We describe the design and performance of the Engineering Development Array, which is a low-frequency radio telescope comprising 256 dual-polarisation dipole antennas working as a phased array. The Engineering Development Array was conceived of, developed, and deployed in just 18 months via re-use of Square Kilometre Array precursor technology and expertise, specifically from the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope. Using drift scans and a model for the sky brightness temperature at low frequencies, we have derived the Engineering Development Array’s receiver temperature as a function of frequency. The Engineering Development Array is shown to be sky-noise limited over most of the frequency range measured between 60 and 240 MHz. By using the Engineering Development Array in interferometric mode with the Murchison Widefield Array, we used calibrated visibilities to measure the absolute sensitivity of the array. The measured array sensitivity matches very well with a model based on the array layout and measured receiver temperature. The results demonstrate the practicality and feasibility of using Murchison Widefield Array-style precursor technology for Square Kilometre Array-scale stations. The modular architecture of the Engineering Development Array allows upgrades to the array to be rolled out in a staged approach. Future improvements to the Engineering Development Array include replacing the second stage beamformer with a fully digital system, and to transition to using RF-over-fibre for the signal output from first stage beamformers.

Glyphosate is used in the transition zone to control annual bluegrass in fully dormant warm-season grasses. A suspected resistant (R) biotype of annual bluegrass was identified on a golf course in South Carolina after at least 10 consecutive years of glyphosate application. Greenhouse bioassays revealed the R biotype was 4.4-fold resistant to glyphosate compared with a standard susceptible (S) biotype. Further studies were conducted to investigate the mechanism conferring glyphosate resistance in the R biotype. Leaf discs of both biotypes accumulated shikimate in response to increasing glyphosate concentration, but the glyphosate concentration resulting in 50% EPSP synthase inhibition as a result of shikimate accumulation (I 50) was 4.2-fold higher in the R biotype compared with the S biotype. At the whole plant level, similar levels of shikimate accumulation were observed between biotypes at 6 and 24 h after treatment (HAT) with glyphosate, but greater shikimate accumulation occurred in the S biotype at 72, 120, and 168 HAT. Shikimate levels decreased in the R biotype after 72 HAT. There were no differences in 14C-glyphosate absorption between biotypes. However, more 14C-glyphosate translocated out of the treated leaf in the R biotype and into root tissues over time compared with the S biotype. Partial sequencing of the EPSP synthase gene revealed a point mutation that resulted in an Ala substitution at Pro106. Although other mechanisms may contribute to glyphosate resistance, these results confirm a Pro106 to Ala substitution is associated with resistance to glyphosate in the R annual bluegrass biotype.

Thirty female Large White × Landrace pigs (average weight 57·2 (SD 1·9) kg) were allocated to one of six dietary treatments containing 0, 1·25, 2·5, 5·0, 7·5 or 10·0 g 55 % conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) isomers (CLA-55)/kg diet and fed for 8 weeks. Each pig was scanned at 0, 28 and 56 d and again at post slaughter using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to determine the temporal pattern of body composition responses. Values determined by DXA were adjusted using regression equations generated from validation experiments between chemically and DXA-predicted values. Overall, there was a significant linear reduction in fat content with the increasing levels of CLA in the diet (P=0·007, P=0·011, P=0·008 at week 4, week 8 and for the carcass, respectively). The greatest improvement was recorded at the early stages of CLA supplementation and for the highest dose of CLA (week 4, −19·2 % compared with week 8, −13·7 %). In the first 4 weeks of feeding CLA, pigs receiving 10 g CLA-55/kg diet deposited 93 g less fat/d than pigs fed basal diets (P=0·002) compared with only 6 g less fat than control animals in the final 4 weeks. Lean content and lean deposition rate were maximised at 5 and 2·5 g CLA-55/kg diet for the first 4 weeks (P=0·016) and the final 4 weeks of treatment (P=0·17), respectively. DXA estimates of bone mineral content and bone mineral density were not affected by CLA supplementation throughout the experiment. These data demonstrate that dietary CLA decreases body fat in a dose-dependent manner and that the response is greatest over the initial 4 weeks of treatment.

In the last decade, the Fundamental Parameter (FT) method has been increasingly used in quantitative XRF analysis as an effective means for interelement effect corrections. Many authors have contributed to its continuous development both in theory and practice [1 - 26]. Among various implementations, the FP-alpha method has been used widely in bulk-sample analysis because of its unique advantage of speed [1 - 6]. In recent years, however, with the advent of faster computers, a rigorous full FP approach has become feasible and practical. This is especially true in the field of multilayer thin-film, analysis, where the FP-alpha approach has not yet been applied.

Recently there has been a growing interest in the field of X-Ray MicroFluorescence (XRMF) for analyzing small areas (with sizes greater than about 10 microns diameter). Several recent papers have described prototype systems for this kind of analysis, with particular emphasis on the elemental imaging applications. However, the technique of small-area XRF analysis is not new. For example, Bertin gives an excellent review of much of the earlier work (up to the late 1960s), which used a variety of focusing (with curved crystals) or collimation techniques. Several wavelength dispersive spectrometer systems were modified for small-spot analysis. One of the earliest spectrometers was the X-ray Milliprobe developed by Adler and Axelrod, which employed curved crystals.