CYPHER MACHINES MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION SPANNING SIXTY YEARS

We describe the life and times of a servicing mechanic for cypher equipment for the Royal Air Force during World War II and an opportunity to serve again as a cypher machine restorer for Bletchley Park Museum.     

Tanacetum (Chrysanthemum) corymbosum seed oil—A rich source of a novel conjugated acetylenic acid

A new conjugated trans,trans-diunsaturated acetylenic acid (17%), found for the first time in nature as a main component of the seed oil of Tanacetum (Chrysanthemum) corymbosum, was shown to be octadeca-8t,10t-dien-12-ynoic acid. Another already known naturally occurring acetylenic acid, crepenynic acid (10%), was found also in the seed oil. The structure of this new unusual fatty acid was confirmed by chromatographic (thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography) and spectroscopic (infrared, ultraviolet, mass spectrometry) methods by using different chemical derivatizations (deuteration, preparation of picolinyl ester, dimethyloxazoline, and maleic anhydride adduct).     

Parental influence on adolescent compliance with graduated driver licensing conditions and crashes as a restricted licensed driver: New Zealand Drivers Study

Aim

To examine the influence of parental knowledge of, and support for graduated driver licensing (GDL) conditions, parental management of adolescent driving and parental driving behaviour on adolescent compliance with GDL conditions and crashes as a restricted licence driver.

Method

This research was part of the New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS), a prospective cohort study of 3992 newly licensed car drivers. NZDS participants were recruited at the learner licence stage, with follow-up aligned with the GDL stages. At the restricted licence stage 1200 parents of NZDS adolescents, aged 15–17 years at learner licensure, were recruited and completed interviews. 895 of these adolescents progressed to their full licence and completed the full licence interview. These 895 parent–adolescent pairs were the study population in this research. Topics examined included parental knowledge of, and support for GDL conditions, management of adolescent driving (driving rules, adolescent vehicle ownership, delaying licensure), and their own driving behaviours. Outcomes examined were adolescent compliance with GDL restricted licence conditions (night-time and passenger), and crashes as a driver during the restricted licence stage.

Results

After controlling for other variables, factors independently associated with adolescent low compliance with GDL conditions were: low parental knowledge of conditions, parents’ implementing few driving rules, adolescent vehicle ownership, and parent crash involvement. Factors independently associated with adolescents being a crash involved driver were: parents’ actively delaying licensure, adolescent vehicle ownership, and parent crash involvement.

Conclusion

There is increasing recognition of the importance of parental involvement in adolescent driving. The results show that parents are influential in determining adolescent compliance with GDL and risk of crash. Parents can have considerable positive influence on their adolescent's driving through ensuring compliance with the components of GDL, limiting vehicle ownership and by modelling safe driving behaviours.     

Pre-licensed driving experience and car crash involvement during the learner and restricted,licence stages of graduated driver licensing: Findings from the New Zealand Drivers Study

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine whether pre-licence driving experiences, that is driving before beginning the licensing process, increased or decreased crash risk as a car driver, during the learner or the restricted licence stages of the graduated driver licensing system (GDLS).

Method

Study participants were 15–24 year old members of the New Zealand Drivers Study (NZDS) – a prospective cohort study of newly licensed car drivers. The interview stages of the NZDS are linked to, the three licensing stages of the GDLS: learner, restricted and full. Baseline demographic (age, ethnicity, residential location, deprivation), personality (impulsivity, sensation seeking, aggression) and, behavioural data, (including pre-licensed driving behaviour), were obtained at the learner licence interview. Data on distance driven and crashes that occurred at the learner licence and restricted licence stages, were reported at the restricted and full licence interviews, respectively. Crash data were also obtained from police traffic crash report files and this was combined with the self-reported crash data. The analysis of the learner licence stage crashes, when only supervised driving is allowed, was based on the participants who had passed the restricted licence test and undertaken the NZDS, restricted licence interview (n = 2358). The analysis of the restricted licence stage crashes, when unsupervised driving is first allowed, was based on those who had passed the full licence test and completed the full licence interview (n = 1428).

Results

After controlling for a range of demographic, personality, behavioural variables and distance driven, Poisson regression showed that the only pre-licence driving behaviour that showed a consistent relationship with subsequent crashes was on-road car driving which was associated with an increased risk of being the driver in a car crash during the learner licence period.

Conclusion

This research showed that pre-licensed driving did not reduce crash risk among learner or restricted licensed drivers, and in some cases (such as on-road car driving) may have increased risk. Young people should be discouraged from the illegal behaviour of driving a car on-road before licensing.     

Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy in coiled hollow optical waveguides

We demonstrate tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy of CO2 and NH3 near 1.5 microm using a distributed feedback diode laser in conjunction with hollow optical waveguides as long-path sample cells. The waveguides are coiled to reduce the physical extent of the system. The small volume of the waveguide provides rapid instrument response to changes in gas concentration. To reduce the pressure drop associated with long lengths and high flow rates, we perforate the waveguides in a novel geometry providing parallel pneumatic paths while maintaining optical path length. A minimum detectable absorbance of 3.5 x 10(-5) in a 3-m section of waveguide is demonstrated.     

