MP25 The Problem of Freight Car Supply

As early as 1907 the Interstate Commerce Commission held extensive hearings on freight car shortages. At frequent intervals ever since, Congress and the commission have addressed themselves to the problem of freight car supply with considerable vigor but meager results. Allegations of an inadequate supply of freight cars have been widespread in recent years. The decline in the number of freight cars is easy to document: between 1959 and 1968, the number of cars used in grain transport (boxcars and covered hopper cars) declined by 26%. If, however, consideration is given to changes in car capacity and car miles per day, then grain car supply, as measured by ton-miles of grain transported, actually increased by 14 % during this 10-year period. Furthermore, a study conducted by the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1969 revealed that, on an average day in 1968, there were three boxcar I? and covered hopper cars available in the Midwest Region for everyone ordered by shippers. Nevertheless, on this same average day, shippers received only 75 to 80% of the freight cars ordered, owing to malfunctioning of the car allocation system. When freight cars move beyond the lines of the owning railroad, the railroad having possession must pay the owning railroad a car-rental charge known as per diem. The Association of American Railroads and the Interstate Commerce Commission have relied upon an inflexible and inadequate car-rental charge and a comprehensive body of car-service rules and car-service orders to secure return of freight cars to owning roads or to points of greatest need, as defined by the AAR and the ICC. Thus car allocation, at least during periods of heavy demand, is reminiscent of the decision-making process in a centrally planned socialist system. If a car-rental exchange market were to be established, carrental rates would be determined by competitive bidding. Freight cars would then move toward points of greatest shipper demand and the ICC would find it unnecessary to issue arbitrary orders to influence car distribution. Moreover, whenever such competitively-determined rates rose above the prospective daily ownership costs of new freight cars, it would provide an incentive for the acquisition of additional freight cars. Such a car-rental exchange market could be administered by the Car Service Division of the AAR, free from the political considerations which now play a major role in freight car distribution

A summary of recent NASA/Army contributions to rotorcraft vibrations and structural dynamics technology

The requirement for low vibrations has achieved the status of a critical design consideration in modern helicopters. There is now a recognized need to account for vibrations during both the analytical and experimental phases of design. Research activities in this area were both broad and varied and notable advances were made in recent years in the critical elements of the technology base needed to achieve the goal of a jet smooth ride. The purpose is to present an overview of accomplishments and current activities of govern and government-sponsored research in the area of rotorcraft vibrations and structural dynamics, focusing on NASA and Army contributions over the last decade or so. Specific topics addressed include: airframe finite-element modeling for static and dynamic analyses, analysis of coupled rotor-airframe vibrations, optimization of airframes subject to vibration constraints, active and passive control of vibrations in both the rotating and fixed systems, and integration of testing and analysis in such guises as modal analysis, system identification, structural modification, and vibratory loads measurement

Explosion at Harrington No. 10 Colliery, Cumberland

ERAF: A6.CMD.7222MINISTRY OF FUEL AND POWER EXPLOSION AT HARRINGTON No. 10 COLLIERY, CUMBERLAND REPORT On the Causes of, and Circumstances attending the Explosion which occurred at the Harrington No. 10 Colliery, Lowca,Cumberland, on the 9th December, 1946 BY SIR JOHN FELTON, O.B.E. H.M. Chief Inspector of Mines Presented by the Minister of Fuel and Power to Parliament by Command of His Majesty October, 194

Studies of human immune responses to various antigenic proteins of Chlamydia trachomatis

Chlamydiae are gram-negative bacteria which cause diverse diseases of humans and animals. Chlamydia trachomatis, the focus of this work, causes the blinding eye disease trachoma, and reproductive tract infections. Trachoma affects 500 million individuals of whom seven million are blind. Chlamydia is the most common reproductive tract infection and can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and tubal infertility. In both cases treatment with antibiotics is effective but they may not be available, recurrent infection is common and the long-terrn complications irreversible. A vaccine is needed but attempts at developing one have met with limited success. The recent discovery of a family of antigenic surface proteins, the polymorphic membrane proteins, has revitalised the search for potential vaccine candidates. One member of this family, pmpG, was cloned in two fragments and the recombinant products expressed and purified. Humoral and cellular responses to these and other chlamydial antigens, and to common recall antigens, were examined in human subjects in The Gambia using immunoblotting, whole blood assay and cytokine ELISA techniques. Children with active trachoma, adults with trachomatous scarring and women with tubal infertility were examined, together with matched controls. PmPG was shown to be a target of both humoral and cellular responses. These responses were more commonly directed towards the amino- (PmpGa), rather than carboxylterminal (PmpGc) fragment. Antibodies to PmPGa were associated with a reduced risk of active trachoma but antibodies to PmpGc were associated with conjunctival scarring. PmPGa stimulated the production of TNFa, IFNy and TGFb. Children with active trachoma produced higher levels of TNFa and IL-10 than controls in response to PmPGa. High levels of IL-10 in response to both chlamydial and common recall antigens were noted in children with active trachoma and this may be a mechanism by which Chlamydia survives intracellularly. Responses to other chlarnydial proteins were characterised and an association between intestinal helminth infection and conjunctival scarring was noted.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Movements of bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) and greenspotted (S. chlorostictus) rockfishes in a Monterey submarine canyon: implications for the design of marine reserves

