Two studies were conducted to evaluate cotton gin mote as a forage replacement by determining nutrient digestibility and nitrogen and energy retention. Three diets were used: 0%, 50%, and 100% mote. Dry matter intake was greatest for steers consuming 100% mote. Digestibility of DM, OM, CP, and energy was least for steers consuming 50% mote and greatest for those consuming 0% mote. Digestibility of NDF and ADF was greatest for steers consuming 0% mote. Fat digestibility was greatest by steers consuming 0% mote and least by steers consuming 100% mote, with those consuming 50% mote being intermediate. Steers consuming 0 and 50% mote retained less protein and energy than those consuming 100% mote. In trial 2, IVDMD of cotton gin mote was evaluated to determine rate of disappearance of DM, CP, NDF, and ADF. The 0% mote diet revealed the greatest rate of disappearance for DM, CP, NDF, and ADF, followed by the 50% and 100% mote diet, respectively.

No description available.

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / David A. Gustafson / The best mode of communication for a team of mobile robots deployed to cooperatively perform a particular task is through exchange of messages. To facilitate such exchange, a communication network is required. When successful execution of the task hinges on communication, the network needs to be robust - sufficiently reliable and secure. The absence of a fixed network infrastructure defeats the use of traditional wire-based communication strategies or an 802.11-based wireless network that would require an access point. In such a case, only an ad hoc wireless network is practical. This thesis presents a robust wireless communication solution for mobile robots using motes. Motes, sometimes referred to as smart dust, are small, low-cost, low-power computing devices equipped with wireless communication capability that uses Radio Frequency (RF). Motes have been applied widely in wireless sensing networks and are typically connected to sensors and used to gather information about their environment. Communication in a mote network is inherently unreliable due to message loss, exposed to attacks, and supports very low bandwidth. Additional mechanisms are therefore required in order to achieve robust communication. Multi-hop routing must be used to overcome short signal transmission range. The ability of a mobile robot to determine its present location can be exploited in building an appropriate routing protocol. When present, information about a mobile robot's future location can aid further the routing process. To guarantee message delivery, a transport protocol is necessary. Optimal packet sizes should be chosen for best network throughput. To protect the wireless network from attacks, an efficient security protocol can be used. This thesis describes the hardware setup, software configuration, and a network protocol for a team of mobile robots that use motes for robust wireless communication. The thesis also presents results of experiments performed.

The random deployment of Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network (WSAN) nodes in areas often inaccessible, results in so-called coverage holes – i.e. areas in the network that are not adequately covered by nodes to suit the requirements of the network. Various coverage protocol algorithms have been designed to reduce or eliminate coverage holes within WSANs by indicating how to move the nodes. The effectiveness of such coverage protocols could be jeopardised by inaccuracy in the initial node location data that is broadcast by the respective nodes. This study examines the effects of location inaccuracies on five sensor deployment and reconfiguration algorithms – They include two algorithms which assume that mobile nodes are deployed (referred to as the VEC and VOR algorithms); two that assume static nodes are deployed (referred to as the CNPSS and OGDC algorithms); and a single algorithm (based on a bidding protocol) that assumes a hybrid scenario in which both static and mobile nodes are deployed. Two variations of this latter algorithm are studied. A location simulation tool was built using the GE Smallworld GIS application and the Magik programming language. The simulation results are based on three above-mentioned deployment scenarios; mobile, hybrid and static. The simulation results suggest the VOR algorithm is reasonably robust if the location inaccuracies are somewhat lower than the sensing distance and also if a high degree of inaccuracy is limited to a relatively small percentage of the nodes. The VEC algorithm is considerably less robust, but prevents nodes from drifting beyond the boundaries in the case of large inaccuracies. The bidding protocol used by the hybrid algorithm appears to be robust only when the static nodes are accurate and there is a low degree of inaccuracy within the mobile nodes. Finally the static algorithms are shown to be the most robust; the CPNSS algorithm appears to be immune to location inaccuracies whilst the OGDC algorithm was shown to reduce the number of active nodes in the network to a better extent than that of the CPNSS algorithm. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Computer Science / unrestricted

No description available.

