15,289 research outputs found
A pilot study examining garment severance damage caused by a trained sharp-weapon user
The pilot study summarized in this paper aimed to raise awareness of a gap that exists in the forensic textile science literature about damage caused to clothing by trained sharp-weapon users. A male trained in the Filipino martial arts discipline of Eskrima performed attack techniques on a physical model of a male torso covered with a 97% cotton/3% elastane knitted T-shirt, that is, a garment commonly worn by males. Fabric severance appearance created by three different, but commonly available, knives was evaluated. High-speed video was used to capture each attack. After each attack the resulting damage to the garment was assessed. This pilot study highlighted differences in severances associated with weapon selection, that is, not all knives resulted in similar patterns of textile damage. In addition, a mixture of stab and slash severances were observed. The findings demonstrated the possible misinterpretation of textile damage under these circumstances compared to damage patterns reported in the existing forensic textile science literature for more commonly occurring knife attacks (i.e. stabbings)
Expendable bubble tiltmeter for geophysical monitoring
An unusually rugged highly sensitive and inexpensive bubble tiltmeter has been designed, tested, and built in quantity. These tiltmeters are presently used on two volcanoes and an Alaskan glacier, where they continuously monitor surface tilts of geological interest. This paper discusses the
mechanical, thermal, and electric details of the meter, and illustrates its performance characteristics in both large ( > 10^(-4) radian) and small ( < 10^(-6) radian) tilt environments. The meter's ultimate sensitivity is better than 2 X 10^(-8) radians rms for short periods (hours), and its useful dynamic range is greater than 10^4. Included is a short description of field use of the instrument for volcano monitoring
Dynamic airfoil stall investigations
Experimental and computational investigations of the dynamic stall phenomenon continue to attract the attention of various research groups in the major aeronautical research laboratories. There are two reasons for this continued research interest. First, the occurrence of dynamic stall on the retreating blade of helicopters imposes a severe performance limitation and thus suggests to search for ways to delay the onset of dynamic stall. Second, the lift enhancement prior to dynamic stall presents an opportunity to achieve enhanced maneuverability of fighter aircraft. A description of the major parameters affecting dynamic stall and lift and an evaluation of research efforts prior to 1988 has been given by Carr. In this paper the authors' recent progress in the development of experimental and computational methods to analyze the dynamic stall phenomena occurring on NACA 0112 airfoils is reviewed. First, the major experimental and computational approaches and results are summarized. This is followed by an assessment of our results and an outlook toward the future
Sensitivity studies for the cubic-kilometre deep-sea neutrino telescope KM3NeT
The observation of high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources would
substantially improve our knowledge and understanding of the non-thermal
processes in these sources, and would in particular pinpoint the accelerators
of cosmic rays. The sensitivity of different design options for a future
cubic-kilometre scale neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea is
investigated for generic point sources and in particular for some of the
galactic objects from which TeV gamma emmission has recently been observed by
the H.E.S.S. atmospheric Cherenkov telescope. The effect of atmospheric
background on the source detection probabilities has been taken into account
through full simulation. The estimated event rates are compared to previous
results and limits from present neutrino telescopes.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, contribution of the 30th International Cosmic Ray
conferenc
Microbubble Cavitation Imaging
Ultrasound cavitation of microbubble contrast agents has a potential for therapeutic applications such as sonothrombolysis (STL) in acute ischemic stroke. For safety, efficacy, and reproducibility of treatment, it is critical to evaluate the cavitation state (moderate oscillations, stable cavitation, and inertial cavitation) and activity level in and around a treatment area. Acoustic passive cavitation detectors (PCDs) have been used to this end but do not provide spatial information. This paper presents a prototype of a 2-D cavitation imager capable of producing images of the dominant cavitation state and activity level in a region of interest. Similar to PCDs, the cavitation imaging described here is based on the spectral analysis of the acoustic signal radiated by the cavitating microbubbles: ultraharmonics of the excitation frequency indicate stable cavitation, whereas elevated noise bands indicate inertial cavitation; the absence of both indicates moderate oscillations. The prototype system is a modified commercially available ultrasound scanner with a sector imaging probe. The lateral resolution of the system is 1.5 mm at a focal depth of 3 cm, and the axial resolution is 3 cm for a therapy pulse length of 20 mu s. The maximum frame rate of the prototype is 2 Hz. The system has been used for assessing and mapping the relative importance of the different cavitation states of a microbubble contrast agent. In vitro (tissue-mimicking flow phantom) and in vivo (heart, liver, and brain of two swine) results for cavitation states and their changes as a function of acoustic amplitude are presented
