Long- and short-term social deprivation and sociability in rats.

Conducted 4 experiments in which a total of 192 Sprague-Dawley albino rats were housed in pairs or apart for periods ranging from 15 min. to 15 mo. Long-term social isolation led to significant increases in social attraction, especially when the testing environment was familiar, and the immediately previous level of social contact was more important than prior social experience. Results suggest that the motivational consequences of social deprivation were more important than the opportunity for social learning afforded by social contact. Periods of social contact as short as 15-360 min. led to significant decreases in affiliation, while comparable periods of social deprivation had no significant effect, further supporting a motivational interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flammability of plastics I. relation between pyrolysis and burning

The fundamental basis of the burning of polymers is reviewed and the planning of the present investigations is justified. Preliminary results are given on the effect of chlorinated additives on the pyrolytic decomposition of polyesters.     

Interdiffusion in Ni-Rich,Ni-Cr-Al alloys at 1100 and 1200 °C: Part I. Diffusion paths and microstructures

Interdiffusion in Ni-rich, Ni-Cr-Al diffusion couples was studied after annealing at 1100 and 1200 °C. Recession of γ′ (Ni₃Al structure), β (NiAl structure), or α (bcc) phases was also measured. Aluminum and chromium concentration profiles were measured in the γ (fcc) phase for most of the diffusion couples. The amount and location of Kirkendall porosity suggests that Al diffuses more rapidly than Cr which diffuses more rapidly than Ni in the γ phase of Ni-Cr-Al alloys. The location of maxima and minima in the concentration profiles of several of the diffusion couples indicates that both cross-term diffusion coefficients for Cr and Al are positive and that D_CrAl has a greater effect on the diffusion of Cr than does D_A1Cr on the diffusion of Al. The γ/γ + β phase boundary has also been determined for 1200 °C through the use of numerous γ/γ+ β diffusion couples.     

Finding trading patterns in stock market data

This article describes our design and evaluation of a multisensory human perceptual tool for the real-world task domain of stock market trading. The tool is complementary in that it displays different information to different senses - our design incorporates both a 3D visual and a 2D sound display. The results of evaluating the tool in a formal experiment are complex. The data mined in this case study is bid-and-ask data - also called depth-of-market data - from the Australian Stock Exchange. Our visual-auditory display is the bid-ask-land-scape, which we developed over much iteration with the close collaboration of an expert in the stock market domain. From this domain's perspective, the project's principal goal was to develop a tool to help traders uncover new trading patterns in depth-of-market data. In this article, we not only describe the design of the bid-ask-landscape but also report on a formal evaluation of this visual-auditory display. We tested nonexperts on their ability to use the tool to predict the future direction of stock prices.     

Diffusional transport during the cyclic oxidation of γ+β, Ni-Cr-Al(Y,Zr) alloys

The cyclic oxidation behavior of several cast +, Ni-Cr-Al(Y, Zr) alloys and one LPPS +, Ni-Co-Cr-Al(Y) alloy was examined (, fcc; , NiAl structure). Cyclic oxidation was performed by cycling between 1200°C and approximately 70°C. Oxide morphologies and microstructural changes during cyclic oxidation were noted. Recession of the high-Al phase was nonparabolic with time. Kirkendall porosity resulting from diffusional transport within the alloy was observed in the near-surface -phase layer of one alloy. Concentration profiles for Ni, Cr, and Al were measured in the -phase layer after various cyclic oxidation exposures. It was observed that cyclic oxidation results in a decreasing Al concentration at the oxide-metal interface due to a high demand for Al (a high rate of Al consumption) associated with oxide scale cracking and spalling. In addition, diffusion paths plotted on the ternary phase diagram shifted to higher Ni concentrations with increasing cyclic oxidation exposures. The alloy with the highest rate of Al consumption, and highest Al content, underwent breakaway oxidation after 500 1-hr cycles at 1200°C. Breakaway oxidation occurred when the Al concentration at the oxide-metal interface approached zero. The relationship between the Al transport in the alloy and breakaway oxidation is discussed.     

