Biophysical Model of Larval Yellow Perch Advection and Settlement in Lake Michigan

Potential for large-scale physical transport processes to affect recruitment of Lake Michigan yellow perch (Perca flavescens) was studied by examining the variation in larval distribution, growth rate, and settlement during June–August 1998–2003 using a 3D particle transport model linked with an individual-based bioenergetics growth model. In all years, virtual larvae were released nearshore in southwestern Lake Michigan, a known and important spawning region for yellow perch. For any given year, the same circulation pattern and water temperature either promoted or reduced yellow perch settlement depending on the consumption rates and settlement size chosen in the growth model. Increased consumption increased the number of settled larvae and expanded the total area where larvae settled, whereas increased settlement size reduced the number of settled larvae and reduced the overall settlement area. Interannual variability in circulation patterns and water temperature also resulted in contrasting larval settlement rates, settlement locations, and size of settlement areas between years. Model predictions were most consistent with field observations of age-0 yellow perch from Illinois and Michigan waters when settlement was assumed to occur at 50 mm. Moreover, our model suggests that larvae originating from southwestern Lake Michigan can recruit anywhere within the southern basin and even in the northern basin. Future model improvement will require information on the relative contribution of various sectors to the larval pool, their distribution with reference to the hydrodynamic landscape, the feeding and growth of yellow perch during their pelagic phase, and the size at transition to demersal stage.     

Microdeformation in partially compatible blends of poly(styrene-acrylonitrile) and polycarbonate

Dilute 3-component 1-phase solutions in methylene chloride of poly(styrene-acrylonitrile) PSAN and polycarbonate PC are used to cast phase separated thin films. Films of pure PSAN, pure PC and five intermediate compositions are examined. The films are bonded to copper grids and strained at a constant rate of 4.1 × 10^–6sec^–1. The median tensile strain _v for void formation is determined using an optical microscope and the regions surrounding the voids are examined by TEM. At room temperature and slow strain rates both PSAN and PC plastically deform by shear yielding. For pure PSAN _v was found to be 0.13 whereas for PC _v exceeds 0.23. The addition of the more ductile polymer PC to PSAN at weight fractionsx forx 0.4 decreases _v. In this case voids form in crazes at the boundaries between the PC-rich inclusion and the PSAN-rich matrix. When the PC content is increased tox = 0.8, _v approaches 0.23. The effect of physical ageing (annealing belowT _g the glass transition temperature) on the mode of plastic deformation was also examined over the same compositional range. Physical ageing was found to suppress shear deformation and favour crazing in PSAN and PSAN-rich phases. Because crazes are more susceptible to breakdown than DZ's (shear deformation zones), physical ageing results in a marked decrease in _v. The breakdown statistics of these phase separated partially compatible blends was found to follow a Weibull distribution in strain from which two parameters may be extracted: the Weibull modulus and _w the Weibull scale parameter. is a measure of the breadth of distribution of void initiation and _w is a measure of the median strain to void formation in the films. The behaviour of _w was found to approximately mirror _v. The Weibull modulus appears to be primarily controlled by the matrix phase.     

Nanogoldpharmaceutics (i) The use of colloidal gold to treat experimentally-induced arthritis in rat models; (ii) Characterization of the gold in Swarna bhasma, a microparticulate used in traditional Indian medicine

Nanosized gold particles (27 +/− 3 nm) have been proven to be effective in ameliorating the symptoms of mycobacterial-, collagen- and pristane-induced arthritis in rat models. This contrasts with the drug sodium aurothiomalate that was only effective against mycobacterial-induced arthritis but not to the same extent as Au⁰. Gold in the traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine,Swarna bhasma (gold ash), has been characterized as globular particles of gold with an average size of 56–57 nm.     

Niobium-Base Superalloys via Powder Metallurgy Technology

JOM - This paper provides some insight into an area that has been neglected, namely the possibility of developing high-strength, niobium-base alloys by improved oxidation resistance via the...     

The atomic age challenge to steel

Some months ago the submarine Nautilus was in dock for refueling. It had traveled 60,000 miles, but the total uranium used would make a lump smaller than a light bulb. This is only one example that the Atomic Age is here with us, now! How and where does this incredible Atomic Age challenge the first and greatest of America’s basic industries?     

