Wide-range dynamic pressure sensor

Transducer measures pressure by sensing the damping of a vibrating diaphragm immersed in the atmosphere to be measured. Improved sensor can be included in rugged, lightweight package for use aboard aircraft, meteorological vehicles, and space probes

Whys and hows of in-house writing

The combining of requisite technical knowledge with requisite writing ability is addressed. Considerations in the development of in-house writing courses, in-plant training, are presented and evaluated. Specific problems in past methodology are also detailed. It is suggested that teachers of technical writing should be technical people themselves, preferably with working experience in industry or business; the training provided should be user-oriented, not theory oriented

Inferring the Rate-Length Law of Protein Folding

We investigate the rate-length scaling law of protein folding, a key undetermined scaling law in the analytical theory of protein folding. We demonstrate that chain length is a dominant factor determining folding times, and that the unambiguous determination of the way chain length corre- lates with folding times could provide key mechanistic insight into the folding process. Four specific proposed laws (power law, exponential, and two stretched exponentials) are tested against one an- other, and it is found that the power law best explains the data. At the same time, the fit power law results in rates that are very fast, nearly unreasonably so in a biological context. We show that any of the proposed forms are viable, conclude that more data is necessary to unequivocally infer the rate-length law, and that such data could be obtained through a small number of protein folding experiments on large protein domains

Civil RICO: A Call for a Uniform Statute of Limitations

RICO is a statute, originally developed to thwart organized crime. When read broadly, the statute, however, has been applied to non-organized crime activities. Thus, courts have now started applying four substantive requirements for use of the RICO statute: (1) requiring that the plaintiff must allege that the defendant has connection to organized crime, (2) limiting standing to a particular type of injury, (3) requiring the plaintiff to allege an enterprise distinct from the pattern of racketeering or from the defendant, and (4) permitting only civil RICO claims in instances where the defendant has been previously convicted of the predicate acts alleged in the civil complaint. Along with these requirements, a second area of confusion, which has arisen from the federal RICO statute is the lack of an express statute of limitations. This Note argues that instead of using the method of applying the statute of limitations for an analogous cause of action (the Supreme Court\u27s general method when no express statute of limitations is offered), Congress should step in and create an express statute of limitations for the civil RICO statute. Utilizing the general Supreme Court method for determining the statute of limitations is against the purpose and history of the civil RICO statute. In light of the potential unfairness with the current limitations scheme and the federal nature of the RICO statute, it makes sense for Congress to enact an express limitations scheme, creating predictability in RICO cases

Cognitive appraisal of dissertation stress among undergraduate students

The present study examined changes in primary and secondary appraisal, and coping strategies utilized in the final weeks leading to dissertation submission. Sixty volunteer Sports Studies dissertation students (male: n = 29; female: n = 31) completed an adapted Cognitive Appraisal of Health Scale (CAHS: Kessler, 1998), and Brief COPE (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989) on 4 occasions over the 6 weeks before dissertation submission. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant main effect for gender, with no main effect for changes over time and no significant interaction effect. Results demonstrated that males perceived the dissertation to be significantly more threatening and iess challenging than females. With regard to coping, males used more active coping, positive reframing, planning, and acceptance of the stressor, with lower scores for self-blame, venting of emotions, and behavioral disengagement. The results suggest that, for this student population, the dissertation did not become increasingly stressful in the period before submission. Clear relationships were also evidenced between primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, and coping. Future research should seek to identify factors that moderate the influence of situational stressors on coping responses among undergraduate students

Technicolor at the Tevatron

We propose that the 3.2 sigma excess at ~150 GeV in the dijet mass spectrum of W + jets reported by CDF is the technipion $\pi_T$ of low-scale technicolor. Its relatively large cross section is due to production of a narrow $Wjj$ resonance, the technirho, which decays to W + $\pi_T$. We discuss ways to enhance and strengthen the technicolor hypothesis and suggest companion searches at the Tevatron and LHC.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. Note added regarding Z(l+l-)+jj signals at the Tevatron and LH