Transmission seal development

An experimental evaluation was performed on a high-speed (72.9 m/s, 14,349 ft/min) transmission seal of the synergistic type. During testing of the seal, oil leakage occurred at positive bearing cavity pressures. Modifications were made in an attempt to eliminate the leakage but none were completely successful. Leakage appears to be the result of questionable positioning of the sealing elements resulting in inadequate shaft contact by the oil side sealing element. This condition may be related to the nonsymmetrical shape of the elastomeric retainer and to dimensional changes caused by swelling of the elastomeric retainer from exposure to the sealed fluid. Indications of a speed dependent leakage characteristic were also observed

Analogies and Comparisons for STM Data Bodies

Space Traffic Management (STM) has already demonstrated its potential to be extremely data-intensive. The large number of objects on orbit today, if observed constantly throughout their lifetimes, could produce a staggeringly large number of observations that might in turn generate large numbers of orbits. Orbit data with a lengthy time history can be used to produce estimates of maneuver frequency, susceptibility to natural forces such as drag, and (if combined with photometric data) assessments of behavioral patterns of life. A future of mega-constellations and a growing number of nations and organizations with assets on orbit would make it likely that the amount of resident space objects will scale by some substantial factor, with a commensurate increase in collected STM data. Examining the factors that led to creation of past datasets of a comparable level of richness and size may identify specific domains or situations where data, and the management practices thereof, scaled in ways that can provide insights for managing the future growth of STM data. STM data will not only become more challenging to utilize as volume growth occurs, but needs for data storage, dissemination, and processing will become steadily more ambitious as the user base for bodies of future STM data grows. This paper seeks to assess other domains where such data sets are present, including from other data-intensive human endeavors, and map the general contours of their development and use, with an eye to deriving lessons and insights for the future of STM

Concerns with AED conversion: comparison of patient and physician perspectives.

When discussing AED conversion in the clinic, both the patient and physician perspectives on the goals and risks of this change are important to consider. To identify patient-reported and clinician-perceived concerns, a panel of epilepsy specialists was questioned about the topics discussed with patients and the clinician's perspective of patient concerns. Findings of a literature review of articles that report patient-expressed concerns regarding their epilepsy and treatment were also reviewed. Results showed that the specialist panel appropriately identified patient-reported concerns of driving ability, medication cost, seizure control, and medication side effects. Additionally, patient-reported concerns of independence, employment issues, social stigma, medication dependence, and undesirable cognitive effects are important to address when considering and initiating AED conversion

Investigation of relationships between linears, tonal and hazy anomalies, and petroleum production in the Williston Basin: An ERTS approach

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Coupling strength control in photonic crystal/photonic wire multiple cavity devices

Resonance splitting has been demonstrated for two coupled micro-cavities with control of the free spectral range between the resonance peaks, together with a normalised transmission level of approximately 60%. Coupled micro-cavity-based structures that were separated by two closely spaced in-line coupler sections between the two micro-cavities have also been successfully fabricated and measured. The coupling strength of the two cavities was controlled via the use of hole tapering in the middle section between the two cavities. 2D finite-difference time-domain simulation shows close agreement with the results of measurements

Incorporating Genetics into Your Studies: A Guide for Social Scientists

There has been a surge of interest in recent years in incorporating genetic components into on-going longitudinal, developmental studies and related psychological studies. While this represents an exciting new direction in developmental science, much of the research on genetic topics in developmental science does not reflect the most current practice in genetics. This is likely due, in part, to the rapidly changing landscape of the field of genetics, and the difficulty this presents for developmental scientists who are trying to learn this new area. In this review, we present an overview of the paradigm shifts that have occurred in genetics and we introduce the reader to basic genetic methodologies. We present our view of the current stage of research ongoing at the intersection of genetics and social science, and we provide recommendations for how we could do better. We also address a number of issues that social scientists face as they integrate genetics into their projects, including choice of a study design (candidate gene versus genome-wide association versus sequencing), different methods of DNA collection, and special considerations involved in the analysis of genotypic data. Through this review, we hope to equip social scientists with a deeper understanding of the many considerations that go into genetics research, in an effort to foster more meaningful cross-disciplinary initiatives

Patient preferences for adherence to treatment for osteoarthritis: The MEdication Decisions in Osteoarthritis Study (MEDOS)

Background: Often affecting knee joints, osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis and by 2020 is predicted to become the fourth leading cause of disability globally. Without cure, medication management is symptomatic, mostly with simple analgesics such as acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and glucosamine sulfate. Adherence to arthritis medications is generally low. Intentional non-adherence, that is deliberate decision-making about the use of analgesics, occurs in OA patients. To date, a limited number of studies have explored medication-taking decisions in people with OA nor the extent to which individuals' trade off one treatment factor for another in their decision-making using quantitative techniques. This study aimed to estimate the relative influence of medication-related factors and respondent characteristics on decisions to continue medications among people with symptomatic OA. Methods. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted among participants attending end-of-study visits in the Long-term Evaluation of Glucosamine Sulfate (LEGS) study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT00513422). The paper-based survey was used to estimate the relative importance of seven medication specific factors (pain efficacy, mode of action, dose frequency, treatment schedule, side effects, prescription, and out-of-pocket costs) and respondent characteristics on decisions to continue medications. Results: 188 (response rate 37%) completed surveys were returned. Four of the seven medication factors (side effects, out-of-pocket costs, mode of action, treatment schedule) had a significant effect on the choice to continue medication; patient characteristics did not. Assuming equivalent pain efficacy and disease-modifying properties for glucosamine, the positive relative likelihood of continuing with sustained-release acetaminophen was equivalent to glucosamine. By contrast, the negative relative likelihood of NSAID continuation was mostly driven by the side effect profile. The predicted probability of continuing with glucosamine decreased with increasing out-of-pocket costs. Conclusions: This study has characterised the complexity of medication-taking decisions that potentially underpin intentional non-adherent behaviour for people with symptomatic OA. In particular, medication risks and cost were important and ought to be borne into considerations in interpreting clinical trial evidence for practice. Ultimately addressing these factors may be the way forward to realising the full potential of health and economic benefits from the efficacious and safe use of OA medications. © 2013 Laba et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Design and characterisation of titanium nitride sub-arrays of kinetic inductance detectors for passive terahertz imaging

We report on the investigation of titanium nitride (TiN) thin films deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) for microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKID). Using our in-house ALD process, we have grown a sequence of TiN thin films (thickness 15, 30, 60 nm). The films have been characterised in terms of superconducting transition temperature Tc , sheet resistance Rs and microstructure. We have fabricated test resonator structures and characterised them at a temperature of 300 mK. At 350 GHz, we report an optical noise equivalent power NEPopt≈2.3×10−15 W/√Hz , which is promising for passive terahertz imaging applications