Tobacco Merchant: The Story of Universal Leaf Tobacco Company

Maurice Duke and Daniel P. Jordan vividly describe the colorful life and times of one of the South’s—and America’s—most important businesses and provide insight into how luck, management practices, and personalities helped the company rise to international prominence. Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, the world’s largest independent leaf tobacco dealer, is one of the major buying arms for tobacco manufacturers worldwide, selecting, purchasing, processing, and storing leaf tobacco. The story opens during the aftermath of the Civil War when Southerners realized once again the worldwide potential of their native crop. The authors follow the company from its incorporation in 1918 through one of the first hostile takeover attempts in American business, to its evolution in 1993 into Universal Corporation, a worldwide conglomerate with a number of products including tobacco. Based on scholarly research and over two hundred interviews with past and present Universal employees, this objective saga reveals much about American business and economic history. Maurice Duke, former journalist, is now professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University. Daniel P. Jordan is president of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation at Monticello.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_history_in_general/1000/thumbnail.jp

Prediction of the cyclic durability as a function of cycle duration and temperature of an air plasma sprayed coating using inelastic strain

A detailed study of the failure mechanisms in an APS TBC was carried out involving over 1000 micrographs. As a result the kinetics of oxidation and rumpling were characterized. In addition it was found that the failure was always within the ceramic caused by progressive cracking. At approximately half the spallation life, crack linking became the dominant growth mode for cracks. This pattern of damage remained constants over the temperature range of 1066 °C to 1149 °C and for cycle durations of 0.5 hours to 50 hours. The change in temperature resulted in a variation in spallation life of a factor of 5 and the variation in hold time resulted in a variation in life of a factor of 7 and for the entire data set the ratio of the longest failure life to shortest was 17. Through the use of a finite element analysis (FEA) that used an experimentally validated viscoplastic model driven by imposed shape changes derived from measured oxidation and rumpling behavior as well as thermal expansion mismatch, the hot and cold inelastic strains were predicted and used to predict failure. It was possible to predict the entire data set using data from only two cyclic life tests at two different test conditions. The life as a function of temperature can be predicted from two experiments run with two different hot times at a single temperature. The life as a function of hold time can be predicted from tests run at two temperatures at a single hold time. This suggests that the hold time dependence and temperature dependence are closely tied to the factors controlling inelastic strain. The inelastic strains can be determined form a combination of measured and computed behavior. It was also found that the finite element results can be captured without running the FEA using simple expressions that are calibrated using a large set of FEA run

Der Einfluss von Koxarthrose und Hüftgelenkstotalendoprothesen auf die Fahrtauglichkeit

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war es die Fahrtauglichkeit von Patienten mit endgradiger Koxarthrose vor und nach Implantation einer Hüftendoprothese zu untersuchen. Zu diesem Zweck wurde ein Fahrsimulator entwickelt, um die für ein Notbremsmanöver wichtigen Parameter Reaktionszeit, Transferzeit, Brake Response Time sowie die maximale Bremskraft zu erheben. Insgesamt konnten 65 Teilnehmer für diese Studie gewonnen werden, wobei jeweils 20 Teilnehmer eine Totalendoprothese der rechten beziehungsweise der linken Hüfte erhielten. Desweiteren dienten 25 gesunde Probanden als Kontrollgruppe. Die Testung der Patienten erfolgte am Tag vor dem Eingriff; die weiteren Messungen fanden 8 Tage, 6 Wochen, 3 Monate und 1 Jahr nach der Operation statt. Eine eingehende statistische Analyse möglicher Lerneffekte erwies sich als nicht signifikant. Bezogen auf die genannten Parameter konnte kein statistisch signifikanter Unterschied zwischen gesunden Probanden und Patienten mit endgradiger Koxarthrose aufgezeigt werden. Verglichen mit den Ausgangswerten, kam es 8 Tage postoperativ in beiden Patientengruppen zu einer Verschlechterung der Messparameter. Auffallend war hierbei die signifikante Abnahme der Bremskraft. Im Rahmen der einjährigen Nachuntersuchung zeigten sich in beiden Patientengruppen signifikante Verbesserungen. Die präoperativen Ausgangswerte wurden nach spätestens 6 Wochen erreicht. Die Analyse der Brake Response Time bezogen auf eine empirische Obergrenze von 700ms ergab allerdings, dass 15% der Patienten mit rechtsseitiger und 5% der Patienten mit linksseitiger Hüftendoprothese, diese Vorgabe 6 Wochen nach der Operation nicht erfüllen konnten. Die Zusammenschau der Ergebnisse zeigte, dass die Fahrtauglichkeit bei Patienten mit linksseitiger Hüftendoprothese frühestens 8 Tage und bei Patienten mit rechtsseitiger Prothesenimplantation 6 Wochen postoperativ wiederhergestellt war. Aufgrund der Abwägung von Risiken für Patient und Allgemeinbevölkerung, sowie daraus resultierender juristischer Konsequenzen, die eine zu frühe Wiederaufnahme des Autofahrens mit sich bringen könnte, ist keine allgemein gültige Attestierung der Fahrtauglichkeit zu einem festgelegten Zeitpunkt zu treffen. Unter Berücksichtigung aller Ergebnisse, sowie der Teilaspekte des komplexen Themas Fahrtauglichkeit, wäre es aufgrund der teils sehr individuellen Verläufe ratsam, Patienten im Rahmen von rehabilitativen Maßnahmen auf die Fahrtauglichkeit hin zu überprüfen. Als Vorlage könnte der in dieser Studie verwendete Prototyp dienen

