Resonant frequency can be adjusted on vibration mount

Vibration mount allows adjustment of its resonant frequency and is insensitive to wide temperature variation. The concept is essentially a multidirectional, frictionally damped spring with an adjustable cap. The mount provides vibration isolation in both compression and shear and may be applicable to space use

A study on the biology of the kittiwake (rissa tridactyla)

The attendance and behaviour of successfully breeding kittiwake adults and their chicks at the breeding site was monitored both by a time-lapse filming technique and spot observations over 3 successive breeding seasons. The orientation of adults at the site was shown to reflect the changing requirements of protection for eggs and brood through the cycle. The attendance pattern similarly reflected variation according to the requirements of pair-bonds, egg and chick-care and although on average adults shared the duties, in particular cases pairs could take unequal shares. The early stages were co-ordinated and consistent but after early chick-care individual attendance patterns lost these properties due to the avoidance of the brood so that individual broods received individual patterns of guarding. Throughout the rest of the cycle adults increasingly avoided their broods as these developed. The form and amount of avoidance depended upon the restrictions of the nest site, brood size and the 'quality' of the adult. While chicks were not killed by non-breeding adults visiting unguarded nest sites, their fledging patterns may well have been disrupted at the time when waterproofing and independent foraging skills were least developed. Those chicks left unattended relatively early were over-represented in the substantial mortality (mainly by drowning) during the fledging stage. Adult behaviour showed cliff-nesting adaptations and was similar in form in all individuals. Avoidance of the attention of well- grown chicks was pronounced. Chick behaviour (itself not affected by whichever adult of the pair attended) showed a progressive independance of the attention of the adults, although the chicks were not freely mobile over the ledge until after the first flight. Chicks' begging interactions, responsible for the avoidance by the parents, were not simply related to the amount of feeding. The possible consequences of this are discussed

Interactive Gaming Reduces Experimental Pain With or Without a Head Mounted Display

While virtual reality environments have been shown to reduce pain, the precise mechanism that produces the pain attenuating effect has not been established. It has been suggested that it may be the ability to command attentional resources with the use of head mounted displays (HMDs) or the interactivity of the environment. Two experiments compared participants’ pain ratings to high and low levels of electrical stimulation while engaging in interactive gaming with an HMD. In the first, gaming with the HMD was compared to a positive emotion induction condition; and in the second experiment the HMD was compared to a condition in which the game was projected onto a wall. Interactive gaming significantly reduced numerical ratings of painful stimuli when compared to the baseline and affect condition. However, when the two gaming conditions were directly compared, they equally reduced participants’ pain ratings. These data are consistent with past research showing that interactive gaming can attenuate experimentally induced pain and its effects are comparable whether presented in a head mounted display or projected on a wall

Trends in Land Use and Crop Production 12 Federal Reclamation Projects Northern Great Plains

Trends in land use and crop production on reclamation projects are of considerable interest as new developments are planned. Twelve of the projects in the Northern Great Plains states were included in this study. They are: Belle Fourche Project in South Dakota; Bitter Root, Buffalo Rapids, Frenchtown, Huntley, Milk River, and Sun River Projects in Montana; Lower Yellowstone Project in Montana and North Dakota; Riverton and Shoshone Projects in Wyoming; North Platte Project in Wyoming and Nebraska; and the Uncompahgre Project in Colorado

An inter-comparison of Arctic synoptic scale storms between four global reanalysis datasets

The Arctic is becoming more accessible as sea ice extent continues to decline, resulting in higher human exposure to Arctic storms. This study compares Arctic storm characteristics between the ECMWF-Interim Reanalysis, 55-year Japanese Reanalysis, NASA-Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 and National Centre for Environmental Prediction-Climate Forecast System Reanalysis datasets between 1980 and 2017, in winter (DJF) and summer (JJA). It is shown that Arctic storm characteristics are sensitive to the variable used for storm tracking. Arctic storm frequency is found to be similar in summer and winter when using sea level pressure minima to track Arctic storms, whereas, the storm frequency is found to be higher in winter than summer when using 850 hPa relative vorticity to track storms, based on using the same storm tracking algorithm. It is also found that there are no significant trends in Arctic storm characteristics between 1980 and 2017. Given the sparsity of observations in the Arctic, it might be expected that there are large differences in Arctic storm characteristics between the reanalysis datasets. Though, some similar Arctic storm characteristics are found between the reanalysis datasets, it is found that the differences in Arctic storm characteristics between the reanalysis datasets are generally higher in winter than in summer. Overall, the results show that there are differences in Arctic storm characteristics between reanalysis datasets, but even larger differences can arise between using 850 hPa relative vorticity or mean sea level pressure as the storm tracking variable, which adds to the uncertainty associated with current Arctic storm characteristics

Gluon Tree Amplitudes in Open Twistor String Theory

We show how the link variables of Arkani-Hamed, Cachazo, Cheung and Kaplan (ACCK), can be used to compute general gluon tree amplitudes in the twistor string. They arise from instanton sectors labelled by d, with d=n-1, where n is the number of negative helicities. Read backwards, this shows how the various forms for the tree amplitudes studied by ACCK can be grouped into contour integrals whose structure implies the existence of an underlying string theory.Comment: 36 page

Evaluation of a sleep hygiene program to improve inmate sleep quality

Research investigating the effectiveness of treatments for inmates with poor sleep quality appears minimal. Some difficulties related to poor sleep quality can be addressed effectively with little time and expense. Studies show that psychoeducational interventions are effective in reducing sleep complaints and improving sleep quality in a variety of populations including college students and adults. However, the effect of sleep hygiene interventions on inmate sleep complaints is unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving prison inmate sleep habits, length, and quality. Participants of this study were inmates at a department of corrections facility for men in the southern United States. Using the Sleep Quality Index, the Sleep Habits Questionnaire; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale the effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving sleep quality, length, and habits for inmates was evaluated using multivariate analysis of variance. Results revealed that the intervention program did not have a significant impact on sleep quality, length, or habits for study participants. However, inmates in this sample had a higher rate of sleep disturbances and poor sleep quality than reported in previous studies with adults and college student populations. This finding suggests a need for effective sleep hygiene interventions in the prison environment

ADR and Justice in consumer disputes in the EU

This policy brief reports on the main conclusions from an international conference held at Wolfson College, Oxford on 18–20 April 2016, at which representatives from seven governments, ombudsmen, and academic experts assessed efforts to implement new dispute resolution mechanisms across EU Member States. The briefing also assesses the levels of trust the public holds in ombudsmen, and what drives this trust. It finds a number of mechanisms under development, and makes a range of recommendations for future approaches