Planning to sustain depopulating communities: Japan and the USA

Japan today seeks to maintain sufficiency in food production even when food products may be bought more cheaply on the world market. Emphasis on agriculture maintains rural populations to a greater extent than in other advanced economies. Also supporting rural communities is a strong cultural identity with the village‐centred lifestyles of previous generations. While national industrial development policy is largely responsible for the Japanese economic ‘miracle’, this policy has emphasized concentration of research, production and people in urban areas. Those communities which cannot develop further in primary or secondary sectors may turn to tertiary services like tourism for sustaining traditional ways of life. This paper discusses these efforts, contrasts international and local traditions of planning service provision, and makes comparisons with experiences in the USA.     

Revision rates after knee replacement in the United States

We present a force plate system which measures low-magnitude vertical reaction forces generated by small laboratory animals. The force plate mechanical design minimizes radiated transverse waves, acoustic reverberation, and standing waves caused by impacts on the force plate surface. A secondary force plate and PC-based software algorithm minimize floor vibrational artifact. The force plate was used to measure function of rats during two tests: forelimb/hindlimb hopping reaction and surface righting reaction. In control rats, forelimb hopping rate exceeded hindlimb hopping rate during 16 weeks of repeated testing. Subchronic intraperitoneal (i.p.) dosing of 10 mg/kg/day acrylamide produced a selective impairment of hindlimb hopping. In contrast, single doses of haloperidol (1-5 mg/kg, i.p.) slowed the righting reaction and produced a relatively selective impairment of forelimb hopping. The force plate system presents new opportunities for performing quantitative neurological assessments of small laboratory animals when previously such tests had been performed subjectively and qualitatively.     

Ist hydrodynamische Modellierung tragfähig für die Auslegung von Schwerkraftabscheidern ohne Einbauten?

Is hydrodynamic modelling a sound approach for the design of gravity settlers without coalescing aids? Liquid/liquid dispersions occur in many chemical operations. Normally they have to be broken down again. This is accomplished by the flowing together of the droplets (coalescence) to a coherent phase. In practice simple gravity settlers without any coalescing aids are used for this purpose. In such settlers the dispersion is separated by the density difference between the phases, while a dense dispersion layer forms at the interface between the dispersion and the clear mother phase. The present paper deals with the modelling of such gravity settlers. First, the models describing the coalescence process of single drops are reviewed and analyzed. A physical notion of the coalescence process is derived thereform. Afterwards the models for the droplet coalescence in dense dispersions taken from the literature are presented and discussed. In conclusion the chances and limitations of the present settler models are indicated by quantitative comparison of selected models. A computer program specially developed for this purpose is presented.     

Mitteilung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The role of spatial abilities and age in performance in an auditory computer navigation task

Age-related differences in spatial ability have been suggested as a mediator of age-related differences in computer-based task performance. However, the vast majority of tasks studied have primarily used a visual display (e.g., graphical user interfaces). In the current study, the relationship between spatial ability and performance in a non-visual computer-based navigation task was examined in a sample of 196 participants ranging in age from 18 to 91. Participants called into a simulated interactive voice response system and carried out a variety of transactions. They also completed measures of attention, working memory, and spatial abilities. The results showed that age-related differences in spatial ability predicted a significant amount of variance in performance in the non-visual computer task, even after controlling for other abilities. Understanding the abilities that influence performance with technology may provide insight into the source of age-related performance differences in the successful use of technology.     

Interfacial crystallization and electronic properties of platinum double salts

Insoluble platinum double salts were crystallized by a novel method involving a solid-liquid interface. The platinum complexes included Magnus Green Salt, MGS ([Pt(NH)₃)₄]²⁺ [PtCl₄]^2–) and PBC ([Pt(bpy)₂]²⁺[Pt(CN)₄]^2–). The crystallization and molecular ordering of MGS and PBC on a Nafion membrane were achieved by controlling the diffusion of the cation and anion components to the solid-liquid interface. The electrical conductivity of the MGS film on Nafion was greatly augmented by oxidizing the polynuclear complex. A device consisting of the PBC film on Nafion, methyl viologen, and triethanolamine displayed photoelectrochromism.     

Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness.

In 2 studies, the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale, a single-item, pictorial measure of closeness, demonstrated alternate-form and test–retest reliability; convergent validity with the Relationship Closeness Inventory (E. Berscheid et al, 1989), the R. J. Sternberg (1988) Intimacy Scale, and other measures; discriminant validity; minimal social desirability correlations; and predictive validity for whether romantic relationships were intact 3 mo later. Also identified and cross-validated were (1) a 2-factor closeness model (Feeling Close and Behaving Close) and (2) longevity–closeness correlations that were small for women vs moderately positive for men. Five supplementary studies showed convergent and construct validity with marital satisfaction and commitment and with a reaction-time (RT)-based cognitive measure of closeness in married couples; and with intimacy and attraction measures in stranger dyads following laboratory closeness-generating tasks. In 3 final studies most Ss interpreted IOS Scale diagrams as depicting interconnectedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on vascular smooth muscle cells: Reduction in arachidonic acid incorporation into inositol phospholipids

A rapid increase in arachidonic acid incorporation into phosphatidylinositol (PI) occurred following exposure of cultured porcine pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells to calcium ionophore A23187. This response was specific for PI and phosphatidic acid; none of the other phosphoglycerides showed any increase in arachidonic acid incorporation. The incorporation of [³H]inositol also was increased, indicating that complete synthesis of PI rather than only fatty acylation occurred in response to the ionophore. The presence of omega-3 fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), reduced arachidonic acid but not inositol incorporation into PI. Stimulated incorporation of EPA also occurred under these conditions, suggesting that EPA replaces arachidonic acid in the newly synthesized pool of PI. Although much less arachidonic acid was incorporated into the polyphosphoinositides following exposure to the ionophore, arachidonic acid incorporation into these phosphorylated derivatives also decreased when EPA was present. These findings suggest that when omega-3 fatty acids are available, less arachidonic acid is channeled into the inositol phospholipids of activated smooth muscle cells because of replacement by EPA. This may represent a mechanism whereby omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA, can accumulate in the metabolically active pools of inositol phospholipids and thereby possibly influence the properties or responsiveness of vascular smooth muscle.     

The fundamentals of electromagnetic theory revisited

This tutorial paper deals with several aspects of basic electromagnetic theory that appear to be insufficiently appreciated a century and one-half after Maxwell published his well-known equations, and over a half-century since the MKS/SI system of units was introduced. New concepts have not been completely embraced, while older artifacts and anachronisms have lingered on. The main issues include problems stemming from the original theory of magnetism, confusion between key aspects of the fields B and H, and the somewhat puzzling equivalences between characteristically different mathematical models based on poles or currents. While the answers to most of these questions are somewhere or another in the literature, they are often difficult to find, and there seems to be a lack of a consistent approach to the fundamentals. This article surveys the problem areas, explores the issues involved, and attempts to provide clear answers and understanding through reasoning and commentary. Only simple mathematics has been used, and the treatment has been kept strictly in terms of the field quantities. Results and detailed references are given in key areas, and the history of the subject is touched on where relevant.