Memento Of A Region

The car sped down the highway. Many familiar hills and houses appeared on either side. The car gained speed as it headed down the hill. At the bottom, the highway leveled of!\u27 across the bridge spanning the deep ravine. The noise of the automobile took on a new, hollow sound as it rolled upon the bridge. I looked over the valley spreading out to the left. How warm and green the valley was! How blue the sky was! How familiar it all was

Ownership Structure, Property Performance, Multifamily Properties and REITs

This research extends literature that empirically evaluates the impact of ownership and management structure on property level performance. The results show that multifamily properties owned and managed by real estate investment trusts (REITs) generate higher effective rents at the property level than non-REIT-owned properties. After controlling for positive operating scale and brand effects, REIT property level performance is better than non-REIT property level performance in the market studied. The REIT structure represents diversified scale operators with property management skills. The results imply that the structure of property ownership can impact property performance.

The 30-cm ion thruster power processor

A power processor unit for powering and controlling the 30 cm Mercury Electron-Bombardment Ion Thruster was designed, fabricated, and tested. The unit uses a unique and highly efficient transistor bridge inverter power stage in its implementation. The system operated from a 200 to 400 V dc input power bus, provides 12 independently controllable and closely regulated dc power outputs, and has an overall power conditioning capacity of 3.5 kW. Protective circuitry was incorporated as an integral part of the design to assure failure-free operation during transient and steady-state load faults. The implemented unit demonstrated an electrical efficiency between 91.5 and 91.9 at its nominal rated load over the 200 to 400 V dc input bus range

Limiter Control of a Chaotic RF Transistor Oscillator

We report experimental control of chaos in an electronic circuit at 43.9 MHz, which is the fastest chaos control reported in the literature to date. Limiter control is used to stabilize a periodic orbit in a tuned collector transistor oscillator modified to exhibit simply folded band chaos. The limiter is implemented using a transistor to enable monitoring the relative magnitude of the control perturbation. A plot of the relative control magnitude vs. limiter level shows a local minimum at period-1 control, thereby providing strong evidence that the controlled state is an unstable periodic orbit (UPO) of the uncontrolled system

Eucalyptus virginea and E. relicta (Myrtaceae), two new rare forest trees from south-western Australia allied to E. lane-poolei, and a new phantom hybrid

Hopper, S.D. & Wardell-Johnson, G. Eucalyptus virginea and E. relicta (Myrtaceae), two new rareforest trees from south-western Australia allied to E. lane-poolei, and a new phantom hybrid. Nuytsia 15(2): 227-240 (2004). Eucalyptus virginea and E. relicta are described from Mt Lindesay National Park and from the Whicher Range south-east of Busselton respectively. Both species, together with E. lane-poolei, are in the earliest branching clade of E. ser. Curviptera, which contains many horticulturally attractive large-flowered mallees from semi-arid and desert regions such as E. macrocarpa and E. youngiana. The discovery and description of these two rare relictual forest trees so recently highlights the need for ongoing botanical survey of south-western Australia's forests. A phantom hybrid, Eucalyptus lane-poolei x relicta, is also described for the first time. It occurs close to populations of E. relicta in the Whicher Range but 150 km south of the nearest recorded E. lane-poolei

Extremely asymmetrical scattering in gratings with varying mean structural parameters

Extremely asymmetrical scattering (EAS) is an unusual type of Bragg scattering in slanted periodic gratings with the scattered wave (the +1 diffracted order) propagating parallel to the grating boundaries. Here, a unique and strong sensitivity of EAS to small stepwise variations of mean structural parameters at the grating boundaries is predicted theoretically (by means of approximate and rigorous analyses) for bulk TE electromagnetic waves and slab optical modes of arbitrary polarization in holographic (for bulk waves) and corrugation (for slab modes) gratings. The predicted effects are explained using one of the main physical reasons for EAS--the diffractional divergence of the scattered wave (similar to divergence of a laser beam). The approximate method of analysis is based on this understanding of the role of the divergence of the scattered wave, while the rigorous analysis uses the enhanced T-matrix algorithm. The effect of small and large stepwise variations of the mean permittivity at the grating boundaries is analysed. Two distinctly different and unusual patterns of EAS are predicted in the cases of wide and narrow (compared to a critical width) gratings. Comparison between the approximate and rigorous theories is carried out.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Participant recruitment to FiCTION, a primary dental care trial – survey of facilitators and barriers

Objective To identify reasons behind a lower than expected participant recruitment rate within the FiCTION trial, a multi-centre paediatric primary dental care randomised controlled trial (RCT). Subjects (materials) and methods An online survey, based on a previously published tool, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative responses, completed by staff in dental practices recruiting to FiCTION. Ratings from quantitative responses were aggregated to give overall scores for factors related to participant recruitment. Qualitative responses were independently grouped into themes. Results Thirty-nine anonymous responses were received. Main facilitators related to the support received from the central research team and importance of the research question. The main barriers related to low child eligibility rates and the integration of trial processes within routine workloads. Conclusions These findings have directed strategies for enhancing participant recruitment at existing practices and informed recruitment of further practices. The results help provide a profile of the features required of practices to successfully screen and recruit participants. Future trials in this setting should consider the level of interest in the research question within practices, and ensure trial processes are as streamlined as possible. Research teams should actively support practices with participant recruitment and maintain enthusiasm among the entire practice team

Engineering model 8-cm thruster subsystem

An Engineering Model (EM) 8 cm Ion Thruster Propulsion Subsystem was developed for operation at a thrust level 5 mN (1.1 mlb) at a specific impulse 1 sub sp = 2667 sec with a total system input power P sub in = 165 W. The system dry mass is 15 kg with a mercury-propellant-reservoir capacity of 8.75 kg permitting uninterrupted operation for about 12,500 hr. The subsystem can be started from a dormant condition in a time less than or equal to 15 min. The thruster has a design lifetime of 20,000 hr with 10,000 startup cycles. A gimbal unit is included to provide a thrust vector deflection capability of + or - 10 degrees in any direction from the zero position. The EM subsystem development program included thruster optimization, power-supply circuit optimization and flight packaging, subsystem integration, and subsystem acceptance testing including a cyclic test of the total propulsion package

Predicting return to work from health related welfare following low intensity cognitive behaviour therapy

The aim of this study was to identify predictors of return to work in the short and long term following condition management cognitive-behavioural therapy (CM-CBT). All participants (N = 3794) were disability welfare claimants, unemployed due to the presence of a physical or mental health condition. CM-CBT consisted of a seven session group cognitive-behavioural psychoeducational programme, with participants followed-up at 3 and 12-30 months. The primary employment outcome measure was a categorical measure of either returned to work, made progress towards work or remained on welfare. Results index an incremental progress and return to work rate, increasing from 34.41 % at short-term follow-up to 53.07 % at long-term follow-up. Clinically, 17.40 % were classed as recovered following CM-CBT. Reliable psychological change during CM-CBT predicted successful return to work and remaining on welfare was associated with psychological regression over time. The results are discussed in terms of identified methodological weaknesses and the potential of CBT in enabling return to work for the health related unemployed