Mechanical testing of advanced coating system, volume 1

The Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EBPVD) coating material has a highly columnar microstructure, and as a result it was expected to have very low tensile strength. To be able to fabricate the required compression and tensile specimens, a substrate was required to provide structural integrity for the specimens. Substrate and coating dimensions were adjusted to provide sufficient sensitivity to resolve the projected loads carried by the EBPVD coating. The use of two distinctively different strain transducer systems, for tension and compression loadings, mandated two vastly different specimen geometries. Compression specimen and tensile specimen geometries are given. Both compression and tensile test setups are described. Data reduction mathematical models are given and discussed in detail as is the interpretation of the results. Creep test data is also given and discussed

Fatigue testing of plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings, volume 2

A plasma sprayed thermal barrier coating for diesel engines were fatigue tested. Candidate thermal barrier coating materials were fatigue screened and a data base was generated for the selected candidate material. Specimen configurations are given for the bend fatigue tests, along with test setup, specimen preparation, test matrix and procedure, and data analysis

The control of walking movements in the leg of the rock lobster

Cruse H, Clarac F, Chasserat C. The control of walking movements in the leg of the rock lobster. Biological Cybernetics. 1983;47(2):87-94

A Consumer Test of Citrus Drinks made from Comminuted Whole Citrus Fruit

Consumer, Citrus, Whole Citrus Fruit, Citrus Fruit, Consumer Test, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Boundary Integral Equations for Modeling Arbitrary Flaw Geometries in Electric Current Injection NDE

The Electric Current Injection (ECI) method of nondestructive evaluation is applied to materials that are electrically conductive but not magnetically permeable, such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium. It consists of detecting current-flow anomalies due to voids, nonmetallic inclusions and open cracks in the conducting material, through distortions introduced in the magnetic field generated by the sample [1]

Strip intercropping systems

Economic, environmental, and biological concerns prompt the search for alternative, sustainable, agricultural production systems. Farmers need cropping systems that reduce negative impacts on the environment while maintaining or even improving farm profitabilit

Comparison of ASGARD and UFOCapture

No abstract availabl

Molecular genetics improves the management of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer

Background. The syndrome of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) can be diagnosed fairly accurately using clinical criteria and a family history. Identifying HNPCC helps to prevent large-bowel cancer, or allows cancer to be treated at an early stage. Once the syndrome has been diagnosed'a family member's risk can be judged approximately from a family tree, or it can now be predicted accurately if the causative mutation is known.Objective. This study involved attempts to improve the management of a family with HNPCC over a period of 10 years. Clinical diagnostic criteria, colonoscopic surveillance, surgical treatment, genetic counselling, molecular genetic research, and finally predictive genetic testing were applied as they evolved during this time.Subjects and methods. A rural general practitioner first noted inherited large-bowel cancer in the family and began screening subjects as they presented, using rigid sigmoidoscopy at the local hospital. At the time that the disorder was recognised as being HNPCC (1987), screening by means of colonoscopy at our university hospital was aimed primarily at first-degree relatives of affected individuals. After realising how many.were at risk, screening was brought closer to the family. A team of clinicians and researchers visited the local hospital to identify and counsel those at risk and to perform screening colonoscopy. Family members were recruited for research to find the gene and its mutation that causes the disease, to develop an accurate predictive test and to reduce the number of subjects undergoing surveillance colonoscopies.Results. There are approximately 500 individuals in this family. In the 10 years of this study the number of subjects who have been counselled for increased genetic risk or who have requested colonoscopic surveillance for HNPCC in this kindred has increased from 20 to 140. After the causative mutation was found in the hMLHl gene on chromosome 3, a test for it has reduced the number of subjects who need screening colonoscopy by over 70%. A protocol has been devised to inform family members, to acquire material for research in order to provide genetic counselling for (pre-test and post-test) risk, and to test for the mutation. Eventually, identifying those with the mutation should focus surveillance accurately.Conclusions. The benefits of restricting screening to subjects with the mutation that causes colorectal cancer and of performing operations to prevent cancer are hard to measure accurately. However, it is likely that at least half the family members will be able to avoid colonoscopic screening, some deaths from cancer should be prevented, and the cost of preventing and treating cancer in the family should fall substantially

Overview of Mollisols in the world: Distribution, land use and management

Mollisols a.k.a., Black Soils or Prairie Soils make up about 916 million ha, which is 7% of the world’s ice-free land surface. Their distribution strongly correlates with native prairie ecosystems, but is not limited to them. They are most prevalent in the mid-latitudes of North America, Eurasia, and South America. In North America, they cover 200 million ha of the United States, more than 40 million ha of Canada and 50 million ha of Mexico. Across Eurasia they cover around 450 million ha, extending from the western 148 million ha in southern Russia and 34 million ha in Ukraine to the eastern 35 million ha in northeast China. They are common to South America’s Argentina and Uruguay, covering about 89 million and 13 million ha, respectively. Mollisols are often recognized as inherently productive and fertile soils. They are extensively and intensively farmed, and increasingly dedicated to cereals production, which needs significant inputs of fertilizers and tillage. Mollisols are also important soils in pasture, range and forage systems. Thus, it is not surprising that these soils are prone to soil erosion, dehumification (loss of stable aggregates and organic matter) and are suffering from anthropogenic soil acidity. Therefore, soil scientists from all of the world’s Mollisols regions are concerned about the sustainability of some of current trends in land use and agricultural practices. These same scientists recommend increasing the acreage under minimum or restricted tillage, returning plant residues and adding organic amendments such as animal manure to maintain or increase soil organic matter content, and more systematic use of chemical amendments such as agricultural limestone to replenish soil calcium reserves