly degrade the radiated far-field pattern. Then, Chapter 3 presents the developed algorithm. Precisely, the evolution is described from a synthesis algorithm suitable for arbitrary phase-only reconfigurable arrays to a powerful algorithm for phase-only antenna arrays, including several additional constraints, such as the dynamic range ratio reduction, the cross-polar pattern synthesis and the near-field reduction. Moreover, in its final form, the algorithm also allows to minimize the power radiated in the side-lobe regions of both the co- and cross-polar patterns and the electric energy stored in the near-field region of interest. Numerical results validating the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are presented in Chapter 4 and the conclusions are summarized in Chapter 5. Finally, the appendix mathematically describes the classical alternating projections method and the genetic algorithms, which have been used as global optimization algorithms for comparison purposes.
Il materiale presentato in questa tesi è il risultato dell'attività svolta durante il dottorato tra gennaio 2009 e dicembre 2012 presso la scuola di dottorato in ingegneria dell'informazione dell'università di Trieste. Dopo una breve introduzione sugli argomenti trattati, l'obiettivo ultimo della tesi è quello di presentare i risultati originali che consistono nello sviluppo di algoritmi di sintesi di potenza per antenne a schiera di geometria arbitraria tra le quali, in particolare, schiere per applicazioni satellitari. Fin dalle prime missioni spaziali del secolo scorso, le comunicazioni satellitari hanno ricevuto attenzione crescente grazie alle opportunità che offrono e alla loro maggior flessibilità rispetto a soluzioni alternative che utilizzano altri sistemi, come ad esempio i cavi in fibra ottica. Grazie agli sviluppi tecnologici avvenuti, che hanno reso possibile un aumento delle capacità dei satelliti, si è sperimentata una vasta diffusione di satelliti per applicazioni militari e civili. La necessità di aumentare costantemente la capacità dei satelliti per comunicazioni commerciali ha comportato una continua evoluzione delle antenne da satellite. L'ambiente commerciale ha spinto l'architettura dei sistemi satellitari verso una miglior consapevolezza di efficienza e costi consentendo, allo stesso tempo, un accesso flessibile a un sempre maggior numero di servizi e di utenti. Sono state sviluppate antenne che consentono una molteplicità di fasci con riutilizzo della frequenza grazie ad isolamento spaziale o di polarizzazione. Questo ha generato un'evoluzione delle antenne da satellite dal semplice dipolo omnidirezionale ad antenne a fascio multiplo, con alto guadagno, alta efficienza, bassi lobi laterali ed elevata purezza di polarizzazione. Inoltre, poichè nuove necessità spesso emergono una volta che il satellite è già operativo, si sono diffuse antenne da satellite configurabili in modo da poter produrre diversi diagrammi di radiazione. Queste sono le così dette antenne riconfigurabili, che possono modificare le regioni coperte in base a nuove necessità. Antenne a fascio multiplo vengono usate correntemente in trasmissioni dirette via satellite, satelliti per comunicazioni personali, satelliti per comunicazioni militari e applicazioni Internet ad alta velocità. I sistemi di antenne a fascio multiplo ad elevato guadagno generalmente sono di uno dei seguenti tre tipi: lenti, riflettori o antenne a schiera. Dunque le antenne a schiera si possono trovare nelle applicazioni satellitari sia come strutture per alimentare altri tipi di antenne, sia come strutture radianti direttamente. Il materiale presentato in questa tesi è principalmente legato agli algoritmi di sintesi per antenne a schiera. In particolare, sono stati attentamente studiati e analizzati diversi metodi, analitici e numerici, per la sintesi di potenza di antenne a schiera. Alcuni di questi sono applicabili solo a schiere lineari o rettangolari, altri a schiere di geometria più complicata. Inoltre, è estremamente importante per gli algoritmi di sintesi di potenza di schiere per applicazioni satellitari essere in grado di considerare vincoli addizionali. Questi tipicamente sono la riconfigurabilità del fascio tramite controllo di sola fase, il controllo del diagramma cross-polare, che permette di ottenere il riutilizzo di polarizzazione e/o di controllare l'interferenza cross-polare, la riduzione della dinamica, che permette l'utilizzo di reti di alimentazione più semplici e un abbassamento del mutuo accoppiamento tra gli elementi della schiera, e la riduzione del campo vicino, che permette di tener conto dell'ambiente in cui opera l'antenna. Durante il dottorato è stato sviluppato un algoritmo numerico iterativo per schiere di geometria arbitraria, perciò comprese le schiere sparse e conformi, spesso impiegate in applicazioni satellitari. L'algoritmo permette di risolvere il problema (intrinsicamente non lineare) di sintesi di potenza. La soluzione è ottenuta mediante l'impiego del metodo delle proiezioni succesive, un metodo numerico iterativo per trovare un punto nell'intersezione tra due insiemi. Tale metodo è stato usato in passato in problemi di elaborazione delle immagini e anche in problemi di sintesi di antenne a schiera. Ciononostante, i risultati e il carico computazionale sono direttamente legati ai proiettori, che a loro volta sono strettamente dipendenti dalla definizione della distanza adottata, dunque degli insiemi coinvolti nel problema. Perciò, la principale originalità degli algoritmi sviluppati consiste in una definizione degli insiemi estremamente vantaggiosa in quanto, assieme alla scelta della distanza, permette di valutare facilmente i proiettori e perciò permette di ottenere una procedura di soluzione semplice. La tesi è organizzata come segue. Il primo capitolo introduce le antenne da satellite analizzando alcune soluzioni utilizzate in passato. Particolare attenzione è rivolta alle antenne a fascio multiplo e in particolare alle antenne a schiera, che possono costituire il sitema di alimentazione di antenne a riflettore multifascio o che possono esse stesse essere usate come elementi radianti. Il secondo capitolo presenta metodi analitici e numerici per la sintesi di potenza per antenne a schiera proposti in letteratura. Dapprima vengono presentati i metodi analitici classici, validi per schiere lineari di elementi equispaziati. Successivamente vengono analizzati i metodi numerici iterativi, sia stocastici, sia deterministici. Una sezione a parte è dedicata al vincolo sul campo vicino, vista la grande importanza che riveste nelle applicazioni pratiche. Infatti è di fondamentale importanza tener conto degli effetti dell'ambiente in cui l'antenna opera in quanto ostacoli o strutture di montaggio, così come altri apparati elettronici in prossimità dell'antenna, possono causare forti interferenze e degradare notevolmente il diagramma di campo lontano. Il capitolo 3 presenta gli algoritmi sviluppati. Precisamente, viene delineata l'evoluzione da un algoritmo di sintesi di potenza per schiere riconfigurabili di geometria arbitraria con controllo si sola fase, a un potente algoritmo di sintesi di sola fase con diversi vincoli addizionali, quali la riduzione della dinamica, la sintesi del fascio cross-polare e la riduzione del campo vicino. Inoltre, nella sua forma finale, l'algoritmo permette di minimizzare la potenza irradiata nelle regioni di lobi laterali di entrambi i diagrammi, co- e cross- polare, e l'energia immagazzinata nella regione di campo vicino presa in considerazione. I risultati numerici che provano l'efficacia del metodo sono presentati nel capitolo 4 e le conclusioni sono riassunte nel capitolo 5. Infine, l'appendice descrive matematicamente il classico metodo delle proiezioni successive e gli algoritmi genetici, che sono stati scelti come termine di paragone tra gli algoritmi di ottimizzazione globale.
XXIV Ciclo
1983

