Nonlinear viscoelastic characterization of structural adhesives

Measurements of the nonliner viscoelastic behavior of two adhesives, FM-73 and FM-300, are presented and discussed. Analytical methods to quantify the measurements are given and fitted into a framework of an accelerated testing and analysis procedure. The single integral model used is shown to function well and is analogous to a time-temperature stress-superposition procedure (TTSSP). Advantages and disadvantages of the creep power law method used in this study are given

Resistance fail strain gage technology as applied to composite materials

Existing strain gage technologies as applied to orthotropic composite materials are reviewed. The bonding procedures, transverse sensitivity effects, errors due to gage misalignment, and temperature compensation methods are addressed. Numerical examples are included where appropriate. It is shown that the orthotropic behavior of composites can result in experimental error which would not be expected based on practical experience with isotropic materials. In certain cases, the transverse sensitivity of strain gages and/or slight gage misalignment can result in strain measurement errors

Developing a Novel Place Preference Assay to Compare Drosophila Species Over Time

Across phylogeny, integration of external factors, memory, and internal states of the organism dictate organismal behavior and mechanisms. The underlying genetic components can affect these behaviors such as in genomic changes arising from speciation. In this thesis, a new place preference assay was evaluated in the analysis and investigation of two species of Drosophila flies (D. melanogaster and D. simulans) to measure similarities and differences and their attraction to two different food substrates. Sleep and circadian measurements were also recorded during experimentation. The Drosophila Activity Monitor 5M (DAM5M) System and Sleep Circadian Analysis MATLAB Program (SCAMP) analysis were used in experimentation. Two-way ANOVA was carried to determine statistical significance between effects of species and time of day, and differences in activity, sleep, and place preference

School-Business Partnerships in Georgia: Awareness and Attitudes of Secondary School Principals

School-business partnerships have been analyzed, criticized and evaluated by many writers and researchers but seldom examined at the school site level. In this descriptive study, which is a replication with modifications of a previous study by W. E. Cummins, 314 Georgia secondary school principals were surveyed to determine their attitudes and awareness toward the school-business partnership process at the school site level. Respondents were compared by community size, geographic location, age, educational level, and experience level. The survey instrument was designed in a trifold pamphlet style and contained 24 items related to attitudes and awareness and 8 items requesting demographic and biographic information. Additionally, space was made available to enable respondents to provide related comments. Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyze responses and make comparisons. Major findings included the following: 1. The majority of principals believed that schoolbusiness partnerships were a valuable asset to their schools and their attitudes were overwhelmingly favorable. 2. Principals statewide were very aware of the schoolbusiness partnership process

Rate and time dependent behavior of structural adhesives

Studies on two adhesives (Metlbond 1113 and 1113-2) identified as having applications in the bonding of composite materials are presented. Constitutive equations capable of describing changes in material behavior with strain rate are derived from various theoretical approaches. It is shown that certain unique relationships exist between these approaches. It is also shown that the constitutive equation derived from mechanical models can be used for creep and relaxation loading. A creep to failure phenomenon is shown to exist and is correlated with a delayed yield equation proposed by Crochet. Loading-unloading results are presented and are shown to correlate well with the proposed form of the loading-unloading equations for the modified Bingham model. Experimental results obtained for relaxation tests above and below the glass transition temperature are presented. It is shown that the adhesives obey the time-temperature superposition principle