In vitro perfusion studies of the human placenta. IV. Some characteristics of the glucose transport system in the human placenta

Cross infection has become a serious risk to hospitalized patients. Potential sources of infection by anaesthetic apparatus and equipment and the danger arising from disregard of proper asepsis are discussed. Prophylactic and hygienic measures to minimize these hazards are reviewed. Since patients receiving intensive therapy are particularly are risk very high hygienic standards are a "must" in these units. The need for thoroughly and regularly checking all equipment for contamination is emphasized.     

Degradation of the herbicide 2,4-D in river water—I. Description of study area and survey of rate determining factors

The biodegradation of 2,4-D incubated in river water at 25°C was dependent upon the bacterial activity rather than the initial quantity or species of organisms present. Microbial activity was related primarily to the nutrient content and distribution of sediment in the water. The two major elements, phosphorus and nitrogen were in such low concentration that their effect on the biodegradation of 2,4-D was difficult to detect. Further investigations on nutrient levels, and temperature effects are required.     

Improving food security through agricultural research and development in Timor-Leste: a country emerging from conflict

Timor-Leste is a small, poor and predominantly-agricultural nation of less than 1 million people. Most families suffer from chronic food insecurity practising food rationing 1–6 months of the year. The small size of Timor-Leste, its recent birth as a nation and conflict history, together with little previous research on staple crops make it a unique crucible to test the effect of a major post-conflict initiative of agriculture research on national food security. Research started in 2000 with the introduction of germplasm of staple crops (maize, peanut, rice, cassava and sweet potato). Replicated trials confirmed by extensive evaluation in farmer-managed trials revealed significant yield advantages over the local cultivar in maize of 53%, in peanut of 31%, in rice of 23% and in sweet potato of 80%, accompanied by improvements in size and eating quality. Cultivars of maize (2), peanut (1), rice (1) and sweet potato (3) were released in 2007. One year later an early adoption study of 544 farmers involved in on-farm trials showed that 73% had re-grown new cultivars. Cultivar adoption not only increased household food security but often produced surpluses for sale in the market—sometimes for the first time. The project is planning to increase seed production and dissemination to move from a highly positive pilot-scale impact in six Districts to impact food security nationally.     

The influence of modifier cations on the Raman stretching modes of Qn species in alkali silicate glasses

The Raman spectra of alkali silicate glasses containing 5 to 30 mol % M₂O (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs) have been fit successfully with pseudo-Voigt lineshapes of dominantly Lorentzian character in order to quantify the Qⁿ species distributions. This differs from the more popular Gaussian lineshapes which have been used for the past four decades. There is an increase in asymmetry in the Q³ band, with increasing M₂O content which appears to result from the weakened Si-O force constants of some Q³ bands due to charge transfer via M-BO bonds. With charge transfer to the tetrahedra, the negative charge accumulates preferentially on Si atoms thus decreasing Si-O Coulombic interactions, weakening Si-O force constants, and shifting the Qⁿ A₁ symmetric stretch vibrational frequencies to lower values (eg, from ∼1100 cm⁻¹ to ∼1050 cm⁻¹). The fraction of affected Q³ species increases with alkali content, as does the Q³ peak asymmetry. We propose that this extends through to all the Qⁿ species and postulate that there are multiple vibrational modes for each Qⁿ species which are dictated by their proximity to network modifier cations.     

Furnace cyclic oxidation behavior of multicomponent low conductivity thermal barrier coatings

Ceramic thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) will play an increasingly important role in advanced gas turbine engines due to their ability to further increase engine operating temperatures and reduce cooling, thus helping achieve future engine low emission, high efficiency, and improved reliability goals. Advanced multicomponent zirconia (ZrO₂)-based TBCs are being developed using an oxide defect clustering design approach to achieve the required coating low thermal conductivity and high-temperature stability. Although the new composition coatings were not yet optimized for cyclic durability, an initial durability screening of the candidate coating materials was conducted using conventional furnace cyclic oxidation tests. In this paper, furnace cyclic oxidation behavior of plasma-sprayed ZrO₂-based defect cluster TBCs was investigated at 1163°C using 45 min hot-time cycles. The ceramic coating failure mechanisms were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with x-ray diffraction (XRD) phase analysis after the furnace tests. The coating cyclic lifetime is also discussed in relation to coating processing, phase structures, dopant concentration, and other thermo-physical properties.