This chapter compares the partial/exhaustive control distinction in Russian, Icelandic and European Portuguese and argues that all three share a common core: genuine partial control readings are only possible where PRO has case. An analysis of these patterns is outlined whereby partial control involves agreement between a higher thematic head and pro in the edge of a lower CP phase. Although this thematic head Agrees with pro, it is unable to attract it to absorb its θ‎-role. As a result, a distinct controller is merged with said thematic head and a condition is imposed at the interface that the controller and pro must be non-distinct, yielding partial control. New evidence is presented for this analysis based on negative controllers and the interaction with wh-movement.

All people involved with preparation of food for the commercial or retail market need a sound understanding of the food safety risks associated with their specific products and, importantly, how to control these risks. Failure to control food safety hazards can have devastating consequences for not only the consumer, but also the food manufacturer. Make It Safe provides practical guidance on how to control food safety hazards, with a specific focus on controls suitable for small-scale businesses to implement. Small businesses make up around two-thirds of businesses in Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industry. This book is aimed at those small-scale businesses already in or considering entering food manufacture. Those already operating a small business will develop a better understanding of key food safety systems, while those who are in the ‘start-up’ phase will gain knowledge essential to provide their business with a solid food safety foundation while also learning about Australian food regulations relevant to food safety. The content will also be useful for students studying food technology or hospitality who wish to seek employment in the manufacturing industry or are planning on establishing their own manufacturing operation. Illustrated in full colour throughout, Make It Safe outlines the major food safety hazards – microbial, chemical and physical – which must be controlled when manufacturing all types of food products. The control of microbial hazards is given special emphasis as this is the greatest challenge to food manufacturers. Topics covered include: premises, equipment, staff, product recipes, raw ingredients, preparation, processing, packaging, shelf-life, labelling and food recalls. Key messages are highlighted at the end of each chapter.

