A Novel Technique for Studying the Shear Elastic Properties of Weak Solids

We have developed a simple, inexpensive, and precise technique to measure the shear elastic modulus of weak solids using electromagnetic and optical tools. This technique can be easily adapted to measure the viscosity of a liquid also. A Helmholtz pair was used to produce a torque on a permanent magnet mounted on the smaller of two concentric cylinders, coupled by the material to be studied. The torque was controlled precisely and measured accurately in terms of the current flowing through the coils of the Helmholtz pair. An optical lever was employed to measure the angular displacement of the inner cylinder as a function of the applied shear stress. The instrument has been validated by making measurements on lemon jello, and agarose gels of varying concentrations. The technique has also been applied to the study of electric field induced freezing of electrorheological fluids, a subject of enormous contemporary interest

Full-duplex optical communication system

A method of full-duplex electromagnetic communication wherein a pair of data modulation formats are selected for the forward and return data links respectively such that the forward data electro-magnetic beam serves as a carrier for the return data. A method of encoding optical information is used wherein right-hand and left-hand circular polarizations are assigned to optical information to represent binary states. An application for an earth to low earth orbit optical communications system is presented which implements the full-duplex communication and circular polarization keying modulation format

Introducing 3D printed models as demonstrative evidence at criminal trials

This case report presents one of the first reported uses of a 3D printed exhibit in an English homicide trial, in which two defendants were accused of beating their victim to death. The investigation of this crime included a micro-CT scan of the victim's skull, which assisted the pathologist to determine the circumstances of the assault, in particular regarding the number of assault weapons and perpetrators. The scan showed two distinct injury shapes, suggesting the use of either two weapons or a single weapon with geometrically distinct surfaces. It subsequently served as the basis for a 3D print, which was shown in court in one of the first examples that 3D printed physical models have been introduced as evidence in a criminal trial in the United Kingdom. This paper presents the decision-making process of whether to use 3D printed evidence or not

Recreation GPS as a low-cost alternative for introductory courses in natural reaources

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has proven reliable for collecting spatial data for integration into a computer-based Geographic Information System (GIS). However, high cost often prohibits the purchase of individual GPS units for each student in a class. Recent advances in technology coupled with decreasing prices have made recreational GPS a low-cost alternative for introductory courses in Natural Resource Management. These units utilize 12-channel receivers, range in price from $115 to$500, and exhibit a point-location accuracy within 14 meters 95% of the time (6.2m - 66% of the time). Although recreational units lack the capacity for differential correction through postprocessing, the addition of real-time differential correction can improve accuracy to less than 9 meters 95% of the time in areas where free differential correction signals are obtainable (4.2m - 66% of the time). Several free computer programs are available for retrieving data from a recreational GPS directly into a GIS. Still others exist as stand-alone software that allows image registration for GPS data overlay. Thus, it is now feasible for students to purchase their own GPS unit for use in introductory classes, in advanced courses, in their research, or in any endeavor requiring spatial data collection for computer-based mapping

Recreation GPS as a Low-Cost Alternative for Introductory Courses in Natural Resources

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has proven reliable for collecting spatial data for integration into a computer-based Geographic Information System (GIS). However, high cost often prohibits the purchase of individual GPS units for each student in a class. Recent advances in technology coupled with decreasing prices have made recreational GPS a low-cost alternative for introductory courses in Natural Resource Management. These units utilize 12-channel receivers, range in price from $115 to$500, and exhibit a point-location accuracy within 14 meters 95% of the time (6.2m - 66% of the time). Although recreational units lack the capacity for differential correction through postprocessing, the addition of real-time differential correction can improve accuracy to less than 9 meters 95% of the time in areas where free differential correction signals are obtainable (4.2m - 66% of the time). Several free computer programs are available for retrieving data from a recreational GPS directly into a GIS. Still others exist as stand-alone software that allows image registration for GPS data overlay. Thus, it is now feasible for students to purchase their own GPS unit for use in introductory classes, in advanced courses, in their research, or in any endeavor requiring spatial data collection for computer-based mapping

Using micro computed tomography to examine the larynx in cases of suspected strangulation- a comparison of case findings and control images