Gravitationally Lensed Gamma-Ray Bursts as Probes of Dark Compact Objects
If dark matter in the form of compact objects comprises a large fraction of
the mass of the universe, then gravitational lensing effects on gamma-ray
bursts are expected. We utilize BATSE and Ulysses data to search for lenses of
different mass ranges, which cause lensing in the milli, pico, and femto
regimes. Null results are used to set weak limits on the cosmological abundance
of compact objects in mass ranges from 10 to 10 . A
stronger limit is found for a much discussed universe dominated
by black holes of masses , which is ruled out at the
90% confidence level.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, fixed minor corrections. Accepted for
publication in ApJ(L
Signatures of superconducting gap inhomogeneities in optical properties
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy applied to the high- cuprates has
revealed significant spatial inhomogeneity on the nanoscale. Regions on the
order of a coherence length in size show variations of the magnitude of the
superconducting gap of order or more. An important unresolved question
is whether or not these variations are also present in the bulk, and how they
influence superconducting properties. As many theories and data analyses for
high- superconductivity assume spatial homogeneity of the gap magnitude,
this is a pressing question. We consider the far-infrared optical conductivity
and evaluate, within an effective medium approximation, what signatures of
spatial variations in gap magnitude are present in various optical quantities.
In addition to the case of d-wave superconductivity, relevant to the high-
cuprates, we have also considered s-wave gap symmetry in order to provide
expected signatures of inhomogeneities for superconductors in general. While
signatures of gap inhomogeneities can be strongly manifested in s-wave
superconductors, we find that the far-infrared optical conductivity in d-wave
is robust against such inhomogeneity.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Emergence of steady and oscillatory localized structures in a phytoplankton-nutrient model
Co-limitation of marine phytoplankton growth by light and nutrient, both of
which are essential for phytoplankton, leads to complex dynamic behavior and a
wide array of coherent patterns. The building blocks of this array can be
considered to be deep chlorophyll maxima, or DCMs, which are structures
localized in a finite depth interior to the water column. From an ecological
point of view, DCMs are evocative of a balance between the inflow of light from
the water surface and of nutrients from the sediment. From a (linear)
bifurcational point of view, they appear through a transcritical bifurcation in
which the trivial, no-plankton steady state is destabilized. This article is
devoted to the analytic investigation of the weakly nonlinear dynamics of these
DCM patterns, and it has two overarching themes. The first of these concerns
the fate of the destabilizing stationary DCM mode beyond the center manifold
regime. Exploiting the natural singularly perturbed nature of the model, we
derive an explicit reduced model of asymptotically high dimension which fully
captures these dynamics. Our subsequent and fully detailed study of this model
- which involves a subtle asymptotic analysis necessarily transgressing the
boundaries of a local center manifold reduction - establishes that a stable DCM
pattern indeed appears from a transcritical bifurcation. However, we also
deduce that asymptotically close to the original destabilization, the DCM
looses its stability in a secondary bifurcation of Hopf type. This is in
agreement with indications from numerical simulations available in the
literature. Employing the same methods, we also identify a much larger DCM
pattern. The development of the method underpinning this work - which, we
expect, shall prove useful for a larger class of models - forms the second
theme of this article
Kiwi talent flow : a study of chartered accountants and business professionals overseas
New Zealanders have always had a propensity to travel overseas. The globalisation of the
world has seen an increase in the number of people who, having completed their education and
gained some work experience, set off on their overseas experience. Concern has been
expressed as to the potential “brain drain” that would result should these well-educated and
talented citizens remain overseas permanently. This research considers the propensity to
return of over 1,500 expatriate Kiwis working in the areas of accounting and finance. It
examines their demographics, attitudes, values, motivations, factors of attraction to, and
repulsion from, New Zealand and their concerns for change in New Zealand. It therefore
provides insights into the nature and purpose of this significant group of professionals resident
mainly in the United Kingdom and Australia. We find that less than half are likely to return to
New Zealand. This is because of the lack of career and business opportunities despite the
“pull” of family and relations in New Zealand
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