This chapter analyses the battle for Mogadishu and how AMISOM not only pushed al-Shabaab forces out of the city but also turned significant pockets of international opinion from viewing the mission as a failure to a strategic success. The chapter starts by briefly summarizing the debate about AMISOM’s authorized strength before examining how the mission prepared for the upcoming offensive campaign with reference to its pre-deployment training programmes and some of their limitations. The third section then analyses how AMISOM took control of Mogadishu via a series of operations conducted during 2011. The fourth section briefly assesses the challenges AMISOM faced in Mogadishu after al-Shabaab had withdrawn its main forces while the final section discusses the problems involved in trying to end Somalia’s transitional phase of government.

Lorente de Nó came to Uppsala, Sweden, in 1924 to work with Robert Bárány, with the goal of studying the central nervous system pathways of the vestibular nystagmus response. Bárány’s 1907 book described a patient with a lesion involving the reticular formation of the pons close to the abducens nucleus who could generate only the slow phase of nystagmus. With stimulation, the patient’s eyes slowly deviated to one side and became pinned. The patient also had a loss of voluntary eye movements. Bárány concluded that there must be separate centers in the brainstem for the production of the slow and fast phases of nystagmus. He speculated that the center for generating fast phases was in the reticular substance next to the abducens nucleus and that this component was under the influence of cortical control. Nó would go on to perform studies of these central pathways for generating nystagmus in rabbit.

This chapter examines G. V. Desani's only novel, All About H. Hatterr (1948). All About H. Hatterr enjoyed a brief flash of success and then slid into the shadows until 1972. By this time, Desani had revised it and an American edition had appeared, followed by a Penguin edition in the UK. In the interim, English Literature had taken up the study of writing from colonies and ex-colonies. Read in a ‘Commonwealth’ or ‘postcolonial’ context, All About H. Hatterr seems more central than eccentric—although even then, it does not conform to the early phase of nationalist realism/idealism found in many novels writing out from under imperial controls. It challenges the Western understanding of the novel by making its English sound like Indian speech and its form look like Hindu philosophical texts

AbstractThe beam emittance ∈xyz represents the volume of the beam occupied in the six dimensional phase space (x, x′, y, y′, φ, δ), where x and y are the transverse positions, x′ and y′ are the transverse angles, φ is the time-like variable representing the relative phase of the beam, and δ is the relative beam momentum error. Using the notation of the beam matrix Σbeam introduced in Chap. 1, the 6-dimensional emittance is $${\varepsilon _{xyz}} = \det \Sigma _{beam}^{xyz}.$$ Considering now only the horizontal plane, the corresponding 2-dimensional horizontal emittance is obtained from $${\varepsilon _x} = \sqrt {\left\langle {{x^2}} \right\rangle \left\langle {{{x'}^2}} \right\rangle- {{\left\langle {xx'} \right\rangle }^2}} ,$$ where the first moments have been subtracted, and the average (〈…〉) is taken over the distribution function of the beam; recall also (1.27–1.29). An analoguous expression holds for the vertical plane. For a coupled system, the general form of (4.1) must be taken.

All cells arise by the division of existing cells in a highly regulated series of events known as the cell cycle. Whilst duplication of other cellular contents occurs throughout all stages of the cycle, chromosomal DNA is replicated only once at a stage known as S phase. Once this is complete, distribution of chromosomes and other cellular components occurs during the final stage of the cell cycle, known as M phase, or mitosis. The cell cycle is therefore regulated in a temporal fashion, so that entry into subsequent cell cycle stages only occurs once the previous stage has been completed. A number of signalling mechanisms monitor the integrity of cell cycle progression, and later cell cycle stages can be delayed if any errors need correction. This chapter gives an overview of the major control mechanisms that regulate cell cycle progression, and how these are circumvented during the onset of cancer.

Henry is in peril after bailing out from a burning airplane, because his quantum suit has uncontrollably split him into four quantum versions, only one of which can get hold of the parachute. In order to survive, all his versions must recombine via interference exactly where the parachute is. To this end, the phases of all his versions must be fully in control. Alas, Henry’s ejection has scrambled (randomized) his phases by decoherence (dephasing), which is common in quantum systems. A tip from Eve in mid-air concerning phase reversal proves to be a life saver! This decoherence control, which is indispensable in MRI, is termed sin echo, as the dynamics after the phase reversal echoes the dynamics before this operation. The much further-reaching potential goal of decoherence control may be to influence metabolism and even the process of dying. The appendix to this chapter explains dephasing and its control by the spin-echo method.

