Hydrogen insertion compounds of transition metal oxides

Polycrystalline tungstic acid, WO₃.H₂O, has been examined as an electrode material. Hydrogen insertion occurs on electrochemical reduction to give a blue product, formulated as H_xWO₃.H₂O, which is topotactically related to the parent material. Proton diffusion rates in the reduced product were measured by an electrochemical relaxation technique and shown to be much higher than in polycrystalline WO₃.     

Human nature,society and the home

‘The New Psychology’, which combines biology, psychology and the social sciences, is now generating considerable insights and debates. Such work gives special emphasis to ‘the expressive order'; people's own understandings and statements deriving from the innate drives affecting their behaviour as well as the socially‐constructed cultures of which they are part. Housing and urban studies, this paper suggests, should be part of these developments. Involvement in such issues should, for example, help us address questions which have recently been raised in Housing Studies by Saunders and Williams. They underlined the fact that the home is of central significance to the lives of individuals and they suggested that the significance of the home for contemporary social change has been underestimated. The intention of the present paper is to suggest that the new syntheses of ethology, sociobiology, social psychology and sociology might be one means of establishing the home's wider significance and its centrality to people's lives and identities. This paper concludes by arguing that housing studies could make major contributions to this emergent combination of the natural and social sciences.     

Multiple acceptors for pheromonal enantiomers on single olfactory cells in the Douglas-fir beetle,Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopk. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Olfactory perception of pheromonal enantiomers by male and female Douglas-fir beetles,Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopk. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), was investigated by electrophysiological techniques and behavioral bioassays. Electroantennograms (EAGs) and single-cell responses indicated both sexes to be more responsive to racemic frontalin and the (–)-enantiomer at lower dosages. At higher dosages, little difference was noted in responses to either enantiomer. However, response to the racemic mixture at higher dosages was slightly greater than responses to either enantiomer alone. In laboratory behavioral bioassays, responses to low concentrations of (–)-frontalin and the racemic mixture exceeded response to the (+)-enantiomer alone. At a higher concentration, responses to the racemic mixture or either enantiomer alone did not differ. The results indicate that separate enantiomer-specific acceptors may exist on the same pheromone receptor cell.Texas Agricultural Experiment Station paper No. TA-19841. This research was supported in part by Mclntire-Stennis Project 1525, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored program entitled The Expanded Southern Pine Beetle Research and Applications Program through TAES-SEA-CR grant 904-15-4, and NSF grant PCN 79-21708 to Oregon State University. The findings, opinions and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. All programs and information of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station are available without regard to race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, or age.Mention of a trademark, proprietary product or vendor does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable.     

Trilinolein Identified as A Sex-Specific Component of Tergal Glands in Alates of Coptotermes formosanus

Hexane extracts of the tergal glands from female alates of the Formosan subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry with collision-induced dissociation. Double bond configuration was determined by chemical modifications with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A single component, identified as the triacylglycerol, trilinolein, was unique to the female tergal glands. This compound was not found in other areas of the female alate abdomen or in the corresponding area of male alates. Neither gland extract nor trilinolein caused a behavioral response from male alates. However, significant differences were found between males and females for responses from neurons within sensilla of the maxillary palps.     

Contributing Factors to Window Flashover under Pulsed High Power Microwave Excitation at High Altitude

One of the major limiting factors for the transmission of high power microwave (HPM) radiation is the interface between dielectric-vacuum or even more severely between dielectric-air if HPM is to be radiated into the atmosphere. Surface flashover phenomena which occur at these transitions severely limit the power levels which can be transmitted. It is of major technological importance to predict surface flashover events for a given window geometry, material and power level. When considering an aircraft based high power microwave platform, the effects on flashover formation due to variances in the operational environment corresponding to altitudes from sea level to 50,000 feet (760 to 90 Torr; 1 Torr=133.3 Pa) are of primary interest. The test setup is carefully designed to study the influence of each atmospheric variable without the influence of high field enhancement or electron injecting metallic electrodes. Experimental data of flashover delay times across different materials, such as polycarbonate, Teflonreg, and high density polyethylene as a function of background pressure and gas type, air, N₂, argon are discussed. An empirical relationship between flashover field amplitude and delay time is given.     

