Expressions, Looks and Others' Minds

We can know some things about each others' mental lives. The view that some of this knowledge is genuinely perceptual is getting traction. But the idea that we can see any of each others' mental states themselves - the Simple Perceptual Hypothesis - remains unpopular. Very often the view that we can perceptually know, for example, that James is angry, is thought to depend either on our awareness of James' expression or on the way James appears - versions of what I call the Expressive Hypothesis. The Expressive Hypothesis is intuitive. But in this chapter I argue that it does not allow us to do away with the thought that we sometimes perceive people's mental states. I take my arguments to provide some tentative support for the Simple Perceptual Hypothesis

Deploying SiC BJTs in an 800-V switched-mode power supply for hybrid & electric vehicles

An SMPS for hybrid electric vehicle and electric vehicle applications is presented. The use of SiC BJTs in the primary-side switching circuitry is investigated. Practical deployment aspects are addressed. Particular attention is given to the design of the BJT base driver stage and a bespoke turn-on switching-aid circuit. Mathematical design calculations are not presented, but the proposed circuitry is demonstrated in a 1-kW isolated-output DC-DC converter operating from 800 V and supplying 48 V at a switching frequency of 60 kHz. Full-load efficiency was evaluated at 93.3% using a calorimeter

Evaluation of Selected Mulches and Specialty Erosion Control Products Under Simulated Rain

Introduction: Utilizing a rainfall simulator, a sunlight simulator, and a wind generator, the Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL), Utah State University (USU), completed in 1979 and 1981 a series of evaluations of erosion control products for CONWED Corporation. Increasingly more commercial products for controlling erosion are being produced nationally and there remains a need to evaluate the effectiveness of these, one against another, in order that potential users may make cost-effective decisions in their use. CONWED recognizes this need and has funded the comparative testing of its own products and some of those of leading competitors throughout the country. The objective of the study presented herein was to evaluate under the rainfall simulator the effectiveness of CONWED Hydro Mulch mixed with each of three different commerical products used as tackifiers, Terra Tack I, M-Binder, and Hydro Bond. The study included also the evaluation of three specialy erosion control products, also the evaluation of three specialty erosion control products, CONWED netting, Lud low jute blanket, and American Excelsior blanket

Erosion Inhibitor Performance Evaluation Under Simulated Wind and Rain

Introduction: Increasing public awareness of the desireability of protecting the environment from soil erosion caused by wind and water has centered attention on large construction projects such as highways and housing subdivisions, as well as on individual building sites and parking lots. If unattended, sediment produced from these areas pollutes surface water, restricts drainage, fills reservoirs, damages adjacent land, and upsets the natural ecology of lakes and streams. The search continues for products and practices that will prevent of lessen the amount of sediment leaving construction sites. Products currently in use include chemical as well as organic materials, and they are applied with barying degrees of success. Many designed to stabilize the unprotected soil for a long enough period of time for vegetation to become established are in wide use and are quite effectives (Clyde et al. 1978). Moreover, applying organic material to the soil surface around shallow-rooted crops has been a cultural practice for many years (Russell 1961). Janick (1963) summarized the effects of mulching as conservation of soil moisture, reduction of surface runoff and erosion, reduction of evaporation, and possible control of weeks. others (Borst and Woodburn 1942; Duley 1929) have indicated the value of mulches in reducing runoff and erosion. Mulching has been reported as superior to other treatments for reducing soil and water losses and stabilizing bare slopes before grass is established (swandson et al. 1965). Gilbert and Davis (1967) and Blaser (1962), in studies of highway slope stabilization, found mulches improved seed germination and seed;omg grpwtj bu conserving moisture and protecting highway slopes against erosion. Many materials have been evaluated for use as a mulch, including bark, wood wastes, soybean residues, wheat straw, and seaweed (Bollen and Glennie 1961; Kidder et al. 1943; Latimer and Percival 1947). McKee et al. (1964) found wheat straw to be one of the best mulches, particularly when used to aid vegitation establishment on steep cut slopes of highways. Osborne and Gilbert (1978) also demonstrated that shredded hardwood bark mulch provided adequate erosion control on highway slopes. The objectives of the present study was to evaluate, using simulated rainfall and wind, the effectiveness of various mulches and tackifiers for controlling erosion. Results of these tests are comparable to those obtained by the Utah Water Research Laboratory for CONWED in 1979 in that they wre generated in the same test facility on similar soil, using identical conditions of slope and rainfall rate

Isotopic labelling of functionalised arenes catalysed by Ir(I) species of the [(COD)Ir(NHC)(py)]PF6 complex class

Ir(I) complexes of the type [(COD)Ir(NHC)(Py)]PF6 have been exposed as efficient catalysts in the area of hydrogen isotope exchange. More specifically, via an ortho-directed C-H activation process, high levels of deuterium incorporation have been achieved using low levels of catalyst over a range of functionalised aromatic compounds. Additionally, the developed protocol has been extended to include a selected pharmacological target, where chemoselective labelling is observed within such a multifunctional substrate

Moving base simulation of an integrated flight and propulsion control system for an ejector-augmentor STOVL aircraft in hover

A piloted motion simulator evaluation, using the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator, was conducted in support of a NASA Lewis Contractual study of the integration of flight and propulsion systems of a STOVL aircraft. Objectives of the study were to validate the Design Methods for Integrated Control Systems (DMICS) concept, to evaluate the handling qualities, and to assess control power usage. The E-7D ejector-augmentor STOVL fighter design served as the basis for the simulation. Handling-qualities ratings were obtained during precision hover and shipboard landing tasks. Handling-qualities ratings for these tasks ranged from satisfactory to adequate. Further improvement of the design process to fully validate the DMICS concept appears to be warranted

Potential of Water and Salt Yields From Surface Runoff on Public Lands in the Price River Basin

The report examines possible sources of dissolved salts in the Price River basin. Ephemeral and intermittent streams contributed dissolved salts and are the focus of the study. Seven subwatersheds and the Price River at Heiner are investigated to examine the effects of existing watershed characteristics on runoff and dissolved salts production. Alternatley, the report examines the effects of specific land treatments on surface runoff quantity and quality. Various instrumentation techniques are evalauted to help improve future data collected capabilities in intermittent channels. The examination of the data reveals various trends that might be considered for further investigation in subsequent studies

Recent Decisions

Comments on recent decisions by Thomas B. McNeill, Patrick F. McCartan, R. L. Cousineau, William J. Harte, William D. Bailey, Jr., John E. Kennedy, and Daniel W. Hammer

Fast pyrolysis of halogenated plastics recovered from waste computers

The disposal of waste computers is an issue that is gaining increasing interest around the world. In this paper, results from the fast pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor of three different waste computer monitor casings composed of mainly acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer and two different waste computer body casings composed of mostly poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) type polymers are presented. Preliminary characterization of the waste plastics was investigated using coupled thermogravimetric analysis-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TGA-FT-IR). The results showed that the plastics decomposed in two stages. For the ABS-containing monitor casings, aromatic and aliphatic material were released in the first and second stages. The PVC-containing computer body casing samples showed a first-stage evolution of HCl and a second stage evolution of aromatic and aliphatic material and further HCl. In addition, each of the five plastics was fast-pyrolyzed in a laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactor at 500 °C. The fluidized bed pyrolysis led to the conversion of most of the plastics to pyrolysis oil, although the two PVC computer body cases produced large quantities of HCl. The pyrolysis oils were characterized by GC-MS and it was found that they were chemically very heterogeneous and contained a wide range of aliphatic, aromatic, halogenated, oxygenated, and nitrogenated compounds