From the previous chapter it can be seen that in all cases of caries and tooth wear, minimum intervention disease control and lesion prevention are key aspects of the management strategy, often commencing in the stabilization phase of the care plan, but continuing throughout the full course of treatment and beyond in order to maintain lifelong oral health. Neither the dentist, as part of the oral healthcare team, nor the patient has the power to prevent the caries or tooth-wear process. These ubiquitous processes occur at the ionic, metabolic, and microscopic level at the tooth surface/biofilm interface, and are made pathological by other factors in combination. If these factors are controlled or modified by the patient (with help from the oral healthcare team), then the processes can be regulated. The term primary prevention is sometimes used in this context. The term prevention has been commonly used, but actually it is only the manifestation of the pathological process (i.e. the lesion in caries or tooth wear) that can be prevented if the disease process is controlled. The term secondary prevention has been used in this context to slow down or stop (arrest) incipient, progressing lesions. Tertiary prevention is a term sometimes used to describe the care offered to the patient in an attempt to control or reduce the pattern of future disease. On the basis of the history and examination, the patient may be allocated to one of the following in terms of caries activity/risk status:… • Caries inactive/caries controlled/low risk: no active lesions and no history of recurrent active restorations in the past 2 to 3 years. A level of control (maintenance) is still required to remain in this stable condition. • Caries active/modifiable risk factors/moderate risk (plaque control, fluoride, diet): presence of active lesions and a yearly increment of more than two new/progressing/filled lesions in the preceding 2 to 3 years. Caries control may be achieved by changing/ modifying risk factors. • Caries active/unmodifiable or unidentifiable risk factors/ high risk (dry mouth, medications): this category will always be high risk, although it may still be possible to control caries by optimal moderation of such risk factors. Presence of active lesions and a yearly increment of more than two new/progressing/filled lesions in the preceding 2 years.

While in the past only the product phases of development, production, distribution as well as use and service were considered, today, more complete consideration up to the end of a product life is common. Along with the demand for an environmentally-friendly handling of important resources, recycling of worn-out products, for example, in the automotive sector, electrical and electronic equipment, or industrial goods, will gain crucial importance in the near future. In addition, comprehensive environmentally-related legal demands force the industry to take recycling of products into consideration (BMU, 1999; EU, 1999; Griese, 1997; Seliger et al., 1997; Thierry et al., 1995). Additionally this includes several processes (Figure 1) of the post-usage phase, such as: • systematic take-back of used products to specific facilities, • definition of adequate recycling strategies, • dismantling of products, • reprocessing of components, • mechanical treatment, • reuse of components and utilization of materials as well as • redistribution of the recycled goods into production and secondary raw material market.

For most of 1968 and early 1969, Steve Reich devised and constructed his Phase Shifting Pulse Gate, a machine he designed along with an engineer. However, after only two performances Reich abandoned the machine and renounced the future use of electronic technology in his music, save amplification. Despite this compositional move, various critics of the early 1970s continued to describe Reich’s works in technological or mechanical terms, calling his music “controlling” or akin to the German word “Fließband” (assembly line). Rather than mechanical control, Reich claimed to seek bodily control and often compared his musical practice to yoga, a practice he had maintained for nearly a decade, which markedly informed his notions of musical time, compositional control, and performer freedoms. Drawing from unpublished essays and unreleased recordings, this chapter situates Reich’s music of the 1970s—from Drumming to Music for 18 Musicians—within a broader history of technologies of the body and mind.

When we understand the recent history of capitalism as a pendulum movement between liberal and organized phases of capitalism, a new phase of organized capitalism currently looks far more likely than a stabilization of liberal capitalism. The coronavirus crisis has contributed to a fundamental crisis of liberal capitalism. At the same time, we are witnessing various indications for a rise of organized features of capitalism. Correspondingly, we may assume a more prominent economic role of the state in many economies in post-coronavirus capitalism. This entails a larger importance not only in terms of spending, but also in the control of companies and the steering of markets.

