Real-time measurement of biaxial tensions using digital image correlation methods

The mechanical properties of biological materials need to be measured for various applications. A means of inducing biaxial tensions in samples like these is with an inflation or bulge test. Normally the material under test would be measured with displacement gauges, however, under these conditions, where the specimen is soft and further, where the measurement cycle cannot be reliably paused, a contactless real-time measurement system is necessary to obtain reliable deformation data. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is one such method. Pioneered in the 1980s the field has developed from basic 2D displacement measurements to very sophisticated full field 3D displacement measurement systems. The question becomes can the current state of the field, as well as the advances in modern technology, be leveraged to create a useable 3D DIC measurement system that is: • Useable in a real-time context. • Portable enough to be able to run these experiments wherever the experiment apparatus is located. • Cost effective enough to reduce the barrier to entry that the current commercial options present. To this end off-the-shelf components were acquired to form the technology base of the system. The open-source DICe framework, which enabled the necessary level of access to the underlying code base, was implemented on an NVIDIA Jetson Nano single board computer. Synchronised, stereo image acquisition was implemented via an Arducam 12 MP camera system. A stepper motor controlled linear drive was used to experimentally investigate accuracy and speed of the DIC system, for both rigid body motion and deforming targets. A thorough review of the concepts involved in DIC is undertaken followed by a detailed description of the design and build of the system. Ultimately a set of experiments are executed that show that, within a set of important constraints, it is indeed possible to run 3D DIC in real-time with off the shelf, cost effective components

Observations on the value of subcutaneous injections of milk in the treatment of certain diseases and injuries of the eye.

In 1921 I had to stay in Cadiz for three months waiting to he examined for a Spanish degree and while attending the hospital attached to the school of Medicine there, I was struck by the crowds of patients under treatment for diseases of the eye. The professor in charge of the eye clinic, told me that the number of people in the districts round Cadiz suffering from ophthalmic affections was appalling. In addition to the usual causes which increase the prevalence of eye diseases in a sub-tropical country (e.g.- heat, bright sunlight, dust, high winds, and general want of hygiene) half the population were suffering from trachoma. Under these conditions it is needless to say that the amount of material available for study was quite large and having plenty time at my disposal, I was able to compare the results of different methods of treatment. Here for the first time I saw milk used in subcutaneous injection and in some conditions, the results were simply surprising. In my practice in Tenerife, I get a considerable number of eye cases to treat and on my return home, injections of milk were uised as a routine in what were considered appropriate cases. These observations were continued from December 1921 up to January 1926 when 315 cases had been treated for: Ulcerations of the cornea, acute and subacute keratitis; Iritis and iridocyclitis.; Infected wounds of eye. Also prophylactic injections were always given immediately in any severe injury . In milder cases appropriate local treatment was used,under observatic and injections were given if progress was not satisfactory. I have made a selection and given the notes of a few cases in each class. Naturally they have been mostly chosen on account of the gravity of the condition treated and if compared with the results obtained by other treatment, show clearly the advantage of using the injections of milk in the diseases above mentioned. The three cases, No's 6, 7, 19, are the opposite of the others, and have been chosen as examples of how rapid and complete the cure may be in benign cases. With respect to prophylactic injections, as surgeon to three firms who grow and export bananas, I have to look after about fifteen hundred workers.Among the accidents which happen to them, injury of the eye is quite common, especially in the packing sheds where the women sit all day nailing crates by hand and injury to the eye is frequently due to splinters and flying nails. (See case 30.) Among those working in the plantations, the injuries as a rule are slight,mostly scratches from leaves and punctures from thorns, but as in this country wounds infect very readily, a small scratch if not promptly treated may be converted in a couple of days into a huge corneal ulcer with hypopyon. The Spanish law of accidents obliges the employer immediately to send to a doctor any worker who has received an injury however slight. In this way I have had a fair opportunity of observing the value of milk injection as a prophylactic against infection of injuries of the eye and the result has been invariably satisfactory

The 4-H baby beef project

At head of title: University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Agricultural Extension Service."January, 1949.""University of Missouri College of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating"--Page [24].Title from cover

Control of household insects

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Controlling: Hornflies and ticks

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

How can developing countries attract foreign direct investments?

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Developing countries are increasingly reliant on foreign direct investment (FDI) to finance development. Yet, despite increased spend on investment promotion, these countries consistently achieve a smaller share of the FDI pie than developed countries. To understand how developing countries can achieve a greater share of FDI this study examined the efforts of the Mozambican Investment Promotions Agency (IPA), how they tackle investment promotion and how they have performed versus global best practice, their ambitions and the expectation of investors. Through document review, quantitative analysis and qualitative interviews the study shows that Mozambique has had a mixed performance at attracting quality FDI in line with their stated ambitions. It provides insight into the cost of a poor investment climate when it comes to FDI and investment promotion and the importance of tackling the hidden costs of corruption and additional costs from disorganized value chains. It also shows that the IPA will need to modernize its approach should it want to achieve its ambitions. This requires becoming a more proactive business insight partner for investorscapable of project design and development- and one that carries out more nuanced, focused investor targeting

Interactions and Mechanisms of Respiratory Tract Biofilms Involving Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae

The pathology associated with human respiratory tract bacterial agents that exist as opportunistic commensals in the nasopharynx cause infections. This is particularly true for the middle ear disease otitis media (OM) and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Streptococcus pneumoniae and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) are a commonly recurrent combination and the formation of bacterial biofilms by these pathogens in the bronchial airway or middle ear contributes significantly to the chronic nature of these diseases. While S. pneumoniae and NTHi have been extensively studied in mono-culture, our knowledge about how they exist together, either in their free-living (planktonic) form or as a biofilm, or indeed the implication of co-infection is still limited. Several key elements are believed to contribute or are induced: (1) a set of sugar metabolic pathways; (2) surface structures in S. pneumoniae and NTHi when they are able to co-exist equally; (3) epithelial cell contact that dramatically increases the rate of biofilm formation; (4) chemical modifications of NTHi surface structures involved in host cell interactions; and (5) transcription factors that regulate particular surface molecules and the switch to a biofilm state. There appears to be multiple mechanisms involved and that these are active under specific conditions