Segmented force plate (SFP) software package for clinical use

A gait analysis system is described. It is designed for clinical use as well as research purposes. The system is simple to operate and can be used by non-computer specialist. The design philosophy is straightforward and allows for easy adaptation to other systems. Samples of the output are presented.     

Yodel: A Yield Stress Model for Suspensions

A model for the yield stress of particulate suspensions is presented that incorporates microstructural parameters taking into account volume fraction of solids, particle size, particle size distribution, maximum packing, percolation threshold, and interparticle forces. The model relates the interparticle forces between particles of dissimilar size and the statistical distribution of particle pairs expected for measured or log-normal size distributions. The model is tested on published data of sub-micron ceramic suspensions and represents the measured data very well, over a wide range of volume fractions of solids. The model shows the variation of the yield stress of particulate suspensions to be inversely proportional to the particle diameter. Not all the parameters in the model could be directly evaluated; thus, two were used as adjustable variables: the maximum packing fraction and the minimum interparticle separation distance. The values for these two adjustable variables provided by the model are in good agreement with separate determinations of these parameters. This indicates that the model and the approximations used in its derivation capture the main parameters that influence the yield stress of particulate suspensions and should help us to better predict changes in the rheological properties of complex suspensions. The model predicts the variation of the yield stress of particulate suspensions to be inversely proportional to the particle diameter, but the experimental results do not show a clear dependence on diameter. This result is consistent with previous evaluations, which have shown significant variations in this dependence, and the reasons behind the yield stress dependence on particle size are discussed in the context of the radius of curvature of particles at contact.     

Perils of Using Hurricane Katrina to Teach Engineering Ethics

Katrina is a case the complexity of which makes it hard to use. It is also a case unlikely to repay the trouble of using it. According to IPET's current understanding of what happened, probably the final word, the engineering decision-making was probably too diffuse to make an interesting ethics case.     

Shear mode coupling and tilted grain growth of A1N thin films in BAW resonators.

Polycrystalline A1N thin films were deposited by RF reactive magnetron sputtering on Pt(111)/Ti electrode films. The substrates were tilted by an angle ranging from 40 degrees to 70 degrees with respect to the target normal. A low deposition temperature and a high sputter gas pressure were found ideal for tilted growth. The resulting grain tilt angle amounts to about half the substrate tilt angle. For coupling evaluation, 5 GHz solidly mounted resonator structures have been realized. The tilted grain A1N films exhibited a permittivity in the 9.5-10.5 range and loss tangent of 0.3%. Two shear modes as well as the longitudinal mode could be clearly identified. The coupling coefficient k2(eff) of the fundamental thickness shear mode (TS0) was found to be about 0.5%, which is compatible with a c-axis tilt of about 6 degrees.     

Magnetic field detection enhancement in an external cavity fiberFabry-Perot sensor

The sensitivity of an extrinsic fiber-optic magnetic field sensor using a gallium doped yttrium iron garnet (Ga:YIG) bulk optic crystal has been significantly improved by incorporating a Fabry-Perot resonator around the crystal     

Evaluation of Soybean Seedcoat Cracking During Drying:PART II. Using MRI

MRI techniques were developed and employed for non-destructive and noninvasive study of seedcoat cracking in low moisture soybean kernels during heated air drying. Proton density image and transient moisture distribution profile of a single soybean kernel can be obtained using MRI. These MRI techniques proved to be particularly useful for the continuous observation of initiation and propagation of seedcoat cracking during the entire period of drying process without interruption.

The proton density images of soybean kernels showed that seedcoat cracking was initiated perpendicular to the long axis of the kernel near the hilum. The transient moisture distribution profiles in soybean kernels during drying indicate that moisture gradient developed during drying was higher in the seedcoat than in the cotyledon. Drying temperature and initial average moisture content were positively correlated with the soyhean seedcoat crackig. The location of the     

Stability, in-Vitro and in-Vivo Release Studies from Metronidazole Ointments

The influence of ointment formulation on the stability, the in-vitro release and the in-vivo absorption through the skin of rabbits was investigated. The choice of the selected ointments has no influence on the drug stability with the exception of an acidified emulsion base. A good correlation between in-vitro release and in-vivo absorption was found revealing that metronidazole was quickly released and effectively absorbed from a polyethylene glycol base.     

Declines in divergent thinking with age: Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-sequential analyses.

Six measures of divergent thinking were administered to 825 men ranging in age from 17 to 101 over the period from 1959 to 1972; repeat administrations were given to a subset of 278 men after a 6-year interval. Cross-sectional analyses showed curvilinear trends, with an increase in scores for men under 40 and a decline thereafter. Repeated measures analyses on subjects initially aged 33 to 74 generally replicated this finding, whereas cross-sequential analyses suggested a decline for all cohorts tested at a later time. Additional analyses suggested that not all of the decline could be attributed to reduced speed of response production. These longitudinal findings confirm earlier cross-sectional reports of decline in divergent thinking abilities with age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)