This chapter outlines the management of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease for whom dialysis may not be beneficial or desired. Active medical management without dialysis should be offered to patients through a shared-decision making process as a viable alternative to dialysis. This is important as patients and families wish to consider not only survival, but also symptom control and QoL in their decision to pursue a dialysis or nondialysis pathway. A multidisciplinary team delivering good quality, active, and patient-centered care that combines chronic kidney disease management with the principles of palliative care can help patients achieve good symptom management and quality of life. Active and early planning for the end-of-life phase facilitates appropriate care for patients in acute and/or unexpected deterioration and helps achieve patient and family goals.

Reflecting broader trends in cities that had elected black mayors in the 1970s, Tom Bradley’s politics rested on a belief that law enforcement could provide equitable police service by committing to pluralist policies that were responsive to all city residents. As this chapter shows, however, reforms, such as diversifying the department, enhancing human relations training, and adopting community-oriented policing, provided only a semblance of civilian control of the police. As the police continued to aggressively police communities of color, it produced a new phase of anti–police abuse organizing, led by the Coalition against Police Abuse (CAPA), calling for an end to police crimes and power abuses. Some of the most notable demands were for an end to the use of the chokehold and for a police civilian review board.

This chapter mentions an English pilgrim named Saewulf, who made the trip in the summer of 1102 to the Palestinian coast, where he was caught in the midst of battle with crusaders. It talks about the Franks, European settlers in the Holy Land, who kept coming to the new crusader states even in the most dangerous of times and the most perilous of conditions. It analyzes the capture of Jerusalem and the extraordinary culmination of the First Crusade in which strategy exists only in the context of objectives and the decisions that lead up to them. The chapter explains the first phase of Frankish strategy on taking control of the entire coastline of Syria and Palestine. It also looks at the coastal strategy that followed a remarkable trajectory across the three crusader states that bordered on the eastern Mediterranean.

Recently, the Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe administration has adopted labor reforms, and monetary authorities have updated unconventional monetary policies: quantitative easing of money supply and negative interest rate control. It can be identified that quantitative easing policy and negative interest rate policy have introduced and stimulated new styles of profit-seeking through stock market transactions, which only increases corporate and bank profits under a stagnant labor productivity growth rate. Under such a context, this paper analyzes the changing phase of the profit-seeking patterns of the financial and non-financial sector in Japan. The hypothesis is that the large-scale corporate sector has created a new profit-seeking paradigm and that this has been supported by the monetary control of the so-called "Abenomics".

Objectives: The original objectives of this project were to: Produce juvenile-free pear and apple plants and examine their sensitivity to E. amylovora; Design novel vectors, for antibacterial proteins and promoters expression, combined with the antisense TFL1 gene, and transformation of Spadona pear in Israel and Galaxy apple in USA. The original objectives were revised from the development of novel vectors with antibacterial proteins combined with the TFL-1 due to the inefficiency of alternative markes initially evaluated in pear, phoshomannose-isomerase and 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate phosphatase and the lack of development of double selection system. The objectives of project were revised to focus primarily on the development additional juvenile free systems by the use of another pear variety and manipulation of the FT gene under the control of several promoters. Based on the results creation of fire blight resistance pear variety was developed by the use of the juvenile free transgenic plant. Background: Young tree seedlings are unable to initiate reproductive organs and require a long period of shoot maturation, known as juvenile phase. In pear, juvenile period can last 5-7 years and it causes a major delay in breeding programs. We isolated the TFL1 gene from Spadona pear (PcTFL1-1) and produced transgenic ‘Spadona’ trees silencing the PcTFL1 gene using a RNAi approach. Transgenic tissue culture ‘Spadona’ pear flowered in vitro. As expected, the expression of the endogenous PcTFL1 was suppressed in the transgenic line that showed precocious flowering. Transgenic plants were successfully rooted in the greenhouse and most of the plants flowered after only 4-8 months, whereas the non-transformed control plants have flowered only after 5-6 years of development. Major achievements: Prior to flower induction, transgenic TFL1-RNAi ‘Spadona’ plants developed a few branches and leaves. Flower production in the small trees suppressed the development of the vegetative branches, thus resulting in compact flowering trees. Flowering was initiated in terminal buds, as described for the Arabidopsis tfl1 mutant. Propagation of the transgenic TFL1-RNAi ‘Spadona’ was performed by bud grafting on 'Betulifolia' rootstock and resulted in compact flowering trees. The transgenic flowering grafted plants were grown in the greenhouse under a long photoperiod for one year, and flowered continuously. Pollination of the transgenic flowers with ‘Costia‘ pear pollen generated fruits of regular shape with fertile F1 seeds. The F1 transgenic seedling grown in the greenhouse formed shoots and produced terminal flowers only five months after germination. In addition, grafted F1 transgenic buds flower and fruit continuously, generating hybrid fruits with regular shape, color and taste. Several pear varieties were pollinated with the transgenic TFL1-RNAi ‘Spadona’ pollen including `Herald Harw` that was reported to have resistance to fire blight diseases. The F-1 hybrid seedlings currently grow in our greenhouse. We conclude that the juvenile-free transgenic ‘Spadona’ pear enables the development of a fast breeding method in pear that will enable us to generate a resistance pear to fire blight. Implications: The research supported by this grant has demonstrated the use of transgenic juvenile free technology in pear. The use of the juvenile free technology for enhancement of conventional breeding in fruit tree will serve to enhance fast breeding systems in pear and another fruit trees.

