Procedures for calculating estimates of the coefficient of inbreeding of an individual

Call number: LD2668 .R4 1967 H6

MEMS accelerometer: proof of concept for geotechnical engineering testing

Geotechnical engineering materials are inherently variable, which leads to many simplifications when trying to model their behavior. The materials must always be characterized prior to any design work so that the engineer knows which direction he must progress to have a reliable design. Although subsurface characterization techniques and geotechnical design steadily improve, they are by no means infallible. The combination of geotechnical subsurface characterization along with geophysical techniques for improved design and construction monitoring has begun to surface as a viable alternative to the standard techniques in geotechnical engineering. This is important because there is a lack of Quality Control/Quality Assurance during the construction stage of a project, which further compounds the problems inherent from the complexity of the subsurface. Geophysical techniques based on elastic wave propagation provide an excellent combination of characterization and monitoring for the observation of geotechnical engineering projects. Elastic wave propagation provides coverage between traditional boreholes and it helps infer changes in the state of stresses. Unfortunately, sensors for this type of monitoring have typically been expensive, and the use of elastic wave propagation for characterization and monitoring has just begun to become to be implemented. The application of elastic wave tomography needs an inexpensive set of sensors to help justify its inclusion in the broad area of construction monitoring and characterization systems. This set of inexpensive sensors has arrived on the market developed from Miniature Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMs) technology. This research developed the Analog Devices’ ADXL250 MEMS accelerometer to determine its limitations and its range of applications. In addition, a packaging system developed to allow for a broader range of applications in geotechnical engineering. Once the sensor was fully calibrated, a long-term goal for the research was to utilize the instrument in a laboratory experiment to obtain a tomographic image of the state of stress within a model. While the sensor was utilized in a model in this study, the final reasoning for its use within the model was simply to show its capabilities and areas of application. Simple velocity distributions are given as well as inferences made about the driving factors for these behaviors

Evaluation of the Transient Liquid Phase (TLP) Bonding Process for Ti3Al-Based Honeycomb Core Sandwich Structure

The suitability of using transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding to fabricate honeycomb core sandwich panels with Ti-14Al-21Nb (wt%) titanium aluminide (T3Al) face sheets for high-temperature hypersonic vehicle applications was evaluated. Three titanium alloy honeycomb cores and one Ti3Al alloy honeycomb core were investigated. Edgewise compression (EWC) and flatwise tension (FWT) tests on honeycomb core sandwich specimens and tensile tests of the face sheet material were conducted at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1500 F. EWC tests indicated that the honeycomb cores and diffusion bonded joints were able to stabilize the face sheets up to and beyond the face sheet compressive yield strength for all temperatures investigated. The specimens with the T3Al honeycomb core produced the highest FWT strengths at temperatures above 1000 F. Tensile tests indicated that TLP processing conditions resulted in decreases in ductility of the Ti-14Al-21Nb face sheets. Microstructural examination showed that the side of the face sheets to which the filler metals had been applied was transformed from equiaxed alpha2 grains to coarse plates of alpha2 with intergranular Beta. Fractographic examination of the tensile specimens showed that this transformed region was dominated by brittle fracture

9-Phase inverter driven motor

Bibliography: leaf 134.The behaviour of a 9-phase squirrel cage induction motor is studied when it is excited with unmodulated and chopper modulated quasi-square phase voltages. A 9-phase bridge inverter, which produces the quasi-square waveforms, and its digital controller have been constructed and tested. A theoretical analysis is included, which shows the influence of phase current harmonics upon output torque

Patterns of recruitment and young culm morphology in Arundinaria gigantea ([Walt.] Muhl.) canebrakes in western North Carolina