<p><i>Middagen er et betydningsfullt hverdagsrituale</i>. Over 90 prosent oppgir å ha spist middag sist hverdag, når de blir spurt om sine spisevaner. Avhandlingen viser at måltidet er en sentral del av folks hverdagsliv. Måltidet har betydelige kulturelle, sosiale og emosjonelle potensialer. Det å utforme et middagsmønster er en komplisert praksis. Det involverer både hodet som en form for tankearbeid, hånden som en form for hånd-/rutinearbeid og hjertet som en form for kjærlighets-/ omsorgsarbeid.</p><p>Middag er et sosialt produkt som vi produserer gjennom de betydninger og konvensjoner som er tilgjengelige for oss i historisk tid og i den sosiale konteksten som vi lever i. De ulike tilberedningsteknikkene, matrettene og spisemønstrene som inngår i moderne middagspraksis har en lang historie. Å navigere i dette feltet krever at middagskokken tar i bruk et komplekst sett av strukturerte og kulturelle begreper om hva som er rett og galt. </p><p>Det er mange kamper i det sosiale livet om hvordan ting bør forstås også forståelsen av en god og ordentlig middag. Det ble identifisert tre fremtredende tallerkenmodeller for god middag: Den tradisjonelle som har til hensikt å realisere verdier som nasjonal og familiær tilhørighet, den trendy som har til hensikt å demonstrere matkulturell kompetanse og klassetilhørighet, og den terapeutiske som har til hensikt å unngå sykdomstilstander og oppnå god helse. En middag er altså ikke god eller dårlig i seg selv, men i forhold til hvilke verdier den skal realisere. Slike beskrivelser kan også sees på som argumenter for å styrke sin egen posisjon og praksis som familiens middagsforvalter.</p><p>De ulike matrettene som til sammen utgjør et middagsmønster, er et resultat av de muligheter og begrensninger som utfoldes innenfor middagskulturen. Disse valgene har mer å gjøre med begrensninger enn med muligheter. Det vil si at det man velger å spise til middag i det store og det hele er et resultat av en strengt sosialt og kulturelt organisert logikk: Hva passer å spise på mandag? Hvordan spiser man foran TV? Hva serverer man når henholdsvis besteforeldre eller klubbvenninner kommer til middag? Svarene på slike spørsmål viser at det egentlig gis ganske få alternativer det er like utenkelig å servere kjøttkaker i brun saus i sofakroken på lørdagskvelden som det er å servere taco til besteforeldre eller Pizza Grandiosa til klubbvenninner. Studien viser også at variabler som kjønn, alder, livsfase, klasse og bosted er relativt bestemmende for folks middagspraksis.</p>

Middagen er et betydningsfullt hverdagsrituale. Over 90 prosent oppgir å ha spist middag sist hverdag, når de blir spurt om sine spisevaner. Avhandlingen viser at måltidet er en sentral del av folks hverdagsliv. Måltidet har betydelige kulturelle, sosiale og emosjonelle potensialer. Det å utforme et middagsmønster er en komplisert praksis. Det involverer både hodet som en form for tankearbeid, hånden som en form for hånd-/rutinearbeid og hjertet som en form for kjærlighets-/ omsorgsarbeid. Middag er et sosialt produkt som vi produserer gjennom de betydninger og konvensjoner som er tilgjengelige for oss i historisk tid og i den sosiale konteksten som vi lever i. De ulike tilberedningsteknikkene, matrettene og spisemønstrene som inngår i moderne middagspraksis har en lang historie. Å navigere i dette feltet krever at middagskokken tar i bruk et komplekst sett av strukturerte og kulturelle begreper om hva som er rett og galt. Det er mange kamper i det sosiale livet om hvordan ting bør forstås også forståelsen av en god og ordentlig middag. Det ble identifisert tre fremtredende tallerkenmodeller for god middag: Den tradisjonelle som har til hensikt å realisere verdier som nasjonal og familiær tilhørighet, den trendy som har til hensikt å demonstrere matkulturell kompetanse og klassetilhørighet, og den terapeutiske som har til hensikt å unngå sykdomstilstander og oppnå god helse. En middag er altså ikke god eller dårlig i seg selv, men i forhold til hvilke verdier den skal realisere. Slike beskrivelser kan også sees på som argumenter for å styrke sin egen posisjon og praksis som familiens middagsforvalter. De ulike matrettene som til sammen utgjør et middagsmønster, er et resultat av de muligheter og begrensninger som utfoldes innenfor middagskulturen. Disse valgene har mer å gjøre med begrensninger enn med muligheter. Det vil si at det man velger å spise til middag i det store og det hele er et resultat av en strengt sosialt og kulturelt organisert logikk: Hva passer å spise på mandag? Hvordan spiser man foran TV? Hva serverer man når henholdsvis besteforeldre eller klubbvenninner kommer til middag? Svarene på slike spørsmål viser at det egentlig gis ganske få alternativer det er like utenkelig å servere kjøttkaker i brun saus i sofakroken på lørdagskvelden som det er å servere taco til besteforeldre eller Pizza Grandiosa til klubbvenninner. Studien viser også at variabler som kjønn, alder, livsfase, klasse og bosted er relativt bestemmende for folks middagspraksis.