Truck platoons have many benefits over traditional truck mobility. Truck platoons have the potential to improve safety and reduce fuel consumption between 5% and 15%, based on platoon configuration. In Illinois, trucks carry more than 50% of freight tonnage and constitute 25% of the traffic on interstates. Therefore, expected fuel savings would be significant for trucks. Deployment of truck platoons within interstate highways may have a direct effect on flexible pavement performance, as the time between consecutive axle loads (i.e., resting time) is expected to decrease significantly. Moreover, platoons could potentially accelerate pavement damage accumulation due to trucks’ channelized position, decreasing pavement service life and increasing maintenance and rehabilitation costs. The main objective of this project was to quantify the effects of truck platoons on pavements and to provide guidelines to control corresponding potential pavement damage. Finite-element models were utilized to quantify the impact of rest period on pavement damage. Recovered and accumulated strains were predicted by fitting exponential functions to the calculated strain profiles. The results suggested that strain accumulation was negligible at a truck spacing greater that 10 ft. A new methodology to control pavement damage due to truck platoons was introduced. The method optimizes trucks’ lateral positions on the pavements, and an increase in pavement service life could be achieved if all platoons follow this optimization method. Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis were conducted for fully autonomous, human-driven, and mixed-traffic regimes. For example, for an analysis period of 45 years, channelized truck platoons could save life cycle costs and environmental impacts by 28% and 21% compared with human-driven trucks, respectively. Furthermore, optimum truck platoon configuration could reduce life cycle costs and environmental impacts by 48% and 36%, respectively, compared with human-driven trucks. In contrast, channelized traffic could increase pavement roughness, increasing fuel consumption by 15%, even though platooning vehicles still benefit from reduction in air drag forces. Given that truck platoons are expected to be connected only in the first phase, no actions are required by the agency. However, in the second phase when truck platoons are also expected to be autonomous, a protocol for driving trends should be established per the recommendation of this study.

The current safety management program in Indiana uses a method based on aggregate crash data for conditions averaged over several-year periods with consideration of only major roadway features. This approach does not analyze the risk of crashes potentially affected by time-dependent conditions such as traffic control, operations, weather and their interaction with road geometry. With the rapid development of data collection techniques, time-dependent data have emerged, some of which have become available for safety management. This project investigated the feasibility of using emerging and existing data sources to supplement the current safety management practices in Indiana and performed a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of the new data sources and their relevance to traffic safety analysis. In two case studies, time-dependent data were acquired and integrated to estimate their effects on the hourly probability of crash and its severity on two selected types of roads: (1) rural freeways and (2) signalized intersections. The results indicate a considerable connection between hourly traffic volume, average speeds, and weather conditions on the hourly probability of crash and its severity. Although some roadway geometric features were found to affect safety, the lack of turning volume data at intersections led to some counterintuitive results. Improvements have been identified to be implemented in the next phase of the project to eliminate these undesirable results.

This paper critically evaluates debates over the causes of U.S. inflation. We first show that claims that the Biden stimulus was the major cause of inflation are mistaken: the key data series – stimulus spending and inflation – move dramatically out of phase. While the first ebbs quickly, the second persistently surges. We then look at alternative explanations of the price rises. We assess four supply side factors: imports, energy prices, rises in corporate profit margins, and COVID. We argue that discussions of COVID’s impact have thus far only tangentially acknowledged the pandemic’s far-reaching effects on labor markets. We conclude that while all four factors played roles in bringing on and sustaining inflation, they cannot explain all of it. There really is an aggregate demand problem. But the surprise surge in demand did not arise from government spending. It came from the unprecedented gains in household wealth, particularly for the richest 10% of households, which we show powered the recovery of aggregate US consumption expenditure especially from July 2021. The final cause of the inflationary surge in the U.S., therefore, was in large measure the unequal (wealth) effects of ultra-loose monetary policy during 2020-2021. This conclusion is important because inflationary pressures are unlikely to subside soon. Going forward, COVID, war, climate change, and the drift to a belligerently multipolar world system are all likely to strain global supply chains. Our conclusion outlines how policy has to change to deal with the reality of steady, but irregular supply shocks. This type of inflation responds only at enormous cost to monetary policies, because it arises mostly from supply-side difficulties that require targeted solutions. But when supply plummets or becomes more variable, fiscal policy also has to adapt: existing explorations of ways to steady demand over the business cycle have to embrace much bolder macroeconomic measures to control over-spending when supply is temporarily constrained.

