STW resonances on corrugated plates of finite thickness

Propagation of surface transverse waves on a corrugated plate has been analysed. Results are presented for both thin and thick isotropic plates, showing that the dispersion curves for the lowest mode correspond in the second case to a semi-infinite substrate. A frequency equation is developed for planar resonators based on this type of wave propagation, applicable to both isotropic and rotated Y-cut trigonal plates.     

Review of Emotional first aid.

Reviews the book, Emotional first aid by Sean Haldane. When you have a friend who is experiencing emotional distress, Sean Haldane tells us in this book, you can make use of the principles of emotional first aid to unblock the emotion, allowing it a fuller, more direct expression, thereby alleviating the distress. For, according to Haldane, directly expressed emotions seldom cause trouble; it is blocked emotions that produce distress and damage. He believes that if one understands the way in which emotions are naturally expressed, one can frequently facilitate the proper expression of emotion by one's friend (or one's child), contributing in this way to the friend's (or the child's) more adaptive functioning. Haldane is a persuasive, charming writer. As I perused this book I had the impression that Haldane is a wise, compassionate, and skilful therapist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An electromagnetic model for eddy-current imaging

In this paper, a model is presented for the interaction between an eddy-current probe system and a localized flaw in a test piece. The model is expressed in terms of the electromagnetic fields generated by the probe in the absence of the flaw, which are evaluated on an imaging surface near or on the surface of the test piece. Assuming that the quasistatic fields scattered by the flaw are proportional to immittance coefficients that are independent of the probe position, explicit expressions for the point-spread functions of the probe are derived. Knowledge of these functions permits one to optimize probe design and identify appropriate image-processing techniques. In contrast with optical image processing, it is shown that more than one point-spread function may be required to characterize a flaw image produced by an eddy-current probe.     

Changes in global stability and local structure of cytochrome c upon substituting phenylalanine-82 with tyrosine

We have examined the F82Y;C102T variant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae iso-1-cytochrome c using high-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, chemical denaturation, and differential scanning calorimetry. Comparison of proton chemical shifts, paramagnetic shifts, and nuclear Overhauser effects indicates structural changes are localized to the vicinity of position 82. One alteration involves the rearrangement of the side chain of leucine-85. Using many more proton assignments than were available in the initial report [G. J. Pielak, R. A. Atkinson, J. Boyd, and R. J. P. Williams, Eur. J. Biochem. 177, 179-185 (1988)], a second alteration involving an interaction between arginine-13 and tyrosine-82 is observed. The interaction appears to involve a hydrogen bond with the eta-protons of arginine's guanido group acting as donor and tyrosine's phenolic eta-oxygen as acceptor. In spite of this potentially-stabilizing interaction, the free energy of denaturation decreases by approximately 2.4 kcal mol-1. Results are discussed with respect to alterations in the native and denatured states.     

Proton MR spectroscopy after acute central nervous system injury: outcome prediction in neonates, infants, and children

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy in predicting 6-12-month neurologic outcome in children after central nervous system injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Localized single-voxel, 20-msec-echo-time MR spectra (including N-acetylaspartate [NAA], choline [Ch], creatine and phosphocreatine [Cr]) were obtained in the occipital gray matter in 82 patients and 24 control patients. Patient age groups were defined as neonates (< or = 1 month [n = 23]), infants (1-18 months [n = 31]), and children (> or = 18 months [n = 28]). Metabolite ratios and the presence of lactate were determined. Linear discriminant analysis-with admission clinical data, proton MR spectroscopy findings, and MR imaging score (three-point scale based on severity of structural neuroimaging changes)-was performed to help predict outcome in each patient. Findings were then compared with the actual 6-12-month outcome assigned by a pediatric neurologist. RESULTS: Outcome on the basis of proton MR spectroscopy findings combined with clinical data and MR imaging score was predicted correctly in 91% of neonates and in 100% of infants and children. Outcome on the basis of clinical data and MR imaging score alone was 83% in neonates, 84% in infants, and 93% in children. The presence of lactate was significantly higher in patients with poor outcome than in patients with good-moderate outcomes in all three age groups (neonates, 38% vs 5%; infants, 87% vs 5%; children, 64% vs 10% [chi 2 test, P < .02]). In children with poor outcomes, NAA/Cr ratios were significantly lower in infants (P = .006) and children (P < .001), and NAA/Ch ratios were significantly lower in infants (P = .001) and neonates (P = .05). CONCLUSION: Findings at proton MR spectroscopy helped predict long-term neurologic outcomes in children after central nervous system injury.     

