Inequalities generalizing the second law of thermodynamics for transitions between non-stationary states

We discuss the consequences of a variant of the Hatano-Sasa relation in which a non-stationary distribution is used in place of the usual stationary one. We first show that this non-stationary distribution is related to a difference of traffic between the direct and dual dynamics. With this formalism, we extend the definition of the adiabatic and non-adiabatic entropies introduced by M. Esposito and C. Van den Broeck in Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 090601 (2010) for the stationary case. We also obtain interesting second-law like inequalities for transitions between non-stationary states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

The Mechanics Of Momentum Transfer From Explosive Charges Buried In Water, In Sand, And In Sand With Fines

Physical tests involving full-scale systems subjected to blast loads are expensive. The development of more accurate computational and analytical methods to better understand and predict the mechanics of mine blast phenomena could be used to reduce the cost of development of mine protected vehicles and protective equipment for personnel involved in demining and similar activities. Although the science associated with air blast and blast-related ground shock phenomena is very extensive, that of mine blast, involving explosives buried in soil, is less well developed. In this work, theoretical, experimental, and computational methods are synthesized to better understand some of the mechanisms that affect the way that an explosive charge, buried in a bed containing soil or water, might affect a structure located above and in proximity to the surface of the bed. For some loading regimes, the flow of soil as it is ejected from the surface of a blast crater is important. This work first examines the behavior of a bed containing sand-like particles suspended in air by virtue of the flow of the air. A computational technique, using finite differences, was developed to solve the equations of motion for the fluidized bed. The method was applied to predict Couette flow and compare the predictions with published experimental results. This technique was further applied to predict the sensitivity of the flow to the sphericity and size of the fluidized particles. Next, experiments were examined which involved momentum transfer from buried gram scale explosive charges to rigid structures initially suspended above the surface of the water or soil. Associated computations were performed using an arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) finite element method. The constitutive behavior of the several types of soil involved in the work was defined by means of characterizations using high pressure (hundreds of millions of Pascal) uniaxial and triaxial tests at various initial combinations of water content and density; the associated computations were validated using results from blast experiments. Various trends, sensitivities, and parametric relations, with significant practical importance, were analyzed and reported. Finally, there were analyses of experiments and computations involving momentum transfer to the bottoms of structures with various topologies

Consumer Perception of Sorghum Variety Attributes in the Lake Zone Tanzania

Many sorghum varieties have been developed by research institutes in an effort to address food security problems in the semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Although sorghum is better adapted to drier areas than maize, farmer adoption rates for sorghum varieties are always lower than that of maize. In addition, maize based food is more acceptable to urban consumers than sorghum based food. In this study consumer evaluated quality attributes of sorghum ugali based on different varieties in order to determine marketing potential relating to the different improved sorghum varieties. A total of 231 consumers, randomly selected from urban and rural areas participated in a food panel to evaluate ugali prepared from five sorghum varieties (three improved, two local). Conjoint analysis was used to determine consumer perceptions of the variety attributes, while a logistic model was applied to determine preference ranking of different varieties. The results indicated that the color and taste of sorghum ugali were the most important criteria used by consumers to evaluate the quality ugali. The study results indicated that sorghum ugali with white/khaki color and the majority of panel participants preferred neutral or slightly sweet taste. Consumers from rural and urban areas accepted two improved varieties; only consumers from rural areas accepted the remaining variety.Adoption, consumer perception, conjoint analysis, sorghum varieties, Tanzania, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Effects of insectivorous birds on tree growth in the Maurepas Swamp

