Experimental pressure drop investigation of wetting and nonwetting mercury condensing in uniformly tapered tubes

Pressure drop of wetting and nonwetting mercury condensing in tapered tubes - turbogenerator system

The use of a battery of tracking tests in the quantitative evaluation of neurological function

A tracking test battery has been applied in a drug trail designed to compare the efficacy of L-DOPA and amantadine to that of L-DOPA and placebo in the treatment of 28 patients with Parkinson's disease. The drug trial provided an ideal opportunity for objectively evaluating the usefulness of tracking tests in assessing changes in neurologic function. Evaluating changes in patient performance resulting from disease progression and controlled clinical trials is of great importance in establishing effective treatment programs

The Role of Nonlinear Dynamics in Quantitative Atomic Force Microscopy

Various methods of force measurement with the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) are compared for their ability to accurately determine the tip-surface force from analysis of the nonlinear cantilever motion. It is explained how intermodulation, or the frequency mixing of multiple drive tones by the nonlinear tip-surface force, can be used to concentrate the nonlinear motion in a narrow band of frequency near the cantilevers fundamental resonance, where accuracy and sensitivity of force measurement are greatest. Two different methods for reconstructing tip-surface forces from intermodulation spectra are explained. The reconstruction of both conservative and dissipative tip-surface interactions from intermodulation spectra are demonstrated on simulated data.Comment: 25 pages (preprint, double space) 7 figure

Black Bears Recolonizing Historic Ranges: Indiana Human–Bear Interactions

Over a century after extirpation from Indiana, USA, 2 American black bears (Ursus americanus) were confirmed in the state during the summers of 2015 and 2016. The first bear encountered a public and management agency unaccustomed to living with large carnivores, which resulted in intentional and unintentional feedings, habituation, and ultimately its euthanasia. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) attempted to learn from this encounter and began preparing for the next transient black bear. Education materials were created to help minimize human–bear interactions, promote living safely with bears, and inform about what to do when encountering a bear. Additionally, bear traps were purchased and staff were trained to safely deploy and use these traps. During the summer of 2016, when a second black bear was confirmed in Indiana, the DNR deployed targeted education and outreach materials to try to help maintain a positive living-with-bears environment and minimize human–bear interactions. Expanded public education and a slight increase in preparedness of the DNR provided 2 different outcomes for the recent bears in Indiana. These are likely not the last bears Indiana will host; habitat suitability models suggest that Indiana could potentially support bears in portions of the state. Natural range expansion in neighboring states suggest that Indiana will see more black bears in the future. These 2 bears highlighted the need for Indiana and other state agencies to have some preparations in place—especially related to education—to respond to transient large carnivores that are moving through and eventually recolonizing long extirpated areas

Probability of local bifurcation type from a fixed point: A random matrix perspective

Results regarding probable bifurcations from fixed points are presented in the context of general dynamical systems (real, random matrices), time-delay dynamical systems (companion matrices), and a set of mappings known for their properties as universal approximators (neural networks). The eigenvalue spectra is considered both numerically and analytically using previous work of Edelman et. al. Based upon the numerical evidence, various conjectures are presented. The conclusion is that in many circumstances, most bifurcations from fixed points of large dynamical systems will be due to complex eigenvalues. Nevertheless, surprising situations are presented for which the aforementioned conclusion is not general, e.g. real random matrices with Gaussian elements with a large positive mean and finite variance.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figure

Adipose Tissue Distribution and Survival Among Women with Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer.

ObjectivePrevious studies of breast cancer survival have not considered specific depots of adipose tissue such as subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT).MethodsThis study assessed these relationships among 3,235 women with stage II and III breast cancer diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 at Kaiser Permanente Northern California and between 2000 and 2012 at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. SAT and VAT areas (in centimeters squared) were calculated from routine computed tomography scans within 6 (median: 1.2) months of diagnosis, covariates were collected from electronic health records, and vital status was assessed by death records. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated using Cox regression.ResultsSAT and VAT ranged from 19.0 to 891 cm2 and from 0.484 to 454 cm2 , respectively. SAT was related to increased risk of death (127-cm2 increase; HR [95% CI]: 1.13 [1.02-1.26]), but no relationship was found with VAT (78.18-cm2 increase; HR [95% CI]: 1.02 [0.91-1.14]). An association with VAT was noted among women with stage II cancer (stage II: HR: 1.17 [95% CI: 0.99-1.39]; stage III: HR: 0.90 [95% CI: 0.76-1.07]; P interaction < 0.01). Joint increases in SAT and VAT were associated with mortality above either alone (simultaneous 1-SD increase: HR 1.19 [95% CI: 1.05-1.34]).ConclusionsSAT may be an underappreciated risk factor for breast cancer-related death

New Pseudo-Phase Structure for α\alpha-Pu

In this paper we propose a new pseudo-phase crystal structure, based on an orthorhombic distortion of the diamond structure, for the ground-state $\alpha$-phase of plutonium. Electronic-structure calculations in the generalized-gradient approximation give approximately the same total energy for the two structures. Interestingly, our new pseudo-phase structure is the same as the Pu $\gamma$-phase structure except with very different b/a and c/a ratios. We show how the contraction relative to the $\gamma$ phase, principally in the $z$ direction, leads to an $\alpha$-like structure in the [0,1,1] plane. This is an important link between two complex structures of plutonium and opens new possibilities for exploring the very rich phase diagram of Pu through theoretical calculations

On Natural Variation in Grades in Higher Education, and Its Implications for Assessing Effectiveness of Educational Innovations

To investigate the effect of innovations in the teaching?learning environment, researchers often compare study results from different cohorts across years. However, variance in scores can be attributed to both random fluctuation and systematic changes due to the innovation, complicating cohort comparisons. In the present study, we illustrate how using information about the variation in course grades over time can help researchers and practitioners better compare the grades and pass rates of different cohorts of students. To this end, all 375,093 grades from all 40,087 first-year students at a Dutch university during a period of six consecutive years were examined. Overall, about 17% of the variation in grades could be attributed to random variation between years and courses. With respect to passing courses, this percentage was almost 40%. Nonsignificant improvements in grades could be flagged as highly significant when this is ignored, thus leading to an overrepresentation of significant effects in educational literature. As a consequence, too many educational innovations are claimed to be effective