Diffusion of water into a photopolymer film

Sorption of water vapor into thin films of a crosslinked dimethacrylate UV-cured polymer was measured by means of a quartz crystal microbalance apparatus. The diffusion coefficient and solubility were obtained. An upper limit to the water vapor diffusion coefficient, namely, the diffusion coefficient for liquid water in intimate contact with the sample, was measured for reference purposes by both gravimetric and infrared spectral techniques. A water uptake value for thick films was obtained gravimetrically as a reference for the thin film value. Measurement of the diffusion coefficient allows the determination of the length of time that the photopolymer could act as an effective water vapor barrier.     

Praise or blame? Affective influences on attributions for achievement.

Three experiments showed that mood influences achievement attributions and that cognitive processes underlie these effects. In Experiment 1, happy Ss made more internal and stable attributions for success than failure in typical 'life dilemmas.' In Experiment 2, attributions for real-life exam performance were more internal and stable in a happy than in a sad mood. Dysphoric moods resulted in self-critical rather than self-enhancing attributions, contrary to motivational theories, but consistent with cognitive models and the clinical literature on depression. In Experiment 3 this pattern was repeated with direct self vs. other comparisons, and for self-efficacy judgments. The results are interpreted as supporting cognitive rather than motivational theories of attribution biases. The implications of the results for clinical research, and contemporary affect–cognition theories are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variable expression of myoglobin among the hemoglobinless Antarctic icefishes

The important intracellular oxygen-binding protein, myoglobin (Mb), is thought to be absent from oxidative muscle tissues of the family of hemoglobinless Antarctic icefishes, Channichthyidae. Within this family of fishes, which is endemic to the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, there exist 15 known species and 11 genera. To date, we have examined eight species of icefish (representing seven genera) using immunoblot analyses. Results indicate that Mb is present in heart ventricles from five of these species of icefish. Mb is absent from heart auricle and oxidative skeletal muscle of all species. We have identified a 0.9-kb mRNA in Mb-expressing species that hybridizes with a Mb cDNA probe from the closely related red-blooded Antarctic nototheniid fish, Notothenia coriiceps. In confirmation that the 0.9-kb mRNA encodes Mb, we report the full-length Mb cDNA sequence of the ocellated icefish, Chionodraco rastrospinosus. Of the eight icefish species examined, three lack Mb polypeptide in heart ventricle, although one of these expresses the Mb mRNA. All species of icefish retain the Mb gene in their genomic DNA. Based on phylogeny of the icefishes, loss of Mb expression has occurred independently at least three times and by at least two distinct molecular mechanisms during speciation of the family.     

A review on measurement science needs for real-time control of additive manufacturing metal powder bed fusion processes

Additive manufacturing technologies are increasingly used in the development of new products. However, variations in part quality in terms of material properties, dimensional tolerances, surface roughness and defects limit its broader acceptance. Process control today based on heuristics and experimental data yields limited improvement in part quality. In an effort to identify the needed measurement science for real-time closed-loop control of additive manufacturing (AM) processes, this paper presents a literature review on the current AM control schemes, process measurements and modelling and simulation methods as it applies to the powder bed fusion process, though results from other processes are reviewed where applicable. We present our research findings to identify the correlations between process parameters, process signatures and product quality. We also present research recommendations on the key control issues to serve as a technical basis for standards development in this area. Complimentary details to this paper with summary tables, range of values, preliminary correlations and correlation figures can be accessed from a National Institute of Standards and Technology Report (http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2015/NIST.IR.8036.pdf). This paper is developed based on the report.     

Connections between finite-gain and asymptotic stability

The relationship between input-output and Lyapunov stability properties for nonlinear systems is studied. Well-known definitions for the input-output properties of finite-gain and passivity, even with quite reasonable minimality assumptions on a state-space representation, do not necessarily imply any form of stability for the state. Attention is given to the precise versions of input-output and observability properties which guarantee asymptotic stability. Particular emphasis is given to the possibility of multiple equilibria for the dynamical system.     

Tests for stability and instability of interconnected systems

This paper describes simple sufficient conditions for stability and instability of interconnected systems in terms of the properties of the subsystems and of the interconnections. The central theme is the notion of "dissipativeness" of the subsystems-a property which includes finite gain, passivity, conicity, and some other variants as special cases.     

Stability criteria for large-scale systems

Recent research into large-scale system stability has proceeded via two apparently unrelated approaches. For Lyapunov stability, it is assumed that the system can be broken down into a number of subsystems, and that for each subsystem one can find a Lyapunov function (or something akin to a Lyapunov function). The alternative approach is an input-output approach; stability criteria are derived by assuming that each subsystem has finite gain. The input-output method has also been applied to interconnections of passive and of conic subsystems. This paper attempts to unify many of the previous results, by studying linear interconnections of so-called "dissipative" subsystems. A single matrix condition is given which ensures both input-output stability and Lyapunov stability. The result is then specialized to cover interconnections of some special types of dissipative systems, namely finite gain systems, passive systems, and conic systems.     

Stability results for nonlinear feedback systems

This paper presents an approach towards deriving sufficient conditions for the stability of nonlinear feedback systems. The central features of the approach are twofold. Firstly, useful stability tests are obtained for the case when the subsystems have nonlinear dynamics; secondly, a unifying set of general stability criteria are given, from which known situations can be treated as special cases and new ones are handled with equal ease. The results are obtained by use of a recently developed theory of dissipative systems.     

Spectral factorization of a finite-dimensional nonstationary matrix covariance

For a given nonstationary matrix covariance with a finite-dimensionality property that is the time-varying generalization of the rational power spectrum matrix property, we show how to find a linear finite-dimensional system driven by white noise with output covariance equal to the prescribed covariance.     

When is a device passive?

Passivity is perhaps the most basic concept in circuit theory. Unfortunately, the existing definitions of passivity are too restrictive and often contradict one another. In this paper, a new passivity definition is proposed which is applicable to all n-port and (n + 1)-terminal devices—including time-varying, non-linear, and distributed circuit elements. This definition generalizes and reconciles several recent conflicting definitions.