Factors affecting mouthpiece chamber vacuum in machine milking

The vacuum in the mouthpiece chamber (MPC) was measured in a factorial trial with two liners (DeLaval 964008-01 and DeLaval 999007-03), two pulsator ratios (60 and 70%) and morning and evening milking over eight milkings of ten cows. Teat length and diameter were measured before and after milking, and maximum milk flow rate and depth of penetration of the teat into the teatcup were also recorded. The MPC vacuum at peak flow rate was classified as stable, at various levels, in 79% of the recordings. In the rest of the milkings the vacuum declined gradually, and this decline was associated with gradually deeper penetration of the teat into the teatcup. The DeLaval 964008-01 liner with the narrower bore and larger mouthpiece opening gave lower MPC vacuum at peak flow rate than did the wider bore DeLaval 999007-03 with the smaller mouthpiece opening. Morning milking gave higher MPC vacuum than evening milking. Increased maximum milk flow rate and increased length and diameter of the teat gave decreased MPC vacuum. The teats were longer before milking in the morning than in the evening. However, during peak flow rate, the teats had penetrated deeper into the teatcup in the evening than in the morning. A marked change in MPC vacuum in the transition to the period of flow rate can be used to identify the start of over-milking of an individual teat. A general model explaining the MPC vacuum as the outcome of the balance between air leakage past the mouthpiece lip and the leakage past the teat in the liner barrel is suggested.     

High-level goal-directed concurrent processing in icon

Concurrent language features have been added to an experimental dialect of Icon called Conicon. These new language features allow Icon to deal with new application domains such as intelligent robot control and real-time natural language processing. Besides widening the scope of Icon's intended application domain, these experimental concurrent processing notations also encourage programmers to revise existing programs to take advantage of the new language capabilities. For example, concurrent evaluation of the alternative arms of compound goal-directed expressions is now possible. This paper describes these concurrent processing notations and presents several examples of their expressive power.     

Probable pulmonary damage caused by bleomycin. Communication of 4 cases

Four patients with advanced germinal cell testicular tumors were treated with cisplatinum, vinblastine and bleomycin. Histopathologic studies revealed pulmonary damage and various degrees of respiratory insufficiency developed in all patients, one of whom died. There was no instance of opportunistic infections in any patient. The pathophysiology relating pulmonary damage to the action of bleomycin is discussed.     

Metallic microgripper with SU-8 adaptor as end-effectors for heterogeneous micro/nano assembly applications

This paper presents design, fabrication, and characterization of easy-to-handle electroplated nickel microgrippers with SU-8 adaptors for heterogeneous micro/nano assembly applications. Two distinctive designs of microgrippers as end-effectors of micro/nano assembly applications have been developed in this work. The first design is 200 m thick electroplated nickel microgripper with a plastic mechanical displacement amplifier that is driven by a piezoelectric actuator. The piezoelectric actuator is capable of creating 5 m displacement which is amplified to 10 m by the plastic mechanical amplifier and finally such displacement generates 50–139 m microgripper tip displacement. The second design is 20 m thick electroplated nickel microgripper embedded in SU-8 adaptor for easy-to-handle operation. The second design is electro-thermally actuated using a set of joule-heated bent beams. With applied actuation voltage in the range of 2–4 V, the microgripper generates tip displacement of 4–32 m. Extensive thermal and mechanical finite element modeling have been carried out and measurement results were compared with the simulation results. Such developed easy-to-handle microgrippers can be used for micro/nano pick-and-place assembly applications.This work was supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology-Advanced Technology Program (NIST-ATP 70NANB1H3021). The authors would like to thank the members of Design Engineering Group at Zyvex Corporation, Mr. Yohannes Desta from the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) at Louisiana State University for the valuable technical discussions, and the members of Micro and Nano Device and Systems (MiNDS) Laboratory and Cleanroom staffs at the University of Texas at Dallas.     

Crack formation in unfinished siding of aspen (Populus tremula L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) during accelerated weathering

Crack formation is a serious defect that may reduce the lifetime of unfinished wood in service. An accelerated weathering test was carried out to study crack formation of solid wood board specimens of aspen (Populus tremula L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The influence of the boards' distance from the pith was also studied. The aspen specimens developed a higher number of cracks than the spruce specimens. However, these cracks were shorter and less injurious than those propagating in spruce wood. It is concluded that a solid wood siding of aspen will show at least as good a performance as spruce regarding crack injuries. For both aspen and spruce, boards taken from near the pith had a lower proportion of long cracks than boards taken further out. This supports the rule that boards with a high proportion of annual rings perpendicular to the surface (the boards near to the pith) have a higher resistance to crack formation than boards with a high proportion of horizontal annual rings.     

