An existential formulation of transformative experiences in nature

This was a qualitative research study looking at transformative experiences in nature. The aim was to explore and describe these experiences and reflect on their place and impact from an existential perspective, considering implications for psychotherapy and counselling theory and practice. This research was a heuristic study, born from the researcher's personal experience, and focusing on the accounts of the researcher and eight research participants. The interviews were conducted and analysed during the immersion period, though data was analysed using Moustakas' modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method (Moustakas 1994). The main findings were presented in two parts: a textural-structural description of each person's experience followed by a universal thematic account of the phenomenon. Key findings showed transformative experiences in nature as powerful life experiences that impact long-after the particular moment; that sense of self and emotional awareness are experienced differently from more day to day life in these moments so that we might begin to consider emotions as being defined more in relation to in-the-world; that there is an increased connection with and awareness of embodiment; that people feel freer from social constraints and therefore more connected to their self as a locus of meaning; that transformative experiences in nature connect the physical and the spiritual dimensions; that our current language and meaning construction sometimes make talking about and documenting these experiences challenging. The implications of this research are that place and the physical dimension should be reconsidered in therapy practice more centrally as part of the content of experience, rather than the stage on which therapy and life is set; that being in place offers a different and creative avenue of exploration; and that future investigation would be beneficial to further consider the relationship between emotional experience and place

Rotating and positive-displacement pumps for low-thrust rocket engines. Volume 1: Pump Evaluation and design

Rotating and positive displacement pumps of various types were studied for pumping liquid fluorine for low-thrust, high-performance rocket engines. Included in the analysis were: centrifugal, pitot, Barske, Tesla, drag, gear, vane, axial piston, radial piston, diaphragm, and helirotor pump concepts. The centrifugal pump and the gear pump were selected and these were carried through detailed design and fabrication. Mechanical difficulties were encountered with the gear pump during the preliminary tests in Freon-12. Further testing and development was therefore limited to the centrifugal pump. Tests on the centrifugal pump were conducted in Freon-12 to determine the hydrodynamic performance and in liquid fluorine to demonstrate chemical compatibility

Asymmetric adjustment in the City of London office market

Earlier estimates of the City of London office market are extended by considering a longer time series of data, covering two cycles, and by explicitly modeling of asymmetric space market responses to employment and supply shocks. A long run structural model linking real rental levels, office-based employment and the supply of office space is estimated and then rental adjustment processes are modeled using an error correction model framework. Rental adjustment is seen to be asymmetric, depending both on the direction of the supply and demand shocks and on the state of the space market at the time of the shock. Vacancy adjustment does not display asymmetries. There is also a supply adjustment equation. Two three-equation systems, one with symmetric rental adjustment and the other with asymmetric adjustment, are subjected to positive and negative shocks to employment. These illustrate differences in the two systems

Chromomeres revisited

Permission to post this post print version online has been granted to the author by Springer SBM.The history of studies on the chromomeres of lampbrush chromosomes is outlined and evidence for the nature and function of these structures is collected and summarised. Chromomeres and their associated loops on lampbrush chromosomes are not genetic units although in some special cases they consist of specific families of repeated DNA sequences. The emergence of a chromomeric organisation coincides with the onset and intensification of transcription on lampbrush loops. Modern molecular studies have provided evidence that the chromatin of lampbrush chromomeres differs in several important respects from that of condensed metaphase chromosomes. It is in a highly dynamic state that facilitates localised transcription whilst keeping the chromosome safe from structural changes that might impede its orderly progression through meiotic metaphase 1. LBCs are a physically induced phenomenon, facilitated by the selective absence of molecular factors that would interfere with their main transcriptional role. LBC morphology is highly dynamic and driven by transcriptive activity

From Bones to Biotechnology: 60 Years of New Biology in the Old World

© Cambridge University Press 2010. Reprinted with permission. Details of the definitive version are available at: http://www.cambridge.org

Mobility of antimony, arsenic and lead at a former mine, Glendinning, Scotland

Elevated concentrations of antimony (Sb), arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in upland organic-rich soils have resulted from past Sb mining activities at Glendinning, southern Scotland. Transfer of these elements into soil porewaters was linked to the production and leaching of dissolved organic matter and to leaching of spoil material. Sb was predominantly present in truly dissolved (< 3 kDa) forms whilst As and Pb were more commonly associated with large Fe-rich/organic colloids. The distinctive porewater behaviour of Sb accounts for its loss from deeper sections of certain cores and its transport over greater distances down steeper sections of the catchment. Although Sb and As concentrations decreased with increasing distance down a steep gully from the main spoil heap, elevated concentrations (~ 6-8 and 13-20 μg L− 1, respectively) were detected in receiving streamwaters. Thus, only partial attenuation occurs in steeply sloping sections of mining-impacted upland organic-rich soils and so spoil-derived contamination of surface waters may continue over time periods of decades to centuries

Reusable Rocket Engine Maintenance Study

Approximately 85,000 liquid rocket engine failure reports, obtained from 30 years of developing and delivering major pump feed engines, were reviewed and screened and reduced to 1771. These were categorized into 16 different failure modes. Failure propagation diagrams were established. The state of the art of engine condition monitoring for in-flight sensors and between flight inspection technology was determined. For the 16 failure modes, the potential measurands and diagnostic requirements were identified, assessed and ranked. Eight areas are identified requiring advanced technology development

Mid-infrared light emission > 3 µm wavelength from tensile strained GeSn microdisks

GeSn alloys with Sn contents of 8.4 % and 10.7 % are grown pseudomorphically on Ge buffers on Si (001) substrates. The alloys as-grown are compressively strained, and therefore indirect bandgap. Undercut GeSn on Ge microdisk structures are fabricated and strained by silicon nitride stressor layers, which leads to tensile strain in the alloys, and direct bandgap photoluminescence in the 3–5 µm gas sensing window of the electromagnetic spectrum. The use of pseudomorphic layers and external stress mitigates the need for plastic deformation to obtain direct bandgap alloys. It is demonstrated, that the optically pumped light emission overlaps with the methane absorption lines, suggesting that GeSn alloys are well suited for mid-infrared integrated gas sensors on Si chips