Development of grease tackiness test

A test to evaluate the tackiness of grease has been developed using a standard tribometer. There is currently no standard test of tackiness. A preliminary study determined the test parameters to use in the subsequent experiments. Twelve different greases were tested and the results showed how the developed test method was able to differentiate between different greases. The results were linked to the application of grease to a rail using a scaled wheel rig developed at the University of Sheffield. The developed test method showed the same relationship as the larger scale tests, leading to the conclusion that the developed method can be used to inform larger scale tests that are more costly and time consuming. The effect of “working” the grease prior to the test showed that the working had a significant effect on the tackiness of the grease. The test method was shown to be sensitive to small changes in the grease by adding small amounts of tackifier additive (0.1% increments) to the grease

Impact of Prolonged Professional Development on Teachers’ Confidence in Using Inquiry-Based Learning in the Classroom

Professional development (PD) programs for science and agriculture teachers designed around the inquiry-based learning (IBL) teaching strategy could help to improve science proficiency amongst our high school students. PD that continues over a longer period of time is more effective than short-term workshops. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a prolonged PD program on teachers’ confidence in using IBL strategies for teaching animal sciences content. The following research questions guided this study: RQ1: What were participants’ perceptions of a prolonged PD program? and RQ2: How did the prolonged PD program influence the participants’ confidence in using IBL? For this project, the teachers completed three online modules focused on best practices for using IBL in the classroom and then participated in a five-day in-person PD program that was offered in Tennessee and Nebraska during June and July of 2022. Basic qualitative methodology was used, and four focus groups were conducted. The following themes emerged: perceptions of the PD and confidence in using IBL. Allowing teachers to work through the IBL activities as students appeared to increase their confidence in using IBL to teach animal science concepts in the future

Rapid establishment of the European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC):The Hot Start experience

A fast track “Hot Start” process was implemented to launch the European Bank for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) to provide early release of a range of established control and disease linked human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Established practice amongst consortium members was surveyed to arrive at harmonised and publically accessible Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) for tissue procurement, bio-sample tracking, iPSC expansion, cryopreservation, qualification and distribution to the research community. These were implemented to create a quality managed foundational collection of lines and associated data made available for distribution. Here we report on the successful outcome of this experience and work flow for banking and facilitating access to an otherwise disparate European resource, with lessons to benefit the international research community. eTOC: The report focuses on the EBiSC experience of rapidly establishing an operational capacity to procure, bank and distribute a foundational collection of established hiPSC lines. It validates the feasibility and defines the challenges of harnessing and integrating the capability and productivity of centres across Europe using commonly available resources currently in the field

From Craft to Nature: The Emergence of Natural Teleology

A teleological explanation is an explanation in terms of an end or a purpose. So saying that ‘X came about for the sake of Y’ is a teleological account of X. It is a striking feature of ancient Greek philosophy that many thinkers accepted that the world should be explained in this way. However, before Aristotle, teleological explanations of the cosmos were generally based on the idea that it had been created by a divine intelligence. If an intelligent power made the world, then it makes sense that it did so with a purpose in mind, so grasping this purpose will help us understand the world. This is the pattern of teleological explanation that we find in the Presocratics and in Plato. However, with Aristotle teleology underwent a change: instead of thinking that the ends were explanatory because a mind had sought to bring them about, Aristotle took the ends to operate in natural beings independently of the efforts of any creative intelligence. Indeed, he thought that his predecessors had failed to understand what was distinctive of nature, namely, that its ends work from the inside of natural beings themselves

Aristotle on the Matter for Birth, Life, and the Elements

This essay considers three case studies of Aristotle’s use of matter, drawn from three different scientific contexts: menstrual fluid as the matter of animal generation in the Generation of Animals, the living body as matter of an organism in Aristotle’s On the Soul (De Anima), and the matter of elemental transformation in Generation and Corruption. I argue that Aristotle conceives of matter differently in these treatises (1) because of the different sorts of changes under consideration, and (2) because sometimes he is considering the matter for one specific change, and sometimes the matter for all of a thing’s natural changes. My account allows me to explain some of the strange features that Aristotle ascribes to the matter for elemental transformation in Generation and Corruption II. These features were interpreted by later commentators as general features of all matter. I argue that they are a result of the specific way that Aristotle thinks about the transmutation of the elements

Reaction-based chemical analysis in capillary electrophoretic systems by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

The performance of on-line homogeneous reaction-based chemical analysis in capillary electrophoretic systems by the methodology of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) is described. In EMMA, electrophoretic mixing is utilized to merge zones containing the analyte and its analytical reagents without the concurrent dilution and turbulence inherent in additive mixing methods; the reaction is then allowed to proceed either in the presence or the absence of an applied potential; and, finally, the reaction product is transported under the influence of an applied electric field to the detector. Detailed mathematical models are presented which describe the EMMA technique in terms of the four required steps for a reaction-based chemical analysis: (1) analyte and analytical reagent metering, (2) initiation of the reaction, (3) control of the reaction conditions and product formation, and (4) detection of the product. The theory is confirmed by experimental kinetic determinations of alcohol dehydrogenase. If an analyte and its product differ in electrophoretic mobility, the detection time of an EMMA product profile can be selectively manipulated by controlling when the analytical reaction is allowed to occur. This unique selectivity of the EMMA technique is described for the resolution of product profiles from non-reacting matrix interferants and for the simultaneous determinations of enzymes and substrates. The analytical merit of the EMMA method is evaluated for the endpoint determination of ethanol. The technique typically offers relative standard deviations of about 4% and 2% for determinations without and with an internal standard, respectively. Calibrations curves yield correlation coefficients of approximately 0.997 and linear ranges which extend to that quantity of substrate which can be reacted prior to passing by the detection position. Furthermore, the EMMA technique yields indistinguishable values from the standard spectrophotometric method. Moving boundary EMMA is presented as an alternative sample introduction technique. This method offers an order of magnitude greater sensitivity than zonal injection procedures, and its ease of implementation facilitates rapid analysis as the use of elevated electric field strengths and short capillaries yields a 24 s kinetic determination of leucine aminopeptidase

Remaking the Public Law Library into a Twenty-First Century Legal Resource Center

This article reviews the current operations of Multnomah County, Oregon’s public law library and assesses the feasibility of creating a legal resource and self-help center within the library. The article reviews common governance models of law libraries and common self-help models, supplemented by interviews with key stakeholders. We conclude that the county could greatly benefit from a self-help center and make recommendations of best practices

Asset Bubbles, Inflation, and Agricultural Land Values

This article discusses asset bubbles, the Kansas and Illinois land markets, estimates land values, and develops a land price/earnings ratio. Current land sales data are also examined. Finally, we examine relationships between land values and interest rates, inflation rates, and cash rents. Results show that real land values increase substantially when inflation increases. Recent land values are explored for both Kansas and Illinois with somewhat differing results. Development of land price bubbles could be enhanced if inflation becomes more widespread and land values are viewed as having good protection from inflation. Market fundamentals would suggest that an increase in land prices due to inflation occurs because of an increase in cash rental rates and not through a dramatic change in the price earnings ratio