In August and September of 1997 and 1998, we used SCUBA techniques to surgically implant Vemco V16 series acoustic transmitters in 6 greenspotted rockfish (Sebastes chlorostictus) and 16 bocaccio (S. paucispinis) on the flank of Soquel Canyon in Monterey Bay, California. Fish were captured at depths of 100–200 m and reeled up to a depth of approximately 20 m, where a team of SCUBA divers anesthetized and surgically implanted acoustic transmitters in them. Tagged fish were released on the seafloor at the location of catch. An array of recording receivers on the seafloor enabled the tracking of horizontal and vertical fish movements for a three-month period. Greenspotted rockfish tagged in 1997 exhibited almost no vertical movement and showed limited horizontal movement. Two of these tagged fish spent more than 90% of the time in a 0.58-km2 area. Three other tagged greenspotted rockfish spent more than 60% of the time in a 1.6-km2 area but displayed frequent horizontal movements of at least 3 km. Bocaccio exhibited somewhat greater movements. Of the 16 bocaccio tagged in 1998, 10 spent less than 10% of the time in the approximately 12-km2 study area. One fish stayed in the study area for about 50% of the study time. Signals from the remaining 5 fish were recorded in the study area the entire time. Bocaccio frequently moved vertically 10–20 m and occasionally displayed vertical movements of 100 m or greater

Insect salivary enzyme triggers systemic resistance

This invention includes the characterization of the major salivary protein or enzyme of the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea for triggering resistance to bacterial blight and frogeye leaf spot in soybeans and for triggering resistance to insects in tomatoes. The invention includes an enzyme or a novel protein secreted from the salivary glands of certain insects including the saliva of species belonging to the order Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera

Direct thermal management of windings enabled by additive manufacturing

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by IEEE in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications on 27/09/2022, available online: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2022.3209171 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The electrification and hybridization of ground- and air-transport, in pursuit of Carbon Net Zero targets, is driving demand for high power-density electrical machines. The power-density and reliability of electrical machines is ultimately limited by their ability to dissipate internally generated losses within the temperature constraints of the electrical insulation system. As the electrical windings are typically the dominant source of loss, their enhanced design is in the critical path to improvements in power-density. Application of metal additive manufacturing has the potential to disrupt conventional winding design by removing restrictions on conductor profiles, topologies and embedded thermal management. In this paper, a modular end-winding heat exchanger concept is presented, which enables effective direct cooling without occupying valuable stator slot cross-section. In addition, this arrangement eliminates the need for a good stator-winding thermal interface, thereby allowing mechanical or other less permanent winding retention methods to be used, facilitating non-destructive disassembly and repair. A prototype winding is fabricated and experimentally tested to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept, yielding promising results.This work has been funded by EPSRC Grant Number EP/f02125X/1 and EP/S018034/1 as part of a Future Electrical Machines Manufacturing (FEMM) Hub feasibility study.Published versio

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition with simvastatin in acute lung injury to reduce pulmonary dysfunction (HARP-2) trial : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common devastating clinical syndrome characterized by life-threatening respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation and multiple organ failure. There are in vitro, animal studies and pre-clinical data suggesting that statins may be beneficial in ALI. The Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition with simvastatin in Acute lung injury to Reduce Pulmonary dysfunction (HARP-2) trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, allocation concealed, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial which aims to test the hypothesis that treatment with simvastatin will improve clinical outcomes in patients with ALI

A critical narrative analysis of shared decision-making in acute, inpatient mental health care

Shared decision-making (SDM) is a high priority in healthcare policy and is complementary to the recovery philosophy in mental health care. This agenda has been operationalised within the Values-Based Practice (VBP) framework, which offers a theoretical and practical model to promote democratic interprofessional approaches to decision-making. However, these are limited by a lack of recognition of the implications of power implicit within the mental health system. This study considers issues of power within the context of decision-making and examines to what extent decisions about patients? care on acute in-patient wards are perceived to be shared. Focus groups were conducted with 46 mental health professionals, service users, and carers. The data were analysed using the framework of critical narrative analysis (CNA). The findings of the study suggested each group constructed different identity positions, which placed them as inside or outside of the decision-making process. This reflected their view of themselves as best placed to influence a decision on behalf of the service user. In conclusion, the discourse of VBP and SDM needs to take account of how differentials of power and the positioning of speakers affect the context in which decisions take place

Policies and Opportunities for Physical Activity in Middle School Environments

This study examined physical activity opportunities and barriers at 36 geographically diverse middle schools participating in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls