3,589 research outputs found
Test apparatus for locating shorts during assembly of electrical buses
A test apparatus is described for locating electrical shorts that is especially suited for use while an electrical circuit is being fabricated or assembled. A ring counter derives input pulses from a square wave oscillator. The outputs of the counter are fed through transistors to an array of light emitting diodes. Each diode is connected to an electrical conductor, such as a bus bar, that is to be tested. In the absence of a short between the electrical conductors the diodes are sequentially illuminated. When a short occurs, a comparator/multivibrator circuit triggers an alarm and stops the oscillator and the sequential energization of the diodes. The two diodes that remain illuminated identify the electrical conductors that are shorted
An Analysis of Engineering Design Graphics Journal Articles - Volumes 67-78
An analysis of articles published in the Engineering Design Graphics Journal (EDGJ) from 2003 - 2014 was conducted following the methodology used by Robert Chin in his 2003 study of articles published in the EDGJ from 1987 - 2002. Both studies look at feature-articles published in the EDGJ that were later indexed by ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center). ERIC provided abstract data that was compiled into a spreadsheet, which was then sorted and analyzed. The data collected from ERIC was also verified using the archives on the EDGJ website. The similar nature and analysis of the data gathered in the two studies allows direct comparisons to be made between the results of the studies
Environmental education in public libraries
Purpose
This research aims to investigate effective public library environmental education interventions in order to inform the development of a framework for public libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research method was developed incorporating surveys and follow-up interviews with librarians working in USA public libraries, who were known to have been involved in environmental education initiatives.
Findings
The research determined which environmental education interventions were most likely to lead to action and behaviour change in public library users. The resulting discussion has allowed for the creation of a framework which establishes factors useful for successful implementation of environmental education programmes and activities. These elements include partnership, institutional commitment, inclusion and outreach and practical activities linked to a larger vision.
Research limitations/implications
The research participants were limited to those libraries in the USA which were all affiliated with the American Library Association (ALA) Resilient Communities programmes and had received grants.
Practical implications
The paper concludes with a framework for implementing environmental education programmes in public libraries. Effective interventions are also shared which provide practical ideas and strategies.
Social implications
Providing structure and considerations for establishing an environmental programme enables libraries to build on experiences of other libraries. As climate change action becomes a more pressing issue, providing these interventions supports action.
Originality/value
The paper discusses the concepts of environmental education and the role which public libraries can play in this arena, concluding that sustainable development should be treated as a new tenet of librarianship and environmental education as a new research field of library and information science
Detection of OH absorption against PSR B1849+00
We have searched for OH absorption against seven pulsars using the Arecibo
telescope. In both OH mainlines (at 1665 and 1667 MHz), deep and narrow
absorption features were detected toward PSR B1849+00. In addition, we have
detected several absorption and emission features against B33.6+0.1, a nearby
supernova remnant (SNR). The most interesting result of this study is that a
pencil-sharp absorption sample against the PSR differs greatly from the
large-angle absorption sample observed against the SNR. If both the PSR and the
SNR probe the same molecular cloud then this finding has important implications
for absorption studies of the molecular medium, as it shows that the statistics
of absorbing OH depends on the size of the background source. We also show that
the OH absorption against the PSR most likely originates from a small (<30
arcsec) and dense (>10^5 cm^-3) molecular clump.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Modeling of the magnetomechanical effect: Application of the Rayleigh law to the stress domain
Stress is one of the principal external factors affecting the magnetization of materials. The magnetomechanical effect, that is, the change of magnetization of a magnetic material resulting from the application of stress, has attracted attention because of its scientific complexity. An improved model equation for interpreting the magnetomechanical effect has been developed based on extension of the previous equation to include the Rayleigh law. According to the previous theory of the magnetomechanical effect, which is based on the “law of approach,” application of stress induces changes in magnetization toward anhysteretic magnetization which itself is stress dependent, and the rate of change of magnetization with the input elastic energy is dependent on the displacement of the prevailing magnetization from the anhysteretic magnetization. The theory has been refined by including a linear term in the model equation in addition to the well-known quadratic term. It was found that the modified theory provides a much better description of the magnetization changes under stress, particularly at small applied stress amplitudes and when the stress changes sign
The Politics of the Presidential Medal of Freedom: A Fifty Year Analysis, 1963-2013
Established in 1963, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (PMOF) is the nation’s highest civilian honor. Presidents award the Medal at their discretion to “any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors” (Executive Order 11085). Using an original database of all 1963-2013 PMOF recipients, we analyze how presidents exercise this symbolic unilateral power. In particular, we find that Democratic and Republican presidents differ in their recognition of various categories of achievement. Also, presidents have awarded a greater number of PMOFs annually in recent years, and it has become increasingly common to honor a large number of recipients in a single ceremony. While a strategic objective may be to attract positive media attention, our analysis indicates that PMOF ceremonies do not increase presidential approval ratings
Confidential Boosting with Random Linear Classifiers for Outsourced User-generated Data
User-generated data is crucial to predictive modeling in many applications.