Rotating Heat Exchangers and the Optimization of a Heat Pump

Flow and heat transfer conditions are investigated on rotating flat plates and on blades of tangential blowers. The solution of the three dimensional boundary layer equations for rotating flat plates show that 3-D effects are of influence only in the neighborhood of the axis of rotation. The conditions outside this region can be treated as flow in a 2-D system. The measurements indicate that turbulent flow exists already at Re-values much smaller than Reclit for stationary flat plates. As a result of this, high heat transfer rates can be achieved at lower average velocities. All data taken on rotating flat plates and on the blades of a tangential blower can be correlated by a single dimensionless relationship. The results obtained by theory and measurements are used to derive design curves for the construction of a heat pump. A device built in accordance to these curves performed as predicted. Discussed are also rotating furnaces, radiators and condensers for vapor driven engines.     

Mass-Balance Model of Pulmonary Oxygen Transport

A dynamic lumped-parameter model for pulmonary gas transport has been developed to characterize the lung and predict the effect of various parameter changes. The gas side of the lung is modeled as a series and parallel arrangement of five perfectly mixed, variable-volume compartments that correspond roughly to airway and alveolar regions. The blood side of the lung is modeled as a series of perfectly mixed, constant-volume compartments that represent the pulmonary capillary bed. From nonsteady mass balances, equations are derived which yield the time course of concentration for each compartment. Model simulations indicate that the oxygen-hemoglobin reaction does not reach equilibrium in the pulmonary capillaries, an assumption commonly made in analyses of pulmonary oxygen transport. Simulations also show the extent to which breathing amplitude and rate can affect the oxygen level in the blood leaving the lung. A comparison of simulations for a normal state and chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) with identical input conditions demonstrates that the oxygen level in the blood leaving the lung is much lower in COLD. Also, the simulations are compared with experimental findings.     

Textile Applications of Adjustable-Frequency Drives with Digital Ratio Control

The application of digital techniques to program and to process the input signals to adjustable-frequency inverters for the control of rugged ac motors is becoming widespread. It was perhaps inevitable that digital signal control would eventually be combined with the inherently digital adjustable-frequency power inverter to produce systems having high overall line speed accuracy, adjustable ``digital gearing' between sections, locked-in-step acceleration from creep to run speed, and in-train digital jogging. A short introduction to adjustable-frequency motor control is given, and the use of digital techniques for controlling adjustable-frequency inverters to produce digital speed systems is described. Early applications of the first solid-state inverters to synthetic fiber spinning and their continued use is described. Specific current applications of digitally controlled adjustable-frequency speed systems are discussed, and potential applications that demonstrate how the capabilities of such systems can be used to provide economic solutions to many textile industry drive problems are reviewed.     

Association of seed size with genotypic variation in the chemical constituents of soybeans

Ten soybean genotypes grown in 1992 with seed size ranging from 7.6 to 30.3 g/100 seeds and maturity group V or VI were selected and tested for oil and protein content and for fatty acid composition. In these germplasm, protein varied from 39.5 to 50.2%, oil, 16.3 to 21.6%, and protein plus oil, 59.7 to 67.5%. Percentages of individual fatty acids relative to total fatty acids varied as follows: palmitic, 11.0 to 12.8; stearic, 3.2 to 4.7; oleic, 17.6 to 24.2; linoleic, 51.1 to 56.3 and linolenic, 6.9 to 10.0. Seed size showed no significant correlations with individual saturated fatty acids, protein or oil content. However, significant correlations were found between seed size and individual unsaturated fatty acids: positive with oleic, and negative with linoleic and linolenic. Oil and protein content were negatively correlated with each other. Among the major fatty acids, only the unsaturated were significantly correlated with each other: negative between oleic and linoleic or linolenic, and positive between linoleic and linolenic. A subsequent study with soybeans grown in 1993 generally confirmed these findings. Variation in relative percentages of unsaturated fatty acids andr values for most pairs of relationships were even higher than those obtained from the 1992 crop. Presented at the 85th AOCS Annual Meeting and Expo, Atlanta, Georgia, May 8–12, 1994.     

A New Level-Set Model for the Representation of Non-Smooth Geometries

In Starinshak et al. (J Comput Phys 262(1):1–16, 2014), we proposed a new level-set model for representing multimaterial flows in multiple space dimensions. Rather than associating each level-set function with the boundary of a material, the new model associates each level-set function with a pair of materials and the interface that separates them. In this paper, we extend the model to represent geometries with non-smooth boundaries. The model uses multiple level-set functions to describe the shape boundary, typically with one level-set function per smooth boundary segment. Sign information is collected from all level-set functions and a voting algorithm is used to determine the interior/exterior of the geometric shape. The model is well suited for representing boundaries with singularities; it offers significant improvement over standard level-set approaches, both in shape preservation and area conservation; and it eliminates the need for costly redistancing of the level-set function. Numerical examples illustrate the superior performance of the proposed model.