Conductive elastomeric extensometer

Bridge circuit, in which conductive elastomeric material is the variable leg, precisely measures surface area changes in the human body. Circuits are used singularly, or in quantity by adding elements and amplifier circuits. Elastomeric strips can be located in a form-fitting garment

Oil and Democratic Prospects in the Persian Gulf States

Streaming video requires RealPlayer to view.The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.F. Gregory Gause III is an associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont, and director of the University's Middle East Studies Program. His lecture will be on "Oil and Democratic Prospects in the Persian Gulf States."Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesEvent webpage, streaming video, photo

How Much Change? The Saudi Arabia of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman

Since his father came to power in 2015, Muhammad bin Salman has been the driving force in Saudi Arabian politics. How much has the Crown Prince changed Saudi Arabia, and how much can he change it? F. Gregory Gause OOO is the John H. Lindsey \u2744 Chair, Professor of International Affairs and Head of the International Affairs Department at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/croft_spe/1004/thumbnail.jp

Complementarity and diversity in a soluble model ecosystem

Complementarity among species with different traits is one of the basic processes affecting biodiversity, defined as the number of species in the ecosystem. We present here a soluble model ecosystem in which the species are characterized by binary traits and their pairwise interactions follow a complementarity principle. Manipulation of the species composition, and so the study of its effects on the species diversity is achieved through the introduction of a bias parameter favoring one of the traits. Using statistical mechanics tools we find explicit expressions for the allowed values of the equilibrium species concentrations in terms of the control parameters of the model

Coexistence and critical behaviour in a lattice model of competing species

In the present paper we study a lattice model of two species competing for the same resources. Monte Carlo simulations for d=1, 2, and 3 show that when resources are easily available both species coexist. However, when the supply of resources is on an intermediate level, the species with slower metabolism becomes extinct. On the other hand, when resources are scarce it is the species with faster metabolism that becomes extinct. The range of coexistence of the two species increases with dimension. We suggest that our model might describe some aspects of the competition between normal and tumor cells. With such an interpretation, examples of tumor remission, recurrence and of different morphologies are presented. In the d=1 and d=2 models, we analyse the nature of phase transitions: they are either discontinuous or belong to the directed-percolation universality class, and in some cases they have an active subcritical phase. In the d=2 case, one of the transitions seems to be characterized by critical exponents different than directed-percolation ones, but this transition could be also weakly discontinuous. In the d=3 version, Monte Carlo simulations are in a good agreement with the solution of the mean-field approximation. This approximation predicts that oscillatory behaviour occurs in the present model, but only for d>2. For d>=2, a steady state depends on the initial configuration in some cases.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figure

Amplitude dependent frequency, desynchronization, and stabilization in noisy metapopulation dynamics

The enigmatic stability of population oscillations within ecological systems is analyzed. The underlying mechanism is presented in the framework of two interacting species free to migrate between two spatial patches. It is shown that that the combined effects of migration and noise cannot account for the stabilization. The missing ingredient is the dependence of the oscillations' frequency upon their amplitude; with that, noise-induced differences between patches are amplified due to the frequency gradient. Migration among desynchronized regions then stabilizes a "soft" limit cycle in the vicinity of the homogenous manifold. A simple model of diffusively coupled oscillators allows the derivation of quantitative results, like the functional dependence of the desynchronization upon diffusion strength and frequency differences. The oscillations' amplitude is shown to be (almost) noise independent. The results are compared with a numerical integration of the marginally stable Lotka-Volterra equations. An unstable system is extinction-prone for small noise, but stabilizes at larger noise intensity

The impact of the Arab Spring on democracy and development in the MENA region

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. In evaluating the consequences of the Arab Spring 8 years later, this paper not only focuses on the short-term consequences of the uprisings that swept through a number of countries in the Middle East and North African region but also analyzes the long-term prospects for democratization and development in the MENA region. The impact of the Arab Spring, despite its promises and the expectations of the rest of the world, has been dismal. While only Tunisia made a successful transition to a democratic polity with a constitution guaranteeing the basic rights of the people, the rest of the Arab Spring countries remain in the grip of the authoritarian rule, and countries such as Syria, Libya, and Yemen have been degenerated into bloody civil wars with dwindling hope of peace and freedom. On economic front, the growth has been tardy, showing little difference with countries that were unaffected by the Arab Spring. Yet, the paper concludes, echoing historian Eric Hobsbawm\u27s view, that revolutionary outcomes need not be judged as failure too quickly as they are likely to be partial success in the long term. The impact may be observed in the area of social opening, newer class alliances, and the emergence of a less rapacious, reformed, hybrid authoritarianism

Free Trade in Oil and Natural Gas, The Case for Lifting the Ban on U.S. Energy Exports

Not only should the US lift its ban on exporting oil and natural gas in light of today’s economic and political climate, but it was wrong to ever ban such exports in the first place. The US should cease to view its energy resources as a purely domestic issue but rather a global one that impacts not only global prices in energy but also international affairs. Energy security is a world-wide problem, not a US, China, or EU problem, and we are all dependent on the world oil market. As the US looks to extricate itself from energy dependence on the Middle East, increase its energy security through trade and innovation, and maintain a robust economy, the benefits of lifting the ban on US energy exports outweigh the costs say the authors. The writers propose that allowing US exports could add 8.7 million barrels per day of crude oil to the world market while also reducing possible shocks to the world economy. Griffin and Gause also believe that lifting a ban on US natural gas exports could reassure Western allies and send a message to Russia to stop holding Europeans hostage to its high gas prices in times of political strife

Composite Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles And Applications Thereof

In one aspect, composite particles are described herein. A composite particle comprises a substrate, composite metallic or metal oxide nanoparticles supported by the substrate and an amphiphilic or hydrophilic component associated with the substrate, wherein the composite metallic or metal oxide nanoparticles comprise iron and at least one additional transition metal

Composite Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles And Applications Thereof

In one aspect, composite particles are described herein. A composite particle comprises a substrate, composite metallic or metal oxide nanoparticles supported by the substrate and an amphiphilic or hydrophilic component associated with the substrate, wherein the composite metallic or metal oxide nanoparticles comprise iron and at least one additional transition metal