Precipitous weakening of quartz at the α–β phase inversion

Crystalline quartz has long been identified as among the weakest of abundant crustal minerals. This weakness is particularly evident around the α–β phase inversion at 573°C, in which Si–O bonds undergo a displacive structural transformation from trigonal to hexagonal symmetry. Here we present data using indentation testing methodologies that highlight the precipitous extent of the transformational weakening. Although the indentations are localized over relatively small specimen contact areas, the data quantify the essential deformation and fracture properties of quartz in a predominantly (but not exclusively) compressive stress field, at temperatures and pressures pertinent to conditions in the earth's crust.     

Skeletal Muscle Health and Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with advancing age. It involves both complex genetic and modifiable risk factors, such as lack of exercise, malnutrition and reduced neurological drive. Cognitive decline refers to diminished or impaired mental and/or intellectual functioning. Contracting skeletal muscle is a major source of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which regulate synapses in the brain. Furthermore, skeletal muscle activity has important immune and redox effects that modify brain function and reduce muscle catabolism. The identification of common risk factors and underlying mechanisms for sarcopenia and cognition may allow the development of targeted interventions that slow or reverse sarcopenia and also certain forms of cognitive decline. However, the links between cognition and skeletal muscle have not been elucidated fully. This review provides a critical appraisal of the literature on the relationship between skeletal muscle health and cognition. The literature suggests that sarcopenia and cognitive decline share pathophysiological pathways. Ageing plays a role in both skeletal muscle deterioration and cognitive decline. Furthermore, lifestyle risk factors, such as physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking, are common to both disorders, so their potential role in the muscle–brain relationship warrants investigation.     

Modeling aviation baggage screening security systems: a case study

Aviation security protects vital national interests, as well as passengers and aircraft. Key components of an aviation security system include baggage and passenger screening devices and operations. Determining how and where to assign (deploy) such devices can be quite challenging. Moreover, even after such systems are in place, it can be difficult to measure their effectiveness. This paper describes how discrete optimization models can be used to address these questions, based on three performance measures that quantify the effectiveness of airport baggage screening security device systems. These models are used to solve for optimal airport baggage screening security device deployments considering the number of passengers on a set of flights who have not been cleared using a security risk assessment system in use by the Federal Aviation Administration (i.e., passengers whose baggage is subjected to screening), the number of flights in this set, and the size of the aircraft for such flights. Several examples are provided to illustrate these results, including an example that uses data available from the Official Airline Guide.     

The influence of viewing distance on subjective impairment assessment

In this paper, the influence of viewing distance on subjective assessment of the impairment in video sequences is investigated. Subjective tests using the double-stimulus impairment scale variant II (DSIS II) method have been conducted at viewing distances of 5H (where H stands for the screen height) and 3H, respectively. Several statistical measures have been used to analyze the influence, including correlations and ANOVA (analysis of variance) tests. The results reveal that there is a very high correlation between the subjective scores, the variances are similar under the two viewing distances, the means of subjective data at these two viewing distances are the same, and there is no interaction between the viewing distance and the other two factors, i.e., the codec system and the source sequence. Throughout the tests, there is no evidence that a closer viewing distance such as 3H will vary the subjective test result statistically significantly.     

Unicode Steganographic Exploits: Maintaining Enterprise Border Security

Unicode is rapidly becoming the preferred means for representing symbols used in creating multimedia content, especially for information that's presented in multiple languages. This article discusses a unicode vulnerability that makes such content susceptible to being used for creation of covert channel communications. We also developed a solution architecture, the unified secure message augmentation (USMA) service. The USMA service incorporates rules (in an XML vocabulary) that we can apply to unicode transmissions that will detect an attempt to transmit a potential exploit, alert network managers to the presence of the unicode anomaly, and take action to mitigate the exploit.     

Designing the world we live in

Engineering designers, who decide the physical shape and technical features of the built world, tend to forget that their predecessors have been making design decisions for hundreds of years. This paper gives several historical examples of design experience which can supply useful insights today, because the essential nature of engineering has not changed.Adapted from: Eugene S. Ferguson,Engineering and the Mind's Eye. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1992