With a web/mobile/wearable interface, a data owner can continuously record data
generated by distributed users and build various predictive models from the
data to improve their operations, services, and revenue. Due to the large size
and evolving nature of users data, data owners may rely on public cloud service
providers (Cloud) for storage and computation scalability. Exposing sensitive
user-generated data and advanced analytic models to Cloud raises privacy
concerns. We present a confidential learning framework, SecureBoost, for data
owners that want to learn predictive models from aggregated user-generated data
but offload the storage and computational burden to Cloud without having to
worry about protecting the sensitive data. SecureBoost allows users to submit
encrypted or randomly masked data to designated Cloud directly. Our framework
utilizes random linear classifiers (RLCs) as the base classifiers in the
boosting framework to dramatically simplify the design of the proposed
confidential boosting protocols, yet still preserve the model quality. A
Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) is used to assist the Cloud's processing,
reducing the complexity of the protocol constructions. We present two
constructions of SecureBoost: HE+GC and SecSh+GC, using combinations of
homomorphic encryption, garbled circuits, and random masking to achieve both
security and efficiency. For a boosted model, Cloud learns only the RLCs and
the CSP learns only the weights of the RLCs. Finally, the data owner collects
the two parts to get the complete model. We conduct extensive experiments to
understand the quality of the RLC-based boosting and the cost distribution of
the constructions. Our results show that SecureBoost can efficiently learn
high-quality boosting models from protected user-generated data
Cardiovascular health benefits of specific vegetable types: A narrative review
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Adequate vegetable consumption is one of the cornerstones of a healthy diet. The recommendation to increase vegetable intake is part of most dietary guidelines. Despite widespread and long-running public health messages to increase vegetable intake, similar to other countries worldwide, less than 1 in 10 adult Australians manage to meet target advice. Dietary guidelines are predominantly based on studies linking diets high in vegetables with lower risk of chronic diseases. Identifying vegetables with the strongest health benefits and incorporating these into dietary recommendations may enhance public health initiatives around vegetable intake. These enhanced public health initiatives would be targeted at reducing the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Specific vegetable types contain high levels of particular nutrients and phytochemicals linked with cardiovascular health benefits. However, it is not clear if increasing intake of these specific vegetable types will result in larger benefits on risk of chronic diseases. This review presents an overview of the evidence for the relationships of specific types of vegetables, including leafy green, cruciferous, allium, yellow-orange-red and legumes, with subclinical and clinical CVD outcomes in observational epidemiological studies
Definitions, sources and self-reported consumption of regionally grown fruits and vegetables in two regions of Australia
Regional food systems are complex networks, with numerous retail sources that underpin a local economy. However, evidence is limited regarding how consumers define, identify, and source regionally grown fresh fruits and vegetables (RGFFV). A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tasmania (TAS) and South Western Australia (SWA) to compare how RGFFV are defined, identified and sourced by consumers, including self-reported consumption of selected RGFFV. Survey data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and t-tests. Results (TAS n = 120, SWA n= 123) identified that consumers had mixed perceptions of how RGFFV are defined, including produce sold at farmers markets, or grown within their region (TAS/SWA). RGFFV were commonly identified using product labelling (55% TAS, 69% SWA; p > 0.05). Respondents reported frequently shopping for RGFFV at major supermarkets, with more TAS respondents shopping weekly in comparison to SWA respondents (67% vs. 38%; p p = 0.012). The major RGFFV consumed were root vegetables and apples/pears, but consumers were frequently unsure about the produce's provenance. Our findings indicate multiple opportunities to improve consumption of fresh, regional produce in TAS and SWA, which may positively impact regional economic growth and community health
Relativistic bound-state equations in three dimensions
Firstly, a systematic procedure is derived for obtaining three-dimensional
bound-state equations from four-dimensional ones. Unlike ``quasi-potential
approaches'' this procedure does not involve the use of delta-function
constraints on the relative four-momentum. In the absence of negative-energy
states, the kernels of the three-dimensional equations derived by this
technique may be represented as sums of time-ordered perturbation theory
diagrams. Consequently, such equations have two major advantages over
quasi-potential equations: they may easily be written down in any Lorentz
frame, and they include the meson-retardation effects present in the original
four-dimensional equation. Secondly, a simple four-dimensional equation with
the correct one-body limit is obtained by a reorganization of the generalized
ladder Bethe-Salpeter kernel. Thirdly, our approach to deriving
three-dimensional equations is applied to this four-dimensional equation, thus
yielding a retarded interaction for use in the three-dimensional bound-state
equation of Wallace and Mandelzweig. The resulting three-dimensional equation
has the correct one-body limit and may be systematically improved upon. The
quality of the three-dimensional equation, and our general technique for
deriving such equations, is then tested by calculating bound-state properties
in a scalar field theory using six different bound-state equations. It is found
that equations obtained using the method espoused here approximate the wave
functions obtained from their parent four-dimensional equations significantly
better than the corresponding quasi-potential equations do.Comment: 28 pages, RevTeX, 6 figures attached as postscript files. Accepted
for publication in Phys. Rev. C. Minor changes from original version do not
affect argument or conclusion
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