Most bacterial plant pathogens colonize the surface of healthy plants as epiphytes before colonizing internally and initiating disease. The epiphytic phase of these pathogens is thus an important aspect of their epidemiology and a stage at which chemical and biological control is aimed. However, little is known of the genes and phenotypes that contribute to the ability of bacteria to grow on leaves and survive the variable physical environment in this habitat. In addition, while genes such as hrp awr and others which confer pathogenicity and in planta growth ability have been described, their contribution to other aspects of bacterial epidemiology such as epiphytic fitness have not been addressed. We hypothesized that bacterial genes conferring virulence or pathogenicity to plants also contribute to the epiphytic fitness of these bacteria and that many of these genes are preferentially located on plasmids. We addressed these hypotheses by independently identifying genes that contribute to epiphytic fitness, in planta growth, virulence and pathogenicity in the phytopathogenic bacterium Erwinia herbicola pv gypsophilae which causes gall formation on gypsophila. This species is highly epiphytically fit and has acquired a plasmid (pPATH) that contains numerous pathogenicity and virulence determinants, which we have found to also contribute to epiphytic fitness. We performed saturation transposon mutagenesis on pPATH as well as of the chromosome of E.h. gypsophilae, and identified mutants with reduced ability to grow in plants and/or cause disease symptoms, and through a novel competition assay, identified mutants less able to grow or survive on leaves. The number and identity of plasmid-borne hrp genes required for virulence was determined from an analysis of pPATH mutants, and the functional role of these genes in virulence was demonstrated. Likewise, other pPATH-encoded genes involved in IAA and cytokinin biosynthesis were characterized and their pattern of transcriptional activity was determined in planta. In both cases these genes involved in virulence were found to be induced in plant apoplasts. About half of avirulent mutants in pPATH were also epiphytically unfit whereas only about 10% of chromosomal mutants that were avirulent also had reduced epiphytic fitness. About 18% of random mutants in pPATH were avirulent in contrast to only 2.5% of random chromosomal mutants. Importantly, as many as 28% of pPATH mutants had lower epiphytic fitness while only about 10% of random chromosomal mutants had lower epiphytic fitness. These results support both of our original hypotheses, and indicate that genes important in a variety of interactions with plant have been enriched on mobile plasmids such as pPATH. The results also suggest that the ability of bacteria to colonize the surface of plants and to initiate infections in the interior of plants involves many of the same traits. These traits also appear to be under strong regulatory control, being expressed in response to the plant environment in many cases. It may be possible to alter the pattern of expression of such genes by altering the chemical environment of plants either by genetic means or by additional or chemical antagonists of the plant signals. The many novel bacterial genes identified in this study that are involved in plant interactions should be useful in further understanding of bacterial plant interactions.

Oxytocin has multiple actions in bovine reproductive tract and it was our purpose to determine the nature of these actions and their significance for the physiology of bovine reproduction. The bovine oxytocin receptors (OTR) gene was cloned and its expression studied during the cycle and pregnancy. OTR mRNA changed in parallel with OTR with control occurring mainly at the transcriptional level. However, the endocrine regulation of OTR were found in endometrium and cervical mucosa at estrus and at parturition. In both tissues OTR were suppressed in the luteal phase and early pregnancy. Whereas cervical OTR remained suppressed throughout pregnancy, endometrial OTR began to increase soon after implantation and reached higher concentrations in midpregnancy than at estrus. OTR in caruncles did not increase until third trimester, and OTR in cervical mucosa, cotyledons and fetal membranes increased only at term. Myometrial OTR showed less variation and OTR were present throughout the cycle and pregnancy but increased significantly during mid- and late pregnancy. OTR were localized in endometrial epithelial cells and lumina epithelial cells of cervical mucosa as determined by immunohistochemistry. Endometrial OTR were functional throughout pregnancy and mediated PGF release from day 50 onwards in a receptor density related manner. OTR in cervical mucosa mediated PGE release both in vivo and in vitro, as shown in cyclic cows. The ontogeny of uterine OTR was studied from third trimester fetal stage until puberty. OTR were present in endometrium and cervical mucosa in high concentrations throughout this period; myometrial OTR began to increase somewhat later but also reached adult values by 6-mo of age. In the prepuberal heifers OT injections failed to initiate PGF2a, release. The influence of steroids on the effect of OT was examined. Ovariectomy and E2 were without effect, but P4 with or without E2 induced a massive PGF2a release in response to OT in spite of reduced OTR. Bovine cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) were cloned and their expression studied in the endometrium of prepuberal heifers and pregnant cows. Untreated and E2 treated prepuberal heifers did not express COX-2 but P4 treated heifers did express the mRNA for COX-2, albeit weakly. During the second half of pregnancy COX-2 mRNA was strongly expressed in cotyledons and somewhat less in caruncles, whereas endometrium, myometrium and cervical mucosa showed only weak, if any, COX-2 mRNA under basal conditions. However, 2 h after OT injection significant increases in COX-2 mRNA were found in endometrial RNA. Thus OT is capable of inducing the expression of the inducible COX-2 gene, and hence the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostanoids. The results indicate that the functions of OT are numerous and probably essential for successful pregnancy and parturition.

