Automatic procedure for aberration compensation in digital holographic microscopy and applications to specimen shape compensation

We present a procedure that compensates for phase aberrations in digital holographic microscopy by computing a polynomial phase mask directly from the hologram. The phase-mask parameters are computed automatically without knowledge of physical values such as wave vectors, focal lengths, or distances. This method enables one to reconstruct correct and accurate phase distributions, even in the presence of strong and high-order aberrations. Examples of applications are shown for microlens imaging and for compensating for the deformations associated with a tilted thick plate. Finally we show that this method allows compensation for the curvature of the specimen, revealing its surface defects and roughness. Examples of applications are shown for microlenses and metallic sphere imaging.     

Effect of postruminal glutamine supplementation on immune response and milk production in dairy cows

Seventeen multiparous Holstein cows were used to examine the effect of an increased duodenal supply of Gln on immune function and production. Cows received continuous abomasal infusions of water (control: n = 8) or 300 g/d of Gln (n = 9) for 21 d starting within 48 h of calving. There were nonsignificant increases in milk and milk protein yields in response to Gln supplementation. Glutamine treatment had no effect on plasma glucose, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), or β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentrations but did tend to increase plasma urea N concentration. The Gln treatment resulted in an increase of 108 μM in the plasma Gln concentration. Total essential AA concentrations decreased with the Gln treatment, whereas total nonessential AA concentrations were unaffected. T Lymphocyte proliferation did not differ between the control and Gln-treated cows. Treatment had no effect on the relative abundance of CD8 T cells but did increase the abundance of CD4 T cells. Cytokine production, as measured by IFN-γ concentration determined in vitro in concanavalin-A-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells, was similar between the treatments. Over the first 3 wk following calving, Gln supplementation had limited effects on milk production, metabolic parameters, and immune function.     

Effect of supply of metabolizable protein on splanchnic fluxes of nutrients and hormones in lactating dairy cows

The effect of the supply of metabolizable protein on splanchnic fluxes of nutrients and hormones was measured in six catheterized late-lactation Holstein cows in a crossover design. Two isonitrogenous diets (16.3% CP), but differing in rumen protein degradability and estimated metabolizable protein (MP) supply (1654 g/ d, Lo-MP; 1930 g/d, Hi-MP) were fed, each over a 35-d experimental period. On d 34 or 35, net fluxes of nutrients and hormones across the portal-drained viscera, the liver, and total splanchnic tissues were determined. Portal absorption of total, essential, nonessential, and branched-chain amino acids (AA) increased with the Hi-MP diet. Approximately 76% of the additional metabolizable protein supply was recovered as extra AA-N absorption in the portal vein. Liver removal of AA was not different between diets, and this resulted in a greater net release across the splanchnic tissues for the Hi-MP diet. This extra AA supply provided substrates for the observed increased milk protein yield for the Hi-MP diet. Fractional efficiencies of conversion of absorbed individual essential AA into milk protein ranged from 0.42 to 0.68. The corresponding efficiencies for utilization of postsplanchnic AA supply were 0.42 to 1.80. Provision of methionine, phenylalanine, and histidine beyond the liver were similar to outputs in milk protein but the other essential AA were supplied to peripheral tissues in excess of milk output, indicative of oxidative mechanisms in nonhepatic tissues. Net fluxes of glucose, NH3-N, and urea were not affected by the diets. Neither arterial concentrations of insulin, somatotropin, or IGF-1, nor net transfers across the portal-drained viscera or liver of insulin, were affected by the diets. Although portal release of glucagon was not different between the diets, a smaller proportion was removed by the liver on the Hi-MP diet. Metabolism of AA across the splanchnic tissue bed is a major determinant of the quantity and the profile of AA delivered to peripheral tissues.     

Charge/discharge behavior of plasma-fluorinated natural graphites in propylene carbonate-containing solvent

Plasma-fluorination of natural graphite samples with average particle sizes of 5 μm, 10 μm and 15 μm (NG5μm, NG10μm and NG15μm) was performed using CF₄ and charge/discharge characteristics of surface-fluorinated samples were investigated in 1 mol dm⁻³ LiClO₄–ethylene carbonate (EC)/diethyl carbonate (DEC)/propylene carbonate (PC) (1:1:1, v/v/v). Fluorine contents obtained by elemental analysis were in the range of 0.3–0.6 at.% and surface fluorine concentrations determined by X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) were 14.8–17.3 at.%. Plasma-fluorination increased surface disorder of natural graphite samples though reduced surface areas due to its surface etching effect. Electrochemical decomposition of PC was highly reduced on surface-fluorinated NG10μm and NG15μm with high disorder. First coulombic efficiencies of plasma-fluorinated NG10μm and NG15μm increased by 9.7 and 19.3% at 150 mA g⁻¹, respectively.     

Numerical simulation of soil heat exchanger-storage systems for greenhouses

A numerical study was conducted for the thermal behavior of soil heat exchanger-storage systems (SHESSs) aimed at reducing the energy consumption of greenhouses. These systems consists of buried pipes circulating air for storing and removing heat from the soil. First, a transient fully three-dimensional heat transfer model resting on the coupled conservation equations of energy for the soil and the circulating air is presented. The model is validated with experimental data taken from a SHESS installed in a commercial type greenhouse. Next, the model is used to examine the effect of various design and operating parameters on the performance of SHESSs. Results, indicate that the total amount of energy stored or recovered daily per volume Q_v decreases exponentially with the pipe center-to-center distance and the pipe length. It increases with the air velocity and this effect is enhanced as the pipe center-to-center distance diminishes. Nevertheless, as a compromise between cost and performance, it appears that an air blowing of 4 m s^±1 is nearly optimal. As the moisture content of the soil increases, Q_v augments but its effect becomes negligible for large pipe lengths and small blowing velocities. Adding side insulation improves the performance of the SHESS but the beneficial effect of insulation underneath the bottom pipe row is significant. Finally, burying pipes deeper underground allows more energy to be stored during the day but less is recovered at night through the ground surface and the overall performance declines.     

Using OpenCL to Increase SCA Application Portability

The Software Communications Architecture has become the de facto standard to build Software Defined Radio radios. Over one hundred thousand SCA military radios have been deployed worldwide by several nations. The SCA offers a component-based operating environment for the creation of portable applications. SCA applications are portable across different heterogeneous embedded distributed system. For performance reasons, application software gets optimized using specialized instructions sets supported by General Purpose Processors, Digital Signal Processors Graphical Processing Units. As a result, the level of portability of the source code can decrease significantly. Moreover, portability is considered to be a major challenge when Field Programmable Gate Arrays are used. Specialized instruction sets are widely used for high performance military radio platforms. Consequently, finding a solution to increase portability of SCA applications across different operating environments could provide significant cost reductions. This paper describes how the Open Computing Language (OpenCL?) can be used in conjunction with the SCA to increase the portability of applications that need to perform intensive signal processing.