Epoxy paint failure in B-52 fuel tanks: Part II. Influence of DIEGME concentration in the fuel on the failure process

A model has been proposed to explain the failure of the original BMS10-39 epoxy paint on upper vertical surfaces in B-52 fuel tanks. The model involves interaction of the paint with DIEGME, a fuel system ice inhibitor (FSII) in jet fuel, that is distilled from the liquid fuel. In this communication, distillation experiments used to support the model are refined to better match the mass transfer of vapor from fuel in a B-52 fuel tank at close to room temperature. The interaction of these lower temperature distillates with the paint affirms the earlier model. On the basis of these experiments it is proposed that paint failure may be controlled or eliminated by reducing the level of DIEGME in the fuel. Proposed changes in military jet fuel composition are detailed.     

Exercise training alters endothelium-dependent vasoreactivity of rat abdominal aorta

We tested the hypothesis that adaptations in peripheral arterial vasoreactivity are induced by exercise training. Male rats were trained to run on a treadmill at 30 m/min (15 degrees incline) for 1 h/day 5 days/wk for 10-12 wk. Efficacy was indicated by a 51% increase (P < 0.05) in citrate synthase activity in soleus muscle of exercise-trained (ET) rats compared with that of sedentary (SED) control rats. Responses to vasoactive compounds were examined in vitro using rings of abdominal aorta. Maximal isometric contractile tension evoked by KCl, norepinephrine (NE), and phenylephrine were not different between groups; sensitivity to phenylephrine was also not different between groups. However, sensitivity was lower for both KCl and NE in vessels from ET animals. Endothelium removal did not influence KCl sensitivity but did abolish the difference in NE sensitivity of vessel segments between ET and SED animals. Maximal vasodilator responses induced by acetylcholine (ACh; NE or prostaglandin F2 alpha preconstriction) were greater in vessel rings from ET rats. However, dilatory responses by sodium nitroprusside (NE or prostaglandin F2 alpha preconstriction) and forskolin (NE preconstriction) were not different between groups, indicating that the augmented ACh-induced dilatory response resulted from an adaptation of the endothelium. Blockade of nitric oxide synthase activity diminished ACh-induced vasodilation by 79 and 100% in SED and ET rats, respectively. These results indicate that training alters vasomotor function in rat abdominal aortas through adaptations of both endothelium and smooth muscle.     

The nature and role of incoherent interphase interfaces in diffusional solid-solid phase transformations

In this article, some views on the nature of incoherent interphase interfaces, and their role in the nucleation and growth processes governing the evolution of microstructure in solid-state diffusional transformations (reconstructive transformations), are explored. It is argued that essentially incoherent interfaces can be involved in the initiation and propagation of polymorphic transformations and massive transformations as well as in various precipitation phenomena in metallic and ceramic systems. Similar views have already been advanced earlier in connection with studies of massive transformations. Faceting along the interphase interface during nucleation and growth can derive from thermodynamic, kinetic, and crystallographic factors independent of the bicrystallography of the conjugate phases. This idiomorphic behavior can be relevant to both intergranular and intragranular phase formation. The concept of one-dimensional (1-D) commensuration of phases through plane edge-to-edge/row matching is an interesting extension of the classic ideas of coherency and bicrystallography and potentially important in characterizing the behavior of certain types of boundaries. However, the general importance of these geometrical relations in real and reciprocal space will depend on the depth of the energy wells in orientation space associated with these special boundaries. This article is based on a presentation made in the “Hume-Rothery Symposium on Structure and Diffusional Growth Mechanisms of Irrational Interphase Boundaries,” which occurred during the TMS Winter meeting, March 15–17, 2004, in Charlotte, NC, under the auspices of the TMS Alloy Phases Committee and the co-sponsorship of the TMS-ASM Phase Transformations Committee.     

A connectionist implementation of the theory of planned behavior: Association of beliefs with exercise intention.

The theory of planned behavior suggests attitudes are a product of salient beliefs. This study examined whether aggregating salient beliefs was plausible within a more biologically centered information-processing environment. A neural network was used to examine associations among beliefs relating to exercise intention. Data on intentions and behavioral, normative, and control beliefs from 114 respondents were used to train (by error backpropagation) a neural network to associate beliefs with intention. The R2 between the network's estimated and self-reported intention was .66. The network's representation comprised 6 belief profiles associated with high, moderate, or low behavioral intention. The neural network accommodated complex relationships among beliefs and belief-intention associations and indicated how high-level constructs such as attitudes may be viewed as the best fit (compromise state) between aroused beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preview benefit and parafoveal-on-foveal effects from word n + 2.

Using the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm with the boundary placed after word n, the experiment manipulated preview of word n + 2 for fixations on word n. There was no preview benefit for 1st-pass reading on word n + 2, replicating the results of K. Rayner, B. J. Juhasz, and S. J. Brown (2007), but there was a preview benefit on the 3-letter word n + 1, that is, after the boundary but before word n + 2. Additionally, both word n + 1 and word n + 2 exhibited parafoveal-on-foveal effects on word n. Thus, during a fixation on word n and given a short word n + 1, some information is extracted from word n + 2, supporting the hypothesis of distributed processing in the perceptual span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of linguistic structure on children's ability to isolate initial consonants.

In 4 experiments, preschoolers and kindergartners were asked to pronounce the initial consonants of spoken words. Children performed better on short words, such as bay, than on long words, such as bonus. Words with initial consonant clusters, such as brow, were more difficult for the children than words without initial consonant clusters, such as bar. A consonant cluster at the end of the word did not harm performance. Children did relatively well on words like suppose, for which the word's 1st syllable, /s/, constitutes a correct answer on the initial consonant isolation task. Children did more poorly on words like satin, for which this was not the case. Thus, the linguistic structure of a word affects children's ability to isolate the initial consonant. Implications for the design of phonemic awareness instruction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)