Use of TBM muck as construction material

Tunnel boring machines (TBMís) are widely used in tunnel construction in rock. The rock chips (muck) produced are rarely used for construction applications, however, because the suitability of the material is not well understood. Yet the cuttings appear to be of approximately the correct average size for some applications. If they are suitable in other respects, cost savings can be realized in tunnel construction, where aggregate is a common requirement. A review of standard construction aggregate specifications indicates that hardrock TBM much would be suitable for several construction applications with a minimum of processing: road pavement and structural concrete. Processing options also are discussed for cases where the raw TBM muck is nearly, but not quite, suitable. A 0.65 metric ton (1420 lb) cutting sample generated by a laboratory tunnel boring machine operating in a welded tuff is analyzed for suitability for different construction applications. In addition, numerous tunneling projects that use or have studied TBM waste for construction purposes are described.     

Realized volatility and the influence of market measures on predictability: Analysis of Nord Pool forward electricity data

This is the first paper to utilize intra-daily high-frequency data and to apply known market measures for the prediction of volatility in the Nord Pool electricity forward market. The work is based on recent methods of separating realized volatility into two components: continuous and jump volatilities. In addition, the link between future price volatility and current observable economic variables is examined. The measures—trading volume, time-to-maturity, asymmetric effect from negative shocks, and intra-week seasonality—are assessed to identify improvements in day-ahead predictions. The model where the total variation is separated into its continuous and jump components is compared with the simpler heterogeneous autoregressive model of realized variation both in- and out-of-sample. The results show a strong degree of persistence in realized volatility, and significant impacts from the mentioned market measures when predicting Nord Pool forward price volatility. Hence, there is a clear preference for models accounting for the systematic impact of market measures to improve volatility assessment for tomorrow. Moreover, separating the total variation into continuous and jump components seems potentially useful when predicting day-ahead volatility.     

Comparison of accelerated climate ageing methods of polymer building materials by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared radiation spectroscopy

The degradation of the polymer building materials polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) intended for application as water barriers/repellants around building foundation walls have been studied. The PP and HDPE samples have been subjected to various accelerated climate ageing methods for comparison, including exposure to ultraviolet and infrared radiation, heated air, water spray and freezing. The climate ageing processes have been qualitatively and quantitatively investigated by attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) radiation spectroscopy.     

Norwegian oil and gas storage in rock caverns-Technology based on experience from hydropower development

Underground storage in rock caverns is widely used in Norway for many different petroleum products,such as crude oil,fuel,propane and butane.Basically,the caverns for such storages are unlined,i.e.containment is ensured without using any steel lining or membrane.The main basis for the storage technology originates from the extensive hydropower development in Norway.As part of this activity,about 4500 km of tunnels and shafts have been excavated,and around 200 large powerhouse caverns have been constructed.The hydropower tunnels are mainly unlined,with hydrostatic water pressure on unlined rock of up to 1000 m.Some of the projects also include air cushion chambers with volumes of up to 1×10⁵m³and air pressure up to 7.7 MPa.Many lessons which are valuable also for underground oil and gas storage have been learnt from these projects.For a storage project to become successful,systematic,well planned design and ground investigation procedures are crucial.The main steps of the design procedure are first to define the optimum location of the project,and then to optimize orientation,shape/geometry and dimensions of caverns and tunnels.As part of the procedure,ground investigations have to be carried out at several steps integrated with the progress of design.The investigation and design procedures,and the great significance of these for the project to become successful will be discussed.Case examples of oil and gas storage in unlined rock caverns are given,illustrating the relevancy of experience from high-pressure hydropower projects for planning and design of unlined caverns for oil and gas storage.     

Use of self-help materials for anxiety and depression in mental health services: A national survey of psychologists in Norway.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 42(3) of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (see record 2011-11548-002). The author's affiliations were listed incorrectly. The correct affiliations are in the correction.] How do psychologists in clinical practice perceive and use self-help materials for clients with anxiety and depression? The use of self-help materials with guidance from a therapist has been suggested as a way of meeting the increasing need for mental health services. The present study investigated factors relevant to the use of self-help materials for the treatment of anxiety and depression among psychologists employed in mental health services. Among 1863 eligible clinical psychologists in Norway, 815 (43.7%) participated in a national survey. A total of 93.5% of the participants had recommended self-help materials to clients, and approximately half (55.1%) had received requests from their clients regarding self-help materials. Self-help materials were recommended as an adjunct and not as an alternative to therapist contact by 73.0% of respondents, by 16.6% for relapse prevention, and by 1.2% to clients on a waiting list. Internet/computer-based programs were recommended by 2.2% of the participants. The practitioner's previous use of self-help materials to enhance his or her therapy skills and knowledge of self-help materials was related to use of self-help materials with clients. Psychologists working in child mental health services recommended self-help less often than those working in adult services. These results have implications for future efforts to disseminate effective self-help materials through increased attention toward self-help interventions in training and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)