In this dissertation different van der Waals heterostructures such as graphene-MoS2 and MoTe2-MoS2 were prepared and characterized. In the first heterostructure, polycrystalline graphene was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and transferred on top of MoS2 single crystal. In the second heterostructure, MoTe2 monolayers were deposited on MoS2 by molecular beam epitaxy. Characterization of graphene-MoS2 heterostructures was conducted by spin and angle resolve spectroscopy which showed that the electronic structure of the bulk MoS2 and graphene in this van der Waals heterostructures is modified. For MoS2 underneath the graphene, a band structure renormalization and spin polarization are observed. The band structure of MoS2 is modified because the graphene induces screening which shifts the Г-point ~150 meV to lower binding compared to the sample without graphene. The spin polarization is explained by the dipole arising from band bending which breaks the symmetry at the MoS2 surface. For graphene, the band structure at lower binding energy shows that the Dirac cone remains intact with no significant doping. Instead, away from the Fermi level the formation of several gaps in the pi-band due to hybridization with states from the MoS2 is observed. For the heterostructures made depositing monolayer of MoTe2 on MoS2, the morphology, structure and electronic structure were studied. Two dimensional growth is observed under tellurium rich growth conditions and a substrate temperature of 200 °C but formation of a complete monolayer was not achieved. The obtained MoTe2 monolayer shows a high density of the mirror-twins grain boundaries arranged in a pseudo periodic wagon wheel pattern with a periodicity of ~2.6 nm. These grain boundary are formed due to Te-deficiency during the growth. The defect states from these domain boundary pin the Fermi level in MoTe2 and thus determine the band alignment in the MoTe2-MoS2 heterostructures.

The reader is first introduced with history and possible applications for wireless sensor networks. The thesis then describes the problems of wireless sensor networks and implementation tools for wireless sensor networks. The thesis also presents the system WSageNt and its client web interface. Practical part is based on the design of agent elements. Describes gradual implementation, testing and practical realization of these agent elements in the system WSageNt. The final part discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the project and identifies possible future expansion of the system.

Although wireless sensor networks have been successfully used for environmental monitoring, one of the major challenges that this technology has been facing is supplying continuous and reliable electrical power during long-term field deployment. Batteries require repetitive visits to the deployment site to replace them once discharged; admittedly, they can be recharged from solar panels, but this only works in open areas where solar radiation is unrestricted. This dissertation introduces a novel approach to design and implement a reliable efficient solar energy harvester to continuously, and autonomously, provide power to wireless sensor nodes for long-term applications. The system uses supercapacitors charged by a solar panel and is designed to reduce power consumption to very low levels. Field tests were conducted for more than a year of continuous operation and under a variety of conditions, including areas under dense foliage. The resulting long-term field data demonstrates the feasibility and sustainability of the harvester system for challenging applications. In addition, we analyzed solar radiation data and supercapacitor charging behavior and showed that the harvester system can operate battery free, running on the power provided by supercapacitors. A battery is included only for backup in case the supercapacitor storage fails. The proposed approach provides continuous power supply to the system thereby significantly minimizing data loss by power failure and the frequency of visits to the deployment sites.