Computer program for predicting creep behavior of bodies of revolution

Computer program, CRAB, uses finite-element method to calculate creep behavior and predict steady-state stresses in an arbitrary body of revolution subjected to a time-dependent axisymmetric load. Creep strains follow a time hardening law and a Prandtl-Reuss stress-strain relationship

Reform of Preservice Science Education: An Example from a State-Supported University

The ongoing movement to reform the teaching and learning of mathematics and science began as an effort targeting grades K-12. This movement, however, also has significant implications for institutions of higher education, especially in the area of teacher preparation. Northeast Louisiana University has utilized an extensive system of support, including vital National Science Foundation funding, to redesign its science curriculum for elementary education majors. Four courses featuring the content areas of biology, chemistry, geosciences, and physics and integrated with respect to content and methodology were collaboratively developed by education and science faculty. and were approved as requirements for all preservice majors. Preliminary evaluation results with respect to students’ content knowledge and attitude are favorable. Ongoing efforts include the development of activities designed to further integrate the courses with respect to content and the execution of focused evaluative studies to reflect the degree of implementation of the reform practices that have been modeled by the university faculty

A Preliminary Assessment of Tidal Flooding along the New Hampshire Coast: Past, Present and Future

This report presents the results of a preliminary study that examines several critical coastal issues for New Hampshire including sea level fluctuations (past, present and future), shoreline migrations, and tidal flooding. Included are: 1) an analysis of sea level changes over the Holocene and resulting shoreline migrations, 2) an assessment of low-lying areas with elevations below selected tidal flooding datums in coastal areas, and 3) an assessment of increases in low-lying areas that are potentially at risk to tidal flooding over the next century due to sea level rise

Simulator evaluation of separation of display parameters in path-following tasks

A five degree of freedom, fixed base simulation changing the location of the displays for bank angle, pitch angle, heading angle, and the vertical and lateral displacement from an instrument landing system path was studied. It is shown that the accuracy of the lateral path following and the pilot aircraft system dynamic characteristics deteriorate when bank angle is displayed separated from the other attitudes. It is found that best results are obtained when bank, heading, and pitch angles are displayed together and vertical and lateral displacements are displayed at another location in the display

A methodology for exploiting parallelism in the finite element process

A methodology is described for developing a parallel system using a top down approach taking into account the requirements of the user. Substructuring, a popular technique in structural analysis, is used to illustrate this approach

Solar proton monitoring system

Solar proton monitoring system in North Americ

Predictions for the fracture toughness of cancellous bone of fracture neck of femur patients

Current protocol in determining if a patient is osteoporotic and their fracture risk is based on dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). DXA gives an indication of their bone mineral density (BMD) which is the product of both the porosity and density of the mineralized bone tissue; this is usually taken at the hip. The DXA results are assessed using the fracture risk assessment tool as recommended by the World Health Organization. While this provides valuable data on a person’s fracture risk advancements in medical imagining technology enables development of more robust and accurate risk assessment tools. In order to develop such tools in vitro analysis of bone is required to assess the morphological properties of bone osteoporotic bone tissue and how these pertain to the fracture toughness (Kcmax) of the tissue.Support was provided by the EPSRC (EP/K020196: Point-ofCare High Accuracy Fracture Risk Prediction), the UK Department of Transport under the BOSCOS (Bone Scanning for Occupant Safety) project, and approved by Gloucester and Cheltenham NHS Trust hospitals under ethical consent (BOSCOS – Mr. Curwen CI REC ref 01/179G)

Infrared Lighting Does Not Suppress Catch of Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Pheromone-Baited Monitoring Traps

Video cameras are increasingly being used to record insect behaviors in the field over prolonged intervals. A nagging question about crepuscular and nocturnal recordings is whether or not infrared light emitted by such cameras to illuminate the scene influences the behaviors of the subjects or study outcomes. Here we quantified catches of male codling moths, Cydia pomonella (L.), responding to sex pheromone-baited monitoring traps illuminated with infrared, red, white, or no light. No statistically significant differences were found between any of these treatments

The effects of long-day lighting and removal of young leaves on tomato yield

While low intensity long-day (LD) lighting has been shown to enhance the growth of young plants under low light levels, its effect on the yield of a long-season glasshouse tomato crop has not been previously examined. LD were provided by the use of tungsten lamps (2.8 μmol m-2 s-1 at approx. 0.5 m from the ground) between 04.00 h to sunrise and from sunset until 20.00 h (GMT). LD lighting increased leaf chlorophyll contents, and the numbers of flowers and fruits set per truss when the plants were young. However, this treatment did not affect the total yield of tomatoes. Different leaf removal treatments were applied within each glasshouse compartment. A previous experiment had shown that reducing the leaf area index (LAI) from 5.2 to 2.6, by removing old leaves, did not affect yield. It was also thought that removal of young leaves reduced the total vegetative sink-strength and favoured assimilate partitioning into the fruit. Therefore, removal of young leaves could increase fruit yield. In the present experiments, one-third of the leaves were removed in March (those immediately below each truss) and, subsequently, every third leaf was removed at an early stage of its development. This reduced the LAI from 4.1 to 2.9 and resulted in a loss of yield from 3 – 4 weeks after leaf removal until the end of the experiment, at which point there was an 8% loss of cumulative yield due to a reduction in the average number of fruits set per truss and in mean fruit weight. We postulate that the light which would have been intercepted by young photosynthetically-efficient leaves at the top of the canopy was intercepted instead by older leaves which were less efficient, reducing overall net canopy photosynthesis

Poincare duality for K-theory of equivariant complex projective spaces

We make explicit Poincare duality for the equivariant K-theory of equivariant complex projective spaces. The case of the trivial group provides a new approach to the K-theory orientation