Variable geometry capacitive probes for multipurpose sensing

A capacitive array for robotic proximity and feature sensing has been designed, modeled, and tested. The basic probe consists of alternating metallic strip electrodes. One set of strips makes up the drive plate. The other set consists of tiny receivers. Both sum and differential modes of operations are used to allow one to detect proximity and features, respectively. Modeling has encompassed calculation of admittance changes (Y) due to the introduction of materials with simple geometric configurations. The theory is developed in detail using the Lorentz reciprocity theorem. The relationship between the spatial frequency of the probe electrodes and the interrogation field penetration is also discussed. Testing has involved scanning a two-port configured probe system over a test piece with known features and flaws. Four capabilities of the probe have been examined: distance ranging, edge detection, field optimization (changing the electric field pattern of the probe to enhance output signal), and complex pattern recognition (filtering). Both dielectric and metal objects have been investigated.     

Winter rape oil fuel for diesel engines: Recovery and utilization

Although vegetable oil cannot yet be recommended as a fuel for general use, considerable progress in recovery and use of rapeseed oil (Brassica napus L.) for diesel operation has been made. Operation of a small-scale screwpress plant (40 kg/hr) was demonstrated. Maintenance of screw and end rings was a major problem. The plant has operated with a recovery efficiency of 77% and has processed 10,100 kg of seed in 230 hr. High viscosity of the rapeseed oil and its tendency to polymerize within the cylinder were major chemical and physical problems encountered. Attempts to reduce the viscosity of the vegetable oil by preheating the fuel were not successful in sufficiently increasing the temperature of the fuel at the injector to be of value. Short-term engine performance with vegetable oils as a fuel in any proportion show power output and fuel consumption to be equivalent to the diesel-fueled engines. Severe engine damage occurred in a very short time period in tests of maximum power with varying engine rpm. Additional torque tests with all blends need to be conducted. A blend of 70/30 winter rape and No. 1 diesel has been used successfully to power a small single-cylinder diesel engine for 850 hr. No adverse wear, effect on lubricating oil or effect on power output were noted. Approved as Paper No. 8237 of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Toxin Content of Commercial Castor Cultivars

The castor plant Ricinus communis L. is the source of castor oil which has numerous uses and is a key chemical feedstock for an array of products from polymers to cosmetics. Although castor was once widely grown throughout the world, the presence of the toxic protein ricin has deterred the re‐introduction of this useful crop. In order to develop a low‐ricin or no‐ricin castor crop, a robust, accurate method for screening castor seed for ricin content is essential. In this study, we validated a sandwich enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of ricin and the homologous Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA) in castor beans and screened a collection of castor lines including commercial varieties using this assay. Although the average content derived by extracting several seeds provided a fair representation of the ricin content for a given selection, there was enough seed‐to‐seed variation to justify determining the ricin/RCA content of individual seeds. Ricin levels observed ranged from 1.16 to 6.25 % by weight.     

Review of Position and the nature of personhood: An approach to the understanding of persons.

Reviews the book, Position and the Nature of Personhood: An Approach to the Understanding of Persons by Larry Cochran (1985). This book is full of abstractions, full of arguments made by examples from literature, full of verbal distinctions. It is literary and philosophical in approach. It is hostile to analysis, that is, to resolution into simpler elements by analysing; the author prefers to consider objects as undivided wholes. It is hostile to behaviourism. It is unsympathetic to quantification. Accordingly, if you are sympathetic to a so-called humanistic approach, if you value intuition over rational analysis, you will approve of the author's views. Who might find this book of value? Not Canadian psychologists; most of them are likely to be impatient with Cochran's long-winded presentations of verbal distinctions. Not graduate students of psychology; their professors will not be in sympathy with the anti-analytic views of the author. Not philosophers, for the book seems hardly to be sufficiently well argued to be of interest to a professional philosopher (though philosophers no doubt can speak for themselves on this). Not the general reader. Although I enjoyed reading the literary examples, I found myself dreadfully bored by the philosophical discussions. Reading this book has not helped me to understand people better or to prepare myself better for conducting research. The author might argue, however, that such a result is only to be expected for a person holding my position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)