Identification and Synthesis of a Male-Produced Pheromone for the Neotropical Root Weevil <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diaprepes abbreviatus</Emphasis>

An unsaturated hydroxy-ester pheromone was isolated from the headspace and feces of male Diaprepes abbreviatus, identified, and synthesized. The pheromone, methyl (E)-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methyl-2-pentenoate, was discovered by gas chromatography-coupled electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD), and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The synthesis yielded an 86:14 mixture of methyl (E)-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methyl-2-pentenoate (active) and methyl (Z)-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methyl-2-pentenoate (inactive), along with a lactone breakdown product. The activity of the synthetic E-isomer was confirmed by GC-EAD, GC-MS, NMR, and bioassays. No antennal response was observed to the Z-isomer or the lactone. In a two-choice olfactometer bioassay, female D. abbreviatus moved upwind towards the synthetic pheromone or natural pheromone more often compared with clean air. Males showed no clear preference for the synthetic pheromone. This pheromone, alone or in combination with plant volatiles, may play a role in the location of males by female D. abbreviatus.     

The measurement of heat distribution in stereolithography electrodes during electro-discharge machining

Early work by the authors explored the potential for manufacture of electrodischarge machining (EDM) electrodes, using rapid prototyping (RP) technologies. A number of possible routes were identified to provide an integrated system from computer aided design (CAD) data through to production tooling. One such route is the processing of stereolithography (SL) RP models by electrodepositing copper onto the metallized surface. This strategy provides a process route from model to tool with minimum manual intervention. Initial studies using thin-coated SL models for EDM have identified a limitation to application due to heat build up in the electrode. Currently, the electrodes can be used at low material removal rates (MRR), commonly known as semi-roughing or finishing cuts. Higher MRR generates greater heat at the cutting face which causes failure of the RP electrodes. This failure is believed to occur through a combination of delamination, thinning and distortion of the electrode. The heat distribution and associated failure modes for these electrodes are being investigated to determine how the machining performance can be improved.     

Response and Adaptation to Analogs of Disparlure by Specialist Antennal Receptor Neurons of Gypsy Moth, Lymantria dispar

Reception and adaptation of antennal receptors in response to (+)-disparlure [(+)-D], the sex attractant pheromone of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)], its enantiomer, (?)-D, and analogs of disparlure in which the epoxide group is replaced with various three-membered rings [(±)-cyclopropyl (2HC), (±)-difluorocyclopropyl (2FC), (±)-dichlorocyclopropyl (2ClC), and (±)-aziridinyl (AZ), (+)-AZ, and (?)-AZ] as well as a mixture of 1,1-epoxy analogs were investigated using electroantennograms. Antennal receptors of male moths were more responsive (5 μg stimulus load) to (+)-D than to (?)-D; while responses to each of the analogs were significantly, less and did not differ from each other. Antennal receptors of female moths did not respond significantly to any of the compounds at this stimulus load. Dose–response curves revealed greater sensitivity of male antennae to (+)-D than (?)-D. Among the cyclopropane analogs and 1,1-epoxy mixture (1,1E), the order of sensitivity was: 2FC > 2ClC > 2HC > 1,1E. Antennae were least sensitive to the aziridinyl analogs; however, (+)-AZ was more active than (?)-AZ, while an intermediate response was elicited by the racemate. Males exposed to (+)-D adapted to (+)-D, while responses to (+)-D were not significantly affected by exposure to (?)-D, 2FC or (+)-AZ. After exposure to hexylacetate, males showed adaptation to (+)-D or (?)-D, but not to the other odorants. Preliminary field data correlate well with knowledge obtained in our electrophysiological studies and demonstrate the usefulness of such studies. These results indicate that novel approaches to the design and synthesis of potential agonists of disparlure receptors are necessary before substantial effects on the activity of disparlure are realized.     

Heritability estimates versus large environmental effects: The IQ paradox resolved.

Some argue that the high heritability of IQ renders purely environmental explanations for large IQ differences between groups implausible. Yet, large environmentally induced IQ gains between generations suggest an important role for environment in shaping IQ. The authors present a formal model of the process determining IQ in which people's IQs are affected by both environment and genes, but in which their environments are matched to their IQs. The authors show how such a model allows very large effects for environment, even incorporating the highest estimates of heritability. Besides resolving the paradox, the authors show that the model can account for a number of other phenomena, some of which are anomalous when viewed from the standard perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)