Frequency domain laser velocimeter signal processor

A new scheme for processing signals from laser velocimeter systems is described. The technique utilizes the capabilities of advanced digital electronics to yield a signal processor capable of operating in the frequency domain maximizing the information obtainable from each signal burst. This allows a sophisticated approach to signal detection and processing, with a more accurate measurement of the chirp frequency resulting in an eight-fold increase in measurable signals over the present high-speed burst counter technology. Further, the required signal-to-noise ratio is reduced by a factor of 32, allowing measurements within boundary layers of wind tunnel models. Measurement accuracy is also increased up to a factor of five

A case of bovine raw milk contamination with Listeria monocytogenes

peer-reviewedDuring routine sampling of bulk raw milk on a dairy farm, the pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes was found to be a contaminant, at numbers < 100 cfu/ml. A strain with an indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern was isolated from the bulk milk two months later. Environmental swabs taken at the dairy environment were negative for the presence of L. monocytogenes, indicating a possible case of excretion of the L. monocytogenes directly into the milk. Milk samples were collected from the individual cows and analysed, resulting in the identification of L. monocytogenes excretion (at 280 cfu/ml) from one of the 4 mammary quarters of one dairy cow out of 180. When the infected cow was isolated from the herd, no L. monocytogenes was detected from the remaining herd. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern of the strain from the individual cow was indistinguishable from that originally isolated from the bulk milk. The infected cow did not show any clinical signs of disease, nor did the appearance of the milk have any physical abnormalities. Antibiotic treatment of the infected mammary quarter was found to be ineffective. This study shows that there can be risks associated with direct contamination of raw milk with L. monocytogenes.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship; Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Food Institutional Research Measure (Irish Microbial Risk Assessment Network project); European Union (EU), 6th Framework Programme (BIOTRACER project)

Construction of an instrument for the measurement of educational philosophy

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Boston Universit

Zincate-free, electroless nickel deposition on aluminum bond pads

A zincate-free electroless nickel deposition on aluminum bond pads is investigated. A three-step, etch, rinse, and electroless plating, is demonstrated for deposition on aluminum bond pads patterned with polyimide. The chemicals used are compatible with this dielectric material. The deposition has been achieved with good selectivity, uniformity, and deposition rate at 40 × 40   μ m aluminum bond pads. The adhesion and contact resistance were also determined and improved through anneals in the range 200-400°C for 1 h. The optimized condition for adhesion and contact resistance was an anneal at 400°C. The combination of a nickel hypophosphite reducing agent and the additives used leads to an active plating bath in the early stages of deposition, by comparison with commercial solutions, and hence, good coverage of the aluminum bond pad using the simplified process

Lying and Shirking Under Oath

This study explores whether an oath to honesty can reduce both shirking and lying among crowd-sourced internet workers. Using a classic coin-flip experiment, we first show that a substantial majority of Mechanical Turk workers both shirk and lie when reporting the number of heads flipped. We then demonstrate lying can be reduced by first asking each worker to swear voluntarily on his or her honor to tell the truth in subsequent economic decisions. The oath, however, did not reduce shirking as measured by time- at-coin-flip-task, although it did increase the time they spent answering a demographic survey. Conditional on response, MTurk shirkers and liars were less likely to agree to an ex post honesty oath. Our results suggest oaths may help elicit more truthful behavior in on-line crowd-sourced environments

Drip cooling of lactating sows

Twenty eight sows and gilts were used to evaluate the value of drip sprinkling to reduce heat stress in lactating sows. Respiration rates for sprinkled sows were significantly lower than those of controls. Daily feed intake was significantly higher for wetted sows versus the unwetted controls. No differences were observed between groups on number of pigs born alive, dead, number weaned or pig birth weight.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 10, 198

Tower tank valve flushing system for dairy facitlites

Flushing characteristics of a tower tank valve flushing system with a 12-inch-diameter manual valve were determined. Data were obtained using the outside cow alleys in a fourrow freestall barn. The alleys were 12 ft wide and 420 ft long with a 2% slope. The average flow rate exceeded 8,000 gallons per minute (gpm) when the average head was above 30 ft and the manual valve opened 80 degrees. Opening the valve to 90 degrees increased the flow rate to over 9,700 gpm. The velocity of the flushing wave was 8.5 fpm with a flow depth of 3.5 in. The estimated wave duration or alley contact time was 14.6 sec with a 25-40 sec release time from the flush tank. The flow rate ranged from 5,300 gpm to 7,200 gpm when the average head was between 16 and 28 ft.; Dairy Day, 1998, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 1998

Carter-Payne homomorphisms and Jantzen filtrations

We prove a q-analogue of the Carter-Payne theorem in the case where the differences between the parts of the partitions are sufficiently large. We identify a layer of the Jantzen filtration which contains the image of these Carter-Payne homomorphisms and we show how these homomorphisms compose.Comment: 30 page

A Multicenter Examination and Strategic Revisions of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale

Objective To examine the internal consistency and distribution of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores to inform modification of the measure. Methods This cross-sectional study included 617 participants with a tic disorder (516 children and 101 adults), who completed an age-appropriate diagnostic interview and the YGTSS to evaluate tic symptom severity. The distributions of scores on YGTSS dimensions were evaluated for normality and skewness. For dimensions that were skewed across motor and phonic tics, a modified Delphi consensus process was used to revise selected anchor points. Results Children and adults had similar clinical characteristics, including tic symptom severity. All participants were examined together. Strong internal consistency was identified for the YGTSS Motor Tic score (α = 0.80), YGTSS Phonic Tic score (α = 0.87), and YGTSS Total Tic score (α = 0.82). The YGTSS Total Tic and Impairment scores exhibited relatively normal distributions. Several subscales and individual item scales departed from a normal distribution. Higher scores were more often used on the Motor Tic Number, Frequency, and Intensity dimensions and the Phonic Tic Frequency dimension. By contrast, lower scores were more often used on Motor Tic Complexity and Interference, and Phonic Tic Number, Intensity, Complexity, and Interference. Conclusions The YGTSS exhibits good internal consistency across children and adults. The parallel findings across Motor and Phonic Frequency, Complexity, and Interference dimensions prompted minor revisions to the anchor point description to promote use of the full range of scores in each dimension. Specific minor revisions to the YGTSS Phonic Tic Symptom Checklist were also proposed