Waveshaping electronic circuit

Circuit provides output signal with sinusoidal function in response to bipolar transition of input signal. Instantaneous transition shapes into linear rate of change and linear rate of change shapes into sinusoidal rate of change. Circuit contains only active components; therefore, compatibility with integrated circuit techniques is assured

Input gate circuit converted for use as linear amplifier

Commercially available integrated circuit that is marketed as a digital computer input gate circuit was converted to a linear amplifier in a microphone circuit that has high input impedance, low output impedance, low cost, and is small enough to fit on a standard printed circuit card

A new approach for the measurement of film thickness in liquid face seals

Face seals operate by allowing a small volume of the sealed fluid to escape and form a thin film between the contacting parts. The thickness of this film must be optimized to ensure that the faces are separated, yet the leakage is minimized. In this work the liquid film is measured using a novel ultrasonic approach with a view to developing a condition monitoring tool. The trials were performed in two stages. Initially tests were based on a lab simulation, where it was possible to compare the ultrasonic film thickness measurements with optical interference methods and capacitance methods. A direct correlation was seen between ultrasonic measurements and capacitance. Where ultrasonic and optical methods overlap, good correlation is observed; however, the optical method will not record film thickness above 0.72 m. A second set of trials was carried out, where the film thickness was monitored inside a seal test apparatus. Film thickness was successfully recorded as speed and load were varied. The results showed that while stationary the film thickness varied noticeably with load. When rotating, however, the oil film remained relatively stable around 2 m. During the normal operation of the seal, both sudden speed and load changes were applied in order to initiate a seal failure. During these events, the measured film thickness was seen to drop dramatically down to 0.2 m. This demonstrated the ability of the technique to predict failure in a face seal and therefore its aptitude for condition monitoring

Local dissipation effects in two-dimensional quantum Josephson junction arrays with magnetic field

We study the quantum phase transitions in two-dimensional arrays of Josephson-couples junctions with short range Josephson couplings (given by the Josephson energy) and the charging energy. We map the problem onto the solvable quantum generalization of the spherical model that improves over the mean-field theory method. The arrays are placed on the top of a two-dimensional electron gas separated by an insulator. We include effects of the local dissipation in the presence of an external magnetic flux f in square lattice for several rational fluxes f=0,1/2,1/3,1/4 and 1/6. We also have examined the T=0 superconducting-insulator phase boundary as function of a dissipation alpha for two different geometry of the lattice: square and triangular. We have found critical value of the dissipation parameter independent on geometry of the lattice and presence magnetic field.Comment: accepted to PR

Defining Inadequate Performance under the North Carolina Tenured Teacher Fair Dismissal Act

The purpose of this comment is to provide a prospective definition for the term inadequate performance as it is used in the North Carolina Tenured Teacher Fair Dismissal Act. Through this effort, we hope that school boards and professional educators gain insight into the potential statutory constructions of inadequate performance and plan to avoid protracted litigation concerning a teacher\u27s dismissal in North Carolina specifically on the grounds of inadequate performance

Dependent Types for Pragmatics

This paper proposes the use of dependent types for pragmatic phenomena such as pronoun binding and presupposition resolution as a type-theoretic alternative to formalisms such as Discourse Representation Theory and Dynamic Semantics.Comment: This version updates the paper for publication in LEU

Near minimal weighted word graphs for post-processing speech

Large vocabulary speech recognition applications can benefit from an efficient data structure for representing large numbers of acoustic hypotheses compactly. Word graphs or lattices generated by acoustic recognition engines are generally not compact and must be post-processed to keep lattice sizes small; however, algorithms designed for this task need to reduce the size of the lattice without either eliminating hypotheses or distorting their relative acoustic probabilities. In this paper, we will discuss the relevant criteria for measuring graph size, compare the advantages of two different structures for graphs, and introduce a new data structure and compression algorithm which give additional graph compression and maintain exact hypothesis path scores by storing probability information on both nodes and arcs within the graph. 1

The Association Between the Long-Term Change in Directly Measured Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality Risk

Introduction: There is a strong inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and mortality outcomes. This relationship has predominantly been assessed cross-sectionally, however low CRF is a modifiable risk factor, thus assessing this association using a single baseline measure may be sub-optimal. Purpose: To examine the association of the long-term change in CRF, measured using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) with all-cause and disease-specific mortality. Methods: Participants included 833 apparently healthy men and women (42.9±10.8 years) who underwent two maximal CPXs, the second CPX being ≥ 1 year following the baseline assessment. Participants were followed for 17.7 ± 11.8 years for allcause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality. Cox-proportional hazard models were performed to determine the association between the change in CRF, computed as visit 1 (V1) peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak (ml·kg-1·min-1)) – visit 2 (V2) VO2peak, and mortality outcomes. Results: During follow-up, 172 participants died. Overall, the change in CPX-derived CRF was inversely related to all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality (p\u3c0.05). Each 1 ml·kg-1·min-1 increase was associated with a 10.8, 14.7, and 15.9% reductions in allcause, CVD, and cancer mortality, respectively. The inverse relationship between CRF and all-cause mortality remained significant (p\u3c0.05) when men and women were examined independently, after adjusting for years since first CPX, baseline VO2peak, and age. Conclusion: Long-term changes in CRF were inversely related to mortality outcomes, and mortality was better predicted by CRF measured at subsequent examination than baseline CRF. These findings support the recent American Heart Association scientific statement advocating CRF as a clinical vital sign that should be assessed routinely in clinical practice, as well as support regular participation in physical activity to maintain adequate CRF levels across the lifespan

'Gift of Hope' – motivation for brain donation into schizophrenia research

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Changes to Snowpack Energy State from Spring Storm Events, Columbia River Headwaters, Montana

The generation and release of meltwater during the spring snowmelt season can be delayed because of spring storm episodes with snow accumulation and/or sustained subfreezing temperatures. The delayed release of snowmelt often extends beyond the particular storm event because of changes to the internal state of energy in the snowpack that prevents transmission of meltwater. Following a storm, two energy deficits internal to the snowpack must be overcome before surface melt can drain and exit the snowpack: 1) cold content created by heat lost during the episode must be removed and 2) dry pore space must be filled with liquid water to residual saturation. This study investigates the role of these two processes in spring snowmelt following past storm episodes in western Montana. The analysis addresses;10 yr of historical snowpack and air temperature data from 33 stations in the Columbia River headwaters. Results indicate that the addition of pore space has a greater impact on delaying snowmelt than does the addition of cold content, with snow accumulation events responsible for 86% of the collective energy deficit imposed on the snowpack during storm episodes. Nearly all refreezing events occur within one month of peak snowpack, but accumulation events are common up to 50 days later. Under standardized conditions representing clear weather during the spring season, these energy deficits could all be overcome in a matter of hours