Underbody Scrapers and Wings

Farmington Hills DPW has developed an award-winning winter operations program by transitioning away from traditional methods. Considering the type and amount of snow in Michigan, you would find it surprising to know that Farmington Hills rarely hooks up its front plows; instead, the DPW relies heavily on the use of underbody scrapers and side wings for snow removal. Join us for a discussion

Experimental investigation of supersonic plasma jets colliding with thin metallic foils

An experimental investigation of collisions between supersonic plasma jets with metal foils and head-on collisions of two jets will be presented. The jets are produced by ablation of thin aluminium foils driven by 1.4MA, 250ns current pulse in a radial foil Z-pinch configuration. The jets propagate with velocity of 50-100km/s, showing a high degree of collimation (opening angle 2 [degrees] to 5 [degrees]) and are radiatively cooled (cooling time << hydrodynamic times). Collisions of the jets with foils, as well as inter-jet collisions, create a system of strong shocks both in the central dense part of the jet and in the lower density halo plasma which surrounds the jet and moves with the same speed. The formed shock features are sustained for 300ns, and are diagnosed with laser interferometry, optical and XUV imaging, and Thomson scattering diagnostics. Interpretation of the results indicates that dynamically significant magnetic fields are present in the system, balancing the ram pressure of the flow and supporting extended stationary shock structures. The results are relevant to the studies of astrophysical phenomena in the laboratory, in particular internal shocks in jets from young stars, accretion shocks, and for the understanding of magnetised high energy density plasma flows

Calibration

It doesn’t matter if our salt spreaders are new or old, electronic or manual, liquid or granular— they all need to be calibrated. Annual calibration of salt spreaders is an important part of your fleet maintenance, winter maintenance, and MS4 compliance program. Representatives from the Department of Public Works of Farmington Hills, Michigan, will present on calibration of manual and computerized controls for winter maintenance best practices. Topics include granular and liquid calibration as well as using this practice as a tool in conjunction with AVL

Legal and ethical issues regarding-the autonomy of the pregnant woman with special reference to foetal surgery and treatment

Though the pregnant woman usually wants her foetus to be born a healthy child, and though she usually concurs with the physician as to the best method by which to attain this goal, there are circumstances when their goals and wishes will not concur. Due to the recent 'reproduction revolution', the foetus is now treatable in a multitude of circumstances and is no longer a mysterious entity whose protection lies solely in the hands of God or chance. Therefore, a possible conflict of interests arises between the physician or the government, who may have the interest of the foetus at heart (due to their interest in the sanctity of life) and the pregnant woman, who may have her interest in freedom from unwanted bodily intrusion at heart. Gerald Dworkin's theory of autonomy is compared to other theories of liberty and autonomy, and is favoured for its legal applicability and then applied to the scenario of the pregnant woman. The thesis aims to legally regulate the conflict of interests recommending that out of a concern for her individual autonomy, the pregnant woman should at no point be forced into unwanted bodily intervention. On the other hand, it is recommended that her right to demand treatment on her own behalf, or on behalf of the foetus should be made subject to governmental control due to the potential of the foetus to become human, and due to its human origins. However, the pregnant woman will still retain some protection due to the inequality with other woman that would otherwise arise. It is with the most recent technologies that this thesis proves most important, for the possibilities of genetically or cosmetically altering the foetus are increasing, and it is important that the law controls such treatments to prevent the trampling of rights

Winter Solutions in Pure Michigan

Our northern neighbors from Farmington Hills, Michigan, will share their winter management success stories. Farmington Hills Department of Public Works has developed an award-winning winter operations program by transitioning away from traditional methods. Choosing to travel down a more sustainable and assetfriendly path by using innovative products, training, and reducing the damage caused by deicing. Farmington Hills DPW has been a leader in expanding the use of organic products in its Snow and Ice Control Program

Styrofoam: From Industrial Invention to Artistic Transformation

Exhibition Notes, Number 29, Spring 2008. Ubiquitous in our culture, styrofoam is used to insulate buildings, package computers and other consumer products, and produce picnic coolers and containers for fast food and take-out. For decades, artists have employed styrofoam in the making of models and molds for casting. Today, however, more and more artists are exploring it as a primary material or a subject in its own right, using it in new and ingenious ways to create sculpture, paintings, and installations.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/risdmuseum_journals/1020/thumbnail.jp

Olanzapine Attenuates Cue-elicited Craving for Tobacco

Rationale: Recent biological conceptualizations of craving and addiction have implicated mesolimbic dopamine activity as a central feature of the process of addiction. Imaging, and pharmacological studies have supported a role for dopaminergic structures in cue-elicited craving for tobacco. Objective: If mesolimbic dopamine activity is associated with cue-elicited craving for tobacco, a dopamine antagonist should attenuate cueelicited craving for tobacco. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine whether an atypical antipsychotic (olanzapine, 5 mg) decreased cue-elicited craving for tobacco. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to 5 days of pretreatment with olanzapine (5 mg; n=31) or were randomly assigned to 5 days of a matching placebo (n=28). Approximately 8 h after the last dose, participants were exposed to a control cue (pencil) followed by exposure to smoking cues. Participants subsequently smoked either nicotine cigarettes or de-nicotinized cigarettes. Results: Olanzapine attenuated cue-elicited craving for tobacco but did not moderate the subjective effects of smoking. Discussion: This study represents one of the first investigations of the effect of atypical antipsychotics on cue-elicited craving for tobacco. The results suggest that medications with similar profiles may reduce cue-elicited craving, which in turn, may partially explain recent observations that atypical antipsychotics may reduce substance use

Evolution/Revolution: The Arts and Crafts in Contemporary Fashion and Textiles

Exhibition Notes, Number 28, Spring 2008. Evolution/Revolution brings together the textile work of designers from the U.S., Britain, Europe, South and Central America, and Japan, and draws philosophical parallels between these contemporary artists and those of the Arts and Crafts Movement of 19th-century Britain.The exhibition is organized around the themes of Storytelling, Experimentation and Materials, Collaboration, and Art and Life—key ideas that spring from the Arts and Crafts spirit. One of the most widely influential art and design movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Arts and Crafts Movement was an aesthetic and political response to a world stripped of meaning by the Industrial Revolution. It sought to right this wrong by championing beauty and truth in everyday objects, and in the process profoundly changed architecture and the decorative arts. Members of the movement were especially appalled by the inhumane work conditions created by the factory system. By celebrating the honesty and authenticity of hand work and the traditional arts, they sought to reconnect the makers and users of objects through a more holistic approach to work itself. The movement offered a model for reform; work would be more meaningful if factories did not dominate production, and life would be better if cheap machine-made goods were replaced by objects that were carefully designed and crafted. The movement, abhorred badly designed goods but did not necessarily reject technology out of hand. Rather, it sought to use it in ways that facilitated, rather than fragmented, the process of making. Arts and Crafts philosophy has continued to influence new generations, as we see in the work of the contemporary artists and designers of Evolution/Revolution. Like their predecessors, these new designers grapple with mass production and consumerism