The Drosophila pericentrin-like protein is essential for cilia/flagella function, but appears to be dispensable for mitosis

Centrosomes consist of a pair of centrioles surrounded by an amorphous pericentriolar material (PCM). Proteins that contain a Pericentrin/AKAP450 centrosomal targeting (PACT) domain have been implicated in recruiting several proteins to the PCM. We show that the only PACT domain protein in Drosophila (the Drosophila pericentrin-like protein [D-PLP]) is associated with both the centrioles and the PCM, and is essential for the efficient centrosomal recruitment of all six PCM components that we tested. Surprisingly, however, all six PCM components are eventually recruited to centrosomes during mitosis in d-plp mutant cells, and mitosis is not dramatically perturbed. Although viable, d-plp mutant flies are severely uncoordinated, a phenotype usually associated with defects in mechanosensory neuron function. We show that the sensory cilia of these neurons are malformed and the neurons are nonfunctional in d-plp mutants. Moreover, the flagella in mutant sperm are nonmotile. Thus, D-PLP is essential for the formation of functional cilia and flagella in flies

Bayesian and "Anti-Bayesian" Biases in Sensory Integration for Action and Perception in the Size-Weight Illusion

Which is heavier: a pound of lead or a pound of feathers? This classic trick question belies a simple but surprising truth: when lifted, the pound of lead feels heavier—a phenomenon known as the size–weight illusion. To estimate the weight of an object, our CNS combines two imperfect sources of information: a prior expectation, based on the object's appearance, and direct sensory information from lifting it. Bayes' theorem (or Bayes' law) defines the statistically optimal way to combine multiple information sources for maximally accurate estimation. Here we asked whether the mechanisms for combining these information sources produce statistically optimal weight estimates for both perceptions and actions. We first studied the ability of subjects to hold one hand steady when the other removed an object from it, under conditions in which sensory information about the object's weight sometimes conflicted with prior expectations based on its size. Since the ability to steady the supporting hand depends on the generation of a motor command that accounts for lift timing and object weight, hand motion can be used to gauge biases in weight estimation by the motor system. We found that these motor system weight estimates reflected the integration of prior expectations with real-time proprioceptive information in a Bayesian, statistically optimal fashion that discounted unexpected sensory information. This produces a motor size–weight illusion that consistently biases weight estimates toward prior expectations. In contrast, when subjects compared the weights of two objects, their perceptions defied Bayes' law, exaggerating the value of unexpected sensory information. This produces a perceptual size–weight illusion that biases weight perceptions away from prior expectations. We term this effect “anti-Bayesian” because the bias is opposite that seen in Bayesian integration. Our findings suggest that two fundamentally different strategies for the integration of prior expectations with sensory information coexist in the nervous system for weight estimation.Engineering and Applied Science

Prevalence of Transmitted HIV Drug Resistance Among Newly Diagnosed Antiretroviral Therapy-Naive Pregnant Women in Lilongwe and Blantyre, Malawi

In 2006, a survey of transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug resistance (TDR) was conducted in Lilongwe, Malawi. The survey followed the World Health Organization method to classify TDR to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), and protease inhibitors (PIs) among primigravid women aged <25 years. Results of the 2006 survey showed <5% TDR in all drug classes. In 2009, TDR surveys using the same method were repeated in Lilongwe and expanded to Blantyre. Findings show that in Lilongwe TDR to NRTIs and PIs was <5%, whereas TDR to NNRTIs was 5%-15%. In Blantyre, TDR was <5% to all drug classes. Observed moderate TDR in Lilongwe is cause for concern and signals the need for closer monitoring of Malawi's antiretroviral therapy progra

Construction of two large-size four-plane micromegas detectors

We report on the construction and initial performance studies of two micromegas detector quadruplets with an area of 0.5 m$^2$. They serve as prototypes for the planned upgrade project of the ATLAS muon system. Their design is based on the resistive-strip technology and thus renders the detectors spark tolerant. Each quadruplet comprises four detection layers with 1024 readout strips and a strip pitch of 415 $\mu$m. In two out of the four layers the strips are inclined by $\pm$1.5$^{\circ}$ to allow for the measurement of a second coordinate. We present the detector concept and report on the experience gained during the detector construction. In addition an evaluation of the detector performance with cosmic rays and test-beam data is given.Comment: 26 pages, 25 figure