The original objectives of the approved proposal included: 1. Establishment of the biosynthetic pathways for pheromone production using labeled precursors and GC-MS. 2. The elucidation of a circadian regulation of key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway. 3. The identification, characterization and confirmation of functional expression of the delta-desaturases. 4. The identification of gene regulatory processes involved in the expression of the key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway. Background to the topic: Moths constitute one of the major groups of pest insects in agriculture and their reproductive behavior is dependent on chemical communication. Sex-pheromone blends are utilized by a variety of moth species to attract conspecific mates. The sex pheromones used are commonly composed of blends of aliphatic molecules that vary in chain length, geometry, degree and position of double bonds and functional groups. They are formed by various actions of specific delta-desaturases to which chain shortening, elongation, reduction, acetylation, and oxidation of a common fatty acyl precursor is coupled. In most of the moth species sex-pheromone biosynthesis is under circadian control by the neurohormone, PBAN (pheromone-biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide). The development of specific and safe insect control strategies utilizing pheromone systems depends on a clear knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved. In this proposal we aimed at identifying and characterizing specific desaturases involved in the biosynthetic pathway of two moth pest-speciesof stored products, P. interpunctella and S. cerealella, and to elucidate the regulation of the enzymes involved in pheromone biosynthesis. Due to technical difficulties the second stored product pest was excluded from the study at an early phase of the research project. Major conclusions: Within the framework of the planned objectives we confirmed the pheromone biosynthetic pathway of P. interpunctella and H. armigera by using labeled precursor molecules. In addition, in conjunction with various inhibitors we determined the PBAN-stimulated rate-limiting step for these biosynthetic pathways. We thereby present conclusive evidence that the enzyme Acetyl Coenzyme A Carboxylase is activated as a result of PBAN stimulation. We also found that P. interpunctella produce the main pheromone component Z9, E12 Tetradecenyl acetate through the action of a D11 desaturase working on the 16:Acid precursor. This is evidenced by the high amount of incorporation of ²H-labeled 16:Acid into pheromone when compared to the incorporation of ²H-labeled 14:Acid. However, in contrast to reports on other moth species, P. interpunctella is also capable of utilizing the 14:Acid precursor, although to a much lesser extent than the 16:Acid precursor. Despite the discovery of nine different desaturase gene transcripts in this species, from the present study it is evident that although PCR detected all nine gene transcripts, specific to female pheromone glands, only two are highly expressed whereas the other 7 are expressed at levels of at least 10⁵ fold lower showing very low abundance. These two genes correspond to D11-like desaturases strengthening the hypothesis that the main biosynthetic pathway involves a D11 desaturase.

Review question / Objective: To compare Once-Weekly Insulin Icodec and Once-Daily Insulin Glargine U100 in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus using oral hypoglycemic drugs in need of insulin therapy. Condition being studied: Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 using oral hypoglycemic drugs in need for basal insulin. Eligibility criteria: Inclusion in this meta-analysis was restricted to studies that met all the following criteria: (1) randomized trials; (2) comparing the use once weekly insulin icodec to once daily insulin glargine; (3) enrolling patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus; (4) evaluating any of the desired outcomes; (4) articles in written on english language. We excluded studies with (1) no control group; (2) overlapping studies population; clinical trial register entry only; (3) non-human studies and (4) studies reported only as abstracts.