Spotted Seals, Phoca largha, in Alaska

The worldwide literature on management of spotted seals, Phoca largha, was reviewed and updated, and aerial surveys weref lown in 1992 and 1993 to determine the species' distribution and abundance in U.S. waters. In April, spotted seals were found only in the Bering Sea ice front. In June, they were seen along deteriorating ice floes and fast ice in Norton Sound. Surveys along most of Alaska's western coast in August and September found over 2,500 spotted seals in Kuskokwim Bay and concentrations of 100-400 seals around Nunivak Island, Scammon Bay, Golovnin Bay/Norton Sound, Cape Espenberg/Kotzebue Sound, and Kasegaluk Lagoon. All of these sites have been used by spotted seals in the past. The sum of the highest counts, irrespective of year, was 3,570 seals (CV =0.06). This is not an abundance estimate for all spotted seals in the Bering Sea, because it does not account for animals in the water, and we did not survey the Asian coast and some islands. Also, spotted seals and harbor seals, Phoca vitulina, are too similar in appearance to be identified accurately from the air, so our results probably include a mix of these species where their ranges overlap

Firmware Development Improves System Efficiency

Most manufacturing processes require physical pointwise positioning of the components or tools from one location to another. Typical mechanical systems utilize either stop-and-go or fixed feed-rate procession to accomplish the task. The first approach achieves positional accuracy but prolongs overall time and increases wear on the mechanical system. The second approach sustains the throughput but compromises positional accuracy. A computer firmware approach has been developed to optimize this point wise mechanism by utilizing programmable interrupt controls to synchronize engineering processes 'on the fly'. This principle has been implemented in an eddy current imaging system to demonstrate the improvement. Software programs were developed that enable a mechanical controller card to transmit interrupts to a system controller as a trigger signal to initiate an eddy current data acquisition routine. The advantages are: (1) optimized manufacturing processes, (2) increased throughput of the system, (3) improved positional accuracy, and (4) reduced wear and tear on the mechanical system

Summation-By-Parts Operators and High-Order Quadrature

Summation-by-parts (SBP) operators are finite-difference operators that mimic integration by parts. This property can be useful in constructing energy-stable discretizations of partial differential vequations. SBP operators are defined by a weight matrix and a difference operator, with the latter designed to approximate $d/dx$ to a specified order of accuracy. The accuracy of the weight matrix as a quadrature rule is not explicitly part of the SBP definition. We show that SBP weight matrices are related to trapezoid rules with end corrections whose accuracy matches the corresponding difference operator at internal nodes. The accuracy of SBP quadrature extends to curvilinear domains provided the Jacobian is approximated with the same SBP operator used for the quadrature. This quadrature has significant implications for SBP-based discretizations; for example, the discrete norm accurately approximates the $L^{2}$ norm for functions, and multi-dimensional SBP discretizations accurately mimic the divergence theorem.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

Investigation of Force Decay in Aesthetic, Fibre-Reinforced Composite Orthodontic Archwires

Background/Objectives: Because polymer-based materials typically exhibit viscoelastic properties, the objective was to determine if commercially available, aesthetic, fibre-reinforced composite archwires maintain continuous forces without undergoing force decay when deflected continuously. Materials/Methods: Quasi force decay was evaluated by comparing three-point bending profiles of nickel–titanium (NiTi) and fibre-reinforced composite archwires (BioMers) prior to and after 30 days of continuous deflection of either 1 or 2mm. Paired t-tests or non-parametric signed rank tests were used to statistically compare pre- and post-deflection bending forces. A control group consisting of wires not subject to the 30-day constant deflection was tested to check whether the initial testing altered the second three-point bend test. Results: Significant (P \u3c 0.01) differences in the pre- and post-deflection deactivation force delivery were most evident in the composite 2mm deflection group and all of the NiTi groups. The composite 2mm deflection group failed to deliver consistent forces as the majority of the wires experienced crazing during the 30-day deflection period. The decrease in force delivery in the NiTi groups may be attributed to the small standard deviations. Conclusions: The composite 1mm deflection group demonstrated that fibre-reinforced composite archwires are able to deliver a consistent force after 30 days of deflection. However, the clinical applicability of these fibre-reinforced composite archwires may be limited as they are unable to sustain deflections of 2mm without experiencing crazing and loss of force delivery. Limitations: Clinical efficacy of the aesthetic, fibre-reinforced composite orthodontic archwires remains to be observed

The Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus: Its Historic and Current Status

The bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus, is currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Literature on the species is updated since 1984, and elements are reviewed that may contribute to the evaluation of the status of bowhead whale stocks

Some expectations and perceptions of electronic transfer of prescription systems

This article summarises the findings of five focus group sessions discussing the Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (ETP), held in 2003 at Salford and Huddersfield Universities. The aim of this evaluation was to ascertain the views of the stakeholders towards the introduction of ETP and views on existing ETP pilot models. The eight hypotheses identified as most important from the findings [1] are described