The examination of strangulation is one of the most challenging cause of death diagnoses encountered in forensic pathology. The injuries are often subtle and difficult to detect, especially in cases that lack superficial marks. Fractures of the laryngeal skeleton are commonly regarded as evidence of strangulation but these can be too subtle to be detected during autopsy. Micro-CT is a novel imaging technique that achieves a spatial resolution 1µm or less which lends itself to the examination of small and delicate structures such as the larynx. However, there is little information to date regarding the appearance of the larynx at this scale, thus complicating the interpretation of the micro-CT images. This study therefore uses micro-CT to examine ten larynges from strangulation deaths and to compare them to nineteen samples from donor individuals in order to distinguish between naturally occurring features and actual trauma. It was found that there are several features which mimic damage in the donor group. Using associated case information, initial trends and patterns of different strangulation methods were established

The 55 Cancri Planetary System: Fully Self-Consistent N-body Constraints and a Dynamical Analysis

We present an updated study of the planets known to orbit 55 Cancri A using 1,418 high-precision radial velocity observations from four observatories (Lick, Keck, Hobby-Eberly Telescope, Harlan J. Smith Telescope) and transit time/durations for the inner-most planet, 55 Cancri "e" (Winn et al. 2011). We provide the first posterior sample for the masses and orbital parameters based on self-consistent n-body orbital solutions for the 55 Cancri planets, all of which are dynamically stable (for at least $10^8$ years). We apply a GPU version of Radial velocity Using N-body Differential evolution Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RUN DMC; B. Nelson et al. 2014) to perform a Bayesian analysis of the radial velocity and transit observations. Each of the planets in this remarkable system has unique characteristics. Our investigation of high-cadence radial velocities and priors based on space-based photometry yields an updated mass estimate for planet "e" ($8.09\pm0.26$ M$_\oplus$), which affects its density ($5.51\pm^{1.32}_{1.00}$ g cm$^{-3}$) and inferred bulk composition. Dynamical stability dictates that the orbital plane of planet "e" must be aligned to within $60^o$ of the orbital plane of the outer planets (which we assume to be coplanar). The mutual interactions between the planets "b" and "c" may develop an apsidal lock about $180^o$. We find 36-45% of all our model systems librate about the anti-aligned configuration with an amplitude of $51^o\pm^{6^o}_{10^o}$. Other cases showed short-term perturbations in the libration of $\varpi_b-\varpi_c$, circulation, and nodding, but we find the planets are not in a 3:1 mean-motion resonance. A revised orbital period and eccentricity for planet "d" pushes it further toward the closest known Jupiter analog in the exoplanet population.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, accepted to MNRAS. Figure 2 (left) is updated from published version. Posterior samples available at http://www.personal.psu.edu/ben125/Downloads.htm

Timescales of variation in diversity and production of bacterioplankton assemblages in the Lower Mississippi River

Copyright: © 2020 Payne et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Rivers are characterized by rapid and continuous one-way directional fluxes of flowing, aqueous habitat, chemicals, suspended particles, and resident plankton. Therefore, at any particular location in such systems there is the potential for continuous, and possibly abrupt, changes in diversity and metabolic activities of suspended biota. As microorganisms are the principal catalysts of organic matter degradation and nutrient cycling in rivers, examination of their assemblage dynamics is fundamental to understanding system-level biogeochemical patterns and processes. However, there is little known of the dynamics of microbial assemblage composition or production of large rivers along a time interval gradient. We quantified variation in alpha and beta diversity and production of particle-associated and free-living bacterioplankton assemblages collected at a single site on the Lower Mississippi River (LMR), the final segment of the largest river system in North America. Samples were collected at timescales ranging from days to weeks to months up to a year. For both alpha and beta diversity, there were similar patterns of temporal variation in particle-associated and free-living assemblages. Alpha diversity, while always higher on particles, varied as much at a daily as at a monthly timescale. Beta diversity, in contrast, gradually increased with time interval of sampling, peaking between samples collected 180 days apart, before gradually declining between samples collected up to one year apart. The primary environmental driver of the temporal pattern in beta diversity was temperature, followed by dissolved nitrogen and chlorophyll a concentrations. Particle-associated bacterial production corresponded strongly to temperature, while free-living production was much lower and constant over time. We conclude that particle-associated and free-living bacterioplankton assemblages of the LMR vary in richness, composition, and production at distinct timescales in response to differing sets of environmental factors. This is the first temporal longitudinal study of microbial assemblage structure and dynamics in the LMR

Vesicular glutamatergic transmission in noise-induced loss and repair of cochlear ribbon synapses

Noise-induced excitotoxicity is thought to depend on glutamate. However, the excitotoxic mechanisms are unknown, and the necessity of glutamate for synapse loss or regeneration is unclear. Despite absence of glutamatergic transmission from cochlear inner hair cells in mice lacking the vesicular glutamate transporter-3