Perceptual awareness of energy requirements of familiar objects.

Conducted 3 experiments to assess undergraduates' perceptual awareness of energy requirements in their immediate surroundings (e.g., refrigerators, automobiles, toasters). In Exp I, 48 Ss sorted 61 energy items (labeled on cards) into categories based on general similarity and similarity in terms of energy consumed in an hour of continuous use. Cluster analysis revealed that items were grouped according to function and size but not by energy requirements. In Exp II, 24 Ss rank ordered 19 household appliances according to energy consumption and volume. The judged order of energy consumption matched the actual order (watts/hour) moderately well, but significant deviations from accuracy occurred for items whose perceived volume appeared to exert an influence on perceived energy consumption. Some large objects were seen to require high energy even though their actual consumption is relatively low. Similarly, small objects were thought to consume small amounts of energy even though the opposite is true. Parallel results were obtained in Exp III (20 Ss) with the method of numerical magnitude estimation. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and experimental studies of intraoperative autotransfusion using a new filtration device

The Haemocell S-350 device has recently been introduced for intraoperative autotransfusion. The system uses a novel membrane filter to process shed blood. In the first part of this study a 0.2-micron pore size filter was used in a randomized trial comparing the use of autotransfusion (n = 8) with bank blood controls (n = 9) during aortic reconstruction. This part of the trial was abandoned because of unexpected non-surgical bleeding. Bank blood requirements fell from a median of 3.0 (range 0.0-9.0) units to 1.5 (range 0.0-7.0) units when autotransfusion was used, but these patients had a greater perioperative blood loss (1791 (range 932-3104) versus 1140 (range 440-3840) ml). There was evidence of postoperative heparin excess with an activated partial thromboplastin time ratio of 1.3 (range 0.9-3.0) versus 1.0 (range 1.0-1.2) in controls and an activated clotting time of 206 (range 143-280) versus 137 (range 107-142) s. This was confirmed by raised plasma heparin levels and a prolonged thrombin time normalized by protamine. To improve performance a 0.6-micron pore size filter was studied in ten patients. Filtration efficiency doubled from 19 to 38 per cent. Electron micrographs demonstrated better filter clearance, but 44 per cent of the original concentration of heparin remained in the reinfusate. The S-350 device may be an attractive alternative to centrifugation for intraoperative autotransfusion but, until efficiency is improved, it should only be used for cardiovascular surgery when excess heparin can be reversed with protamine.     

Responses of dairy cows supplemented with somatotropin during weeks 5 through 43 of lactation

Beginning at wk 5 of lactation, 136 cows (34 per treatment) were supplemented daily for 38 wk with 0, 10.3, 20.6, or 41.2 mg of recombinantly derived bST monomer. Cows were obtained from University of Kentucky, University of Minnesota, University of Pennsylvania, and The Ohio State University. Nine cows (4 at 0 mg/d, 1 at 10.3 mg/d, 1 at 20.6 mg/d, and 3 at 41.2 mg/d) did not complete the experiment because of health problems. Data from these cows were included in the reproduction and health databases but not in the production database. Cows supplemented with bST produced more milk, consumed more feed, had lower rates of BW gain, and had improved efficiencies of milk production (conversion of feed and NEL to milk). Additional increases in productivity were modest at 20.6 and 41.2 mg/d versus productivity at 10.3 mg/d of bST. Concentrations of fat, protein, and TS in milk were unaffected. At 10.3 mg/d, bST did not adversely affect reproduction or health.     

Application and evaluation of the method of ellipses for measuring the orientation of long,semi‐flexible fibers

The method of ellipses (MoE) is a common experimental technique utilized to quantitatively determine the orientation state of a population of rigid fibers within a fiber–polymer composite. In this research, the validity of applying the MoE to long, semi‐flexible fiber systems in which the majority of fibers are flexible is discussed. The components of the orientation tensor were first determined for a composite formed by a homogenous, simple shear field. The minimum acceptable image analysis width, or bin width, for the selected geometry was found to be ∼5.5 mm, or 1.4 times the average fiber length. This modified bin width was then used to determine the orientation at multiple percentages of flow within an injection‐molded, center‐gated disc, and compared to orientation values obtained utilizing the traditional, 0.7‐mm bin width. The results show that the traditional, 0.7‐mm bin width is sufficient for analysis of the center‐gated geometry. This fortuitous result is attributed to the axisymmetric nature of the center‐gated geometry, and the highly transverse fiber alignment seen within the samples, especially at moderate to high percentages of flow. In more complex flows, it is expected that the conventional bin width will not apply. POLYM. COMPOS., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

The experiences of Sudanese unaccompanied minors in foster care.

Sudanese unaccompanied minors were separated from their parents in childhood and lived apart from their families in refugee camps for close to a decade before being resettled in the United States. This phenomenological study examines the refugees’ experiences of living in American foster families after living in peer groups in the camps. Interviews with 18 young adults, 7 years after resettlement, revealed that nearly all of the youth struggled with parental authority initially, and nearly half of them changed placements because of relationship difficulties with their foster parents. Misunderstandings based on cultural differences often exacerbated conflicts. However, 15 of 18 youth currently had a positive relationship with at least 1 foster parent, sometimes with a parent from their second or third placement. Changing foster families is often considered a failure in the child welfare system, but several Sudanese youth reported that having supportive relationships helped them during the acculturation process whether those relationships developed during the first or last placement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Axial mixing in a 15 cm diameter reciprocating plate bubble column

Axial dispersion coefficients (E) in the liquid phase have been measured by unsteady tracer response methods in a 15 cm internal diameter reciprocating plate bubble column, using air and water in countercurrent and cocurrent flow. The operating variables studied were amplitude (0.6–1.27 cm) and frequency (0–5 Hz) of reciprocation, and the superficial velocities of the liquid and gas phases and the spacing between plates. Three types of plate were studied; conventional Karr-type plates with perforation diameters 1.43 cm, plates with smaller (0.635 cm) perforations, and single-perforation (doughnut) plates with internal diameter 7 cm. Measured values of E ranged from about 1 cm²/s to a maximum of 116 cm²/s. In general, the plates with 0.635 cm perforations gave the smallest values of E while the largest values of E were obtained with the doughnut plates, due to vortex ring shedding. The single liquid phase data for the three types of plate were approximately consistent with the correlation of Stevens and Baird (1990). The gas-liquid flow results were interpreted in terms of several different hydrodynamic effects.