Opers on the projective line, Wronskian relations, and the Bethe Ansatz

It is well-known that the spectra of the Gaudin model may be described in terms of solutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations. A conceptual explanation for the appearance of the Bethe Ansatz equations is provided by appropriate $G$-opers: $G$-connections on the projective line with extra structure. In fact, solutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations are parameterized by an enhanced version of opers called Miura opers; here, the opers appearing have only regular singularities. Feigin, Frenkel, Rybnikov, and Toledano Laredo have introduced an inhomogeneous version of the Gaudin model; this model incorporates an additional twist factor, which is an element of the Lie algebra of $G$. They exhibited the Bethe Ansatz equations for this model and gave a geometric interpretation of the spectra in terms of opers with an irregular singularity. In this paper, we consider a new approach to the study of the spectra of the inhomogeneous Gaudin model in terms of a further enhancement of opers called twisted Miura-Pl\"ucker opers and a certain system of nonlinear differential equations called the $qq$-system. We show that there is a close relationship between solutions of the inhomogeneous Bethe Ansatz equations and polynomial solutions of the $qq$-system and use this fact to construct a bijection between the set of solutions of the inhomogeneous Bethe Ansatz equations and the set of nondegenerate twisted Miura-Pl\"ucker opers. We further prove that as long as certain combinatorial conditions are satisfied, nondegenerate twisted Miura-Pl\"ucker opers are in fact Miura opers.Comment: 38 pages, revised versio

Application of a Geomorphic and Temporal Perspective to Wetland Management

The failure of managed wetlands to provide a broad suite of ecosystem services (e.g., carbon storage, wildlife habitat, ground-water recharge, storm-water retention) valuable to society is primarily the result of a lack of consideration of ecosystem processes that maintain productive wetland ecosystems or physical and social forces that restrict a manager’s ability to apply actions that allow those processes to occur. Therefore, we outline a course of action that considers restoration of ecosystem processes in those systems where off-site land use or physical alterations restrict local management. Upon considering a wetland system, or examining a particular management regime, there are several factors that will allow successful restoration of wetland services. An initial step is examination of the political/social factors that have structured the current ecological condition and whether those realities can be addressed. Most successful restorations of wetland ecosystem services involve cooperation among multiple agencies, acquisition of funds from non-traditional sources, seeking of scientific advice on ecosystem processes, and cultivation of good working relationships among biologists, managers, and maintenance staff. Beyond that, in on-site wetland situations, management should examine the existing hydrogeomorphic situation and processes (e.g., climatic variation, tides, riverine flood-pulse events) responsible for maintenance of ecosystem services within a given temporal framework appropriate for that wetland’s hydrologic pattern. We discuss these processes for five major wetland types (depressional, lacustrine, estuarine, riverine, and man-made impoundments) and then provide two case histories in which this approach was applied: Seney National Wildlife Refuge with a restored fen system and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge where riverine processes have been simulated to restore native habitat. With adequate partnerships and administrative and political support, managers faced with degraded and/or disconnected wetland processes will be able to restore ecosystem services for society in our highly altered landscape by considering wetlands in their given hydrogeomorphic setting and temporal stage

Sex-Specific Alterations in NOS Regulation of Vascular Function in Aorta and Mesenteric Arteries from Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Compared to Wistar Kyoto Rats

The present study tested the hypothesis that spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) have impaired nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-mediated regulation of vascular function versus Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Aorta and small mesenteric arteries were studied from male and female SHR (M SHR and F SHR) and WKY (M WKY and F WKY). Phenylephrine (PE)-induced vasoconstriction was greater in aorta of M SHR versus all others (P \u3c 0.05); there were neither sex nor strain differences in PE contraction in mesenteric arteries. The NOS inhibitor l-Nitro-Arginine Methyl Ester (l-NAME) increased PE-induced vasoconstriction in all rats, although the increase was the least in male SHR (P \u3c 0.05), revealing a blunted vasoconstrictor buffering capacity of NOS. l-NAME increased sensitivity to PE-induced constriction only in mesenteric arteries of SHR, although, the maximal percent increase in contraction was comparable among groups. ACh-induced relaxation was also less in aorta from M SHR versus all others (P \u3c 0.05). ACh relaxation was comparable among groups in mesenteric arteries, although SHR exhibited a greater NOS component to ACh-induced relaxation than WKY. To gain mechanistic insight into sex and strain differences in vascular function, NOS activity and NOS3 protein expression were measured. Aortic NOS activity was comparable between groups and M SHR had greater NOS3 expression than M WKY. In contrast, although vascular function was largely maintained in mesenteric arteries of SHR, NOS activity was less in SHR versus WKY. In conclusion, M SHR exhibit a decrease in NOS regulation of vascular function compared to F SHR and WKY, although this is not mediated by decreases in NOS activity and/or expression