Carbon micro-ribbon and strip polarimeter targets for the AGS and RHIC

Current techniques used to produce carbon micro-ribbon targets 5 μm wide×3.7–4.5 μg/cm²×25-mm long will be described. Developmental emphasis was to provide nearly identical micro-ribbons with the minimum number of atoms per unit of length, and to position them within ±0.5 mm of the desired location on C-shaped frames.The foil strip targets to be described were 200–600 μm wide×3.7–4.5 μg/cm²×51 mm long. These were produced from 25-mm-wide carbon film deposits that were scribed using a jig prior to dissolving the betaine/sucrose release agent under ethanol.Both types of targets required methods and devices that differed significantly from those reported previously for substrate texturing, masking, vacuum deposition, releasing from the substrate, and mounting. Sets of 12–24 of the targets have been made for the 2006 run period at BNL.     

Achieving a Mental Health Bill of Rights.

The Mental Health Patient's Bill of Rights was the culmination of a meeting of the presidents of 9 national associations of mental health professionals to examine how to best educate the public, policy makers, and benefit managers about ensuring the availability of quality mental health and substance abuse treatments. The principles to which they unanimously agreed hold that mental health clients must have guaranteed confidentiality, a real role in determining their treatment, and a choice of provider. The clients have the right to full information about their coverage as well as parity of mental health and physical health coverage. The actual text of the Mental Health Patients' Bill of Rights is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conviction proneness and the authoritarian juror: Inability to disregard information or attitudinal bias?

In Exp I, 120 undergraduate mock jurors completed the Mitchell-Byrne Authoritarianism Scale and rendered verdicts and gave probability of guilt estimates for trial evidence involving 2 levels of admissibility of wiretap evidence (inadmissible and admissible) and 2 levels of incrimination value of wiretap evidence (exonerating and incriminating). Results support a pro- and antidefendant bias rather than a differential cognitive ability model. Exp II, involving 160 undergraduates, determined whether repeating and emphasizing judge's instructions to jurors to disregard inadmissible evidence would reduce authoritarians' tendency to incorporate it. Authoritarian Ss were more likely to convict, especially in the presence of incriminating evidence, regardless of its admissibility and judge's emphasis. The 2 studies suggest that authoritarians are characterized by an antidefendant bias that influences their responses to trial evidence and that is not easily overcome by emphasizing the judge's instructions. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of pigeon pea and plantain starches on the compressional, mechanical, and disintegration properties of paracetamol tablets

A study has been made of the effects of pigeon pea starch obtained from the plant Cajanus cajan (L) Millisp. (family Fabaceae) and plantain starch obtained from the unripe fruit of Musa paradisiaca L. (family Musaceae) on the compressional, mechanical, and disintegration properties of paracetamol tablets in comparison with official corn starch BP. Analysis of compressional properties was done by using density measurements, and the Heckel and Kawakita equations, whereas the mechanical properties of the tablets were evaluated by using tensile strength (T--a measure of bond strength) and brittle fracture index (BFI--a measure of lamination tendency). The ranking for the mean yield pressure, P(y), for the formulations containing the different starches was generally corn < pigeon pea < plantain starch while the ranking for P(k), an inverse measure of the amount of plasticity, was pigeon pea < plantain < corn starch, which indicated that formulations containing corn starch generally exhibited the fastest onset of plastic deformation, whereas those formulations containing pigeon pea starch exhibited the highest amount of plastic deformation during tableting. The tensile strength of the tablets increased with increase in concentration of the starches while the Brittle Fracture Index decreased. The ranking for T was pigeon pea > plantain > corn starch while the ranking for BFI was corn > plantain > pigeon pea starch. The bonding capacity of the formulations was in general agreement with the tensile strength results. The disintegration time (DT) of the formulation increased with concentration of plantain and corn starches but decreased with concentration of pigeon pea starch. The general ranking of DT values was plantain < pigeon pea < corn starch. Notably, formulations containing pigeon pea starch exhibited the highest bond strength and lowest brittleness, suggesting the usefulness of pigeon pea starch in producing strong tablets with minimal lamination tendency. Plantain starch, on the other hand, would be more useful where faster disintegration of tablet is desired. The results show that the starches could be useful in various formulations depending on the intended use of the tablets with the implication that the experimental starches can be developed for commercial purposes.     

Children's construction of horizontals, verticals, and diagonals: An operational explanation of the "oblique effect."

Used a computer-based task to investigate the problem that young children have in constructing diagonals. The computer made it feasible to change how lines of different orientations had to be formed. It was predicted that if diagonals are difficult to construct because of the operations required to conceptualize them, then changing how they had to be formed might make it possible for children to construct diagonals better than horizontals and verticals. 20 5-yr-olds, 20 8-yr-olds, and 20 undergraduates attempted to construct horizontal, vertical, 45° left diagonal, and 45° right diagonal lines in either horizontal/vertical-easy or diagonal-easy configurations of the apparatus. Results support the operational explanation of the oblique effect. The 5-yr-olds performed in accordance with the configuration of the drawing system. On the whole, they could not make diagonals in the horizontal/vertical-easy configuration, thus demonstrating the oblique effect. When diagonals were made easy to produce, 5-yr-olds could form them but had difficulty with horizontals and verticals, indicating a nonoblique effect in the diagonal-easy configuration. There was only an oblique effect with the 8-yr-olds. Undergraduates made virtually no errors on any of the lines. Findings confirm the claim that the difficulty that the 5-yr-olds had was in combining separate spatial components. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)