River cane is one of three bamboos native to the United States. This species was once ubiquitous across the southeastern US but has now been reduced to less than two percent of its original coverage. This study is among research efforts to improve our knowledge to help restore a native species, protect riparian habitats, and improve materials needed for traditional Cherokee artisan crafts. The purpose of the project was to describe recruitment patterns within canebrakes, and to determine if these patterns were related to subsequent recruited culm morphology. Four canebrakes in western North Carolina were intensively sampled by establishing 1 m2 plots every 3 m2 across the entirety of each canebrake. All culms were counted within each plot and were categorized as young (recruited within 3 years) or old. Culm diameter, branch free height, and total height were measured for all young culms. Results showed young culms with larger diameters had greater branch free height and were taller, particularly after the first 3 m into a canebrake. This may be due to larger new rhizomes branching from older rhizomes, with the new rhizomes supporting new larger culms that can compete with pre7 existing culms for light. However, culm diameter, branch free height, and total height measures decreased in size in areas where there were greater than eight young culms/m2, likely due to resource allocation trade-offs where greater recruitment occurred at the expense of culm size. The density of old and young culms had a patchy distribution within the canebrakes. This variation could be explained by clonal integration, which allows river cane culms in areas of high resources to continue to spread and support culms in resource poor areas. My results suggest creating thinned “gaps” in the interior of existing canebrakes could lead to production of larger sized culms if competition for resources is reduced and the older rhizomes support larger new rhizomes and greater competitive regeneration. Additionally, if canebrakes are allowed to expand in area so that greater interior area is created, overtime larger culms should be produced due to continual competition within the canebrake

Outdoor Storage Characteristics of Single-Pass Large Square Corn Stover Bales in Iowa

Year-round operation of biorefineries can be possible only if the continuous flow of cellulosic biomass is guaranteed. If corn (Zea mays) stover is the primary cellulosic biomass, it is essential to recognize that this feedstock has a short annual harvest window (≤1–2 months) and therefore cost effective storage techniques that preserve feedstock quality must be identified. This study evaluated two outdoor and one indoor storage strategies for corn stover bales in Iowa. High- and low-moisture stover bales were prepared in the fall of 2009, and stored either outdoors with two different types of cover (tarp and breathable film) or within a building for 3 or 9 months. Dry matter loss (DML), changes in moisture and biomass compositions (fiber and ultimate analyses) were determined. DML for bales stored outdoor with tarp and breathable film covers were in the ranges of 5–11 and 14–17%, respectively. More than half of the total DML occurred early during the storage. There were measurable differences in carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, cellulose, hemi-cellulose and acid detergent lignin for the different storage treatments, but the changes were small and within a narrow range. For the bale storage treatments investigated, cellulose content increased by as much as 4%s from an initial level of ~41%, hemicellulose content changed by −2 to 1% from ~34%, and acid detergent lignin contents increased by as much as 3% from an initial value of ~5%. Tarp covered bales stored the best in this study, but other methods, such as tube-wrapping, and economics need further investigation

Multicentury changes in ocean and land contributions to the climate-carbon feedback

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 (2015): 744–759, doi:10.1002/2014GB005079.Improved constraints on carbon cycle responses to climate change are needed to inform mitigation policy, yet our understanding of how these responses may evolve after 2100 remains highly uncertain. Using the Community Earth System Model (v1.0), we quantified climate-carbon feedbacks from 1850 to 2300 for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and its extension. In three simulations, land and ocean biogeochemical processes experienced the same trajectory of increasing atmospheric CO2. Each simulation had a different degree of radiative coupling for CO2 and other greenhouse gases and aerosols, enabling diagnosis of feedbacks. In a fully coupled simulation, global mean surface air temperature increased by 9.3 K from 1850 to 2300, with 4.4 K of this warming occurring after 2100. Excluding CO2, warming from other greenhouse gases and aerosols was 1.6 K by 2300, near a 2 K target needed to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Ocean contributions to the climate-carbon feedback increased considerably over time and exceeded contributions from land after 2100. The sensitivity of ocean carbon to climate change was found to be proportional to changes in ocean heat content, as a consequence of this heat modifying transport pathways for anthropogenic CO2 inflow and solubility of dissolved inorganic carbon. By 2300, climate change reduced cumulative ocean uptake by 330 Pg C, from 1410 Pg C to 1080 Pg C. Land fluxes similarly diverged over time, with climate change reducing stocks by 232 Pg C. Regional influence of climate change on carbon stocks was largest in the North Atlantic Ocean and tropical forests of South America. Our analysis suggests that after 2100, oceans may become as important as terrestrial ecosystems in regulating the magnitude of the climate-carbon feedback.We are grateful for support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Science Foundation (NSF). J.T.R. and F.H. received support from the Regional and Global Climate Modeling Program in the Climate and Environmental Sciences Division of the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Program in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. J.T.R., K.L., E.M., W.F., J.K.M., S.C.D., and N.N.M. received funding from the NSF project “Collaborative Research: Improved Regional and Decadal Predictions of the Carbon Cycle“ (AGS-1048827, AGS-1021776, and AGS-1048890). The Community Earth System Modeling project receives support from both NSF and BER.2015-12-0