Coastal forests in Louisiana are in decline due to natural and human caused changes in the hydrology of the region. Baldcypress and water tupelo trees have been further stressed by caterpillar herbivory in recent decades. Regeneration of water tupelo is crucial for cavity creation for nesting habitat for secondary cavity nesting bird populations. Insectivorous birds have been shown to decrease insect-caused leaf damage on trees in other ecosystems. Two experiments examining effects of insectivorous birds on tree growth were conducted in degraded areas of the Maurepas Swamp in southeastern Louisiana. In the first experiment, nest boxes were added to study plots in degraded swamp in an attempt to increase densities of secondary cavity nesting birds, and to determine if increased insectivorous bird abundance resulted in improved shoot growth of baldcypress saplings. Prothonotary Warblers were the only bird species to utilize nest boxes, nest boxes did not significantly increase densities of Prothonotary Warblers, and insectivorous bird abundance was not correlated with baldcypress shoot growth. In the second experiment, bird exclosures were erected around planted baldcypress and water tupelo seedlings. Leaf damage on trees within bird exclosures and those with an insecticide treatment was not significantly different from controls. Foraging observations of Prothonotary Warblers and Northern Parulas, and video nest monitoring of Prothonotary Warbler nests during caterpillar activity, suggest that birds demonstrate a functional response to baldcypress leafroller caterpillars. Results of video nest monitoring suggested that successful Prothonotary Warbler nests active during baldcypress leafroller activity have the potential to protect 76 grams dry weight of baldcypress foliage. However, birds only foraged on baldcypress taller than 2m, and forest tent caterpillars were only observed to be consumed during the first and final caterpillar instar stages. Planted baldcypress seedlings grew faster than planted water tupelo, and water tupelo seedlings had zero height growth, or died-back four times as frequently as baldcypress. Insectivorous birds provide baldcypress some protection from caterpillar herbivory, but birds may offer little protection to water tupelo, especially trees less than 2m tall

Soluble tau species, not neurofibrillary aggregates, disrupt neural system integration in a tau transgenic model

Neurofibrillary tangles are a feature of Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies, and while they are generally believed to be markers of neuronal pathology, there is little evidence evaluating whether tangles directly impact neuronal function. To investigate the response of cells in hippocampal circuits to complex behavioral stimuli, we used an environmental enrichment paradigm to induce expression of an immediate-early gene, Arc, in the rTg4510 mouse model of tauopathy. These mice reversibly overexpress P301L tau and exhibit substantial neurofibrillary tangle deposition, neuronal loss, and memory deficits. Employing fluorescent in situ hybridization to detect Arc mRNA, we found that rTg4510 mice have impaired hippocampal Arc expression both without stimulation and in response to environmental enrichment; this likely reflects the combination of functional impairments of existing neurons and loss of neurons. However, tangle-bearing cells were at least as likely as non-tangle-bearing neurons to exhibit Arc expression in response to enrichment. Transgene suppression with doxycycline for 6 weeks resulted in increased percentages of Arc-positive cells in rTg4510 brains compared to untreated transgenics, restoring enrichment-induced Arc mRNA levels to that of wild-type controls despite the continued presence of neurofibrillary pathology. We interpret these data to indicate that soluble tau contributes to impairment of hippocampal function, while tangles do not preclude neurons from responding in a functional circuit

Fluorescent visualization of a spreading surfactant

The spreading of surfactants on thin films is an industrially and medically important phenomenon, but the dynamics are highly nonlinear and visualization of the surfactant dynamics has been a long-standing experimental challenge. We perform the first quantitative, spatiotemporally-resolved measurements of the spreading of an insoluble surfactant on a thin fluid layer. During the spreading process, we directly observe both the radial height profile of the spreading droplet and the spatial distribution of the fluorescently-tagged surfactant. We find that the leading edge of spreading circular layer of surfactant forms a Marangoni ridge in the underlying fluid, with a trough trailing the ridge as expected. However, several novel features are observed using the fluorescence technique, including a peak in the surfactant concentration which trails the leading edge, and a flat, monolayer-scale spreading film which differs from concentration profiles predicted by current models. Both the Marangoni ridge and surfactant leading edge can be described to spread as $R \propto t^{\delta}$. We find spreading exponents, $\delta_H \approx 0.30$ and $\delta_\Gamma \approx 0.22$ for the ridge peak and surfactant leading edge, respectively, which are in good agreement with theoretical predictions of $\delta = 1/4$. In addition, we observe that the surfactant leading edge initially leads the peak of the Marangoni ridge, with the peak later catching up to the leading edge

Successful Bullying Prevention Programs: Influence of Research Design, Implementation Features, and Program Components

Bullying prevention programs have been shown to be generally effective in reducing bullying and victimization. However, the effects are relatively small in randomized experiments and greater in quasi-experimental and age-cohort designs. Programs that are more intensive and of longer duration (for both children and teachers) are more effective, as are programs containing more components. Several program components are associated with large effect sizes, including parent training or meetings and teacher training. These results should inform the design and evaluation of anti-bullying programs in the future, and a system of accreditation of effective programs

Bolted joint studies in GRP

Thesis (Nav. E.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1994, and Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Sciences & Engineering, 1994.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (leaves ).by David M. Fox.M.S.Nav.E