Assessing tumor physiology by dynamic contrast-enhanced near-infrared spectroscopy

The purpose of this study was to develop a dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique to characterize tumor physiology. Dynamic data were acquired using two contrast agents of different molecular weights, indocyanine green (ICG) and IRDye 800CW carboxylate (IRDcxb). The DCE curves were analyzed using a kinetic model capable of extracting estimates of tumor blood flow (F), capillary transit time (t(c)) and the amount of dye that leaked into the extravascular space (EVS) - characterized by the extraction fraction (E). Data were acquired from five nude rats with tumor xenografts (\u3e10mm) implanted in the neck. Four DCE-NIR datasets (two from each contrast agent) were acquired for each rat. The dye concentration curve in arterial blood, which is required to quantify the model parameters, was measured non-invasively by dye densitometry. A modification to the kinetic model to characterize t(c) as a distribution of possible values, rather than finite, improved the fit of acquired tumor concentration curves, resulting in more reliable estimates. This modified kinetic model identified a difference between the extracted fraction of IRDcxb, 15 +/- 6 %, and ICG, 1.6 +/- 0.6 %, in the tumor, which can be explained by the difference in molecular weight: 67 kDa for ICG since it binds to albumin and 1.17 kDa for IRD. This study demonstrates the ability of DCE-NIRS to quantify tumor physiology. The next step is to adapt this approach with a dual-receptor approach

Palbociclib has no clinically relevant effect on the QTc interval in patients with advanced breast cancer.

The aim of this study was to assess the potential effects of palbociclib in combination with letrozole on QTc. PALOMA-2, a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, compared palbociclib plus letrozole with placebo plus letrozole in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative advanced breast cancer. The study included a QTc evaluation substudy carried out as a definitive QT interval prolongation assessment for palbociclib. Time-matched triplicate ECGs were performed at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h at baseline (Day 0) and on Cycle 1 Day 14. Additional ECGs were collected from all patients for safety monitoring. The QT interval was corrected for heart rate using Fridericia's correction (QTcF), Bazett's correction (QTcB), and a study-specific correction factor (QTcS). In total, 666 patients were randomized 2 : 1 to palbociclib plus letrozole or placebo plus letrozole. Of these, 125 patients were enrolled in the QTc evaluation substudy. No patients in the palbociclib plus letrozole arm of the substudy (N=77) had a maximum postbaseline QTcS or QTcF value of ≥ 480 ms, or a maximum increase from clock time-matched baseline for QTcS or QTcF values of ≥ 60 ms. The upper bounds of the one-sided 95% confidence interval for the mean change from time-matched baseline for QTcS, QTcF, and QTcB at all time points and at steady-state Cmax following repeated administration of 125 mg palbociclib were less than 10 ms. Palbociclib, when administered with letrozole at the recommended therapeutic dosing regimen, did not prolong the QT interval to a clinically relevant extent

A randomized trial comparing digital video disc with written delivery of falls prevention education for older patients in hospital

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of a digital video disc (DVD) with that of a written workbook delivering falls prevention education to older hospital patients on self-perceived risk of falls, perception of falls epidemiology, knowledge of prevention strategies, and motivation and confidence to engage in self-protective strategies. To compare the effect of receiving either education approach versus no education on patients\u27 perception of falls epidemiology. Design: Randomized trial (DVD vs workbook) with additional quasi-experimental control group. Settings: Geriatric, medical, and orthopedic wards in Perth and Brisbane, Australia. Participants: One hundred (n=51 DVD, n=49 workbook) hospital inpatients aged 60 and older receiving an intervention (mean age 75.3±10.1) and 122 in the control group (mean age 79.3±8.3). Intervention: Participants randomly assigned to receive identical educational material on falls prevention delivered on a DVD or in a workbook. Control group received usual care. Measurements: Custom-designed survey addressing elements of the Health Belief Model of health behavior change. Results: Participants randomized to DVD delivery had a higher self-perceived risk of falling (P=.04) and higher levels of confidence (P=.03) and motivation (P=.04) to engage in self-protective strategies than participants who received the workbook. A higher proportion of participants who received either form of the education provided “desired” responses than of control group participants across all knowledge items (P\u3c.001). Conclusion: Delivery of falls prevention education on a DVD compared to a written workbook is more likely to achieve important changes in parameters likely to affect successful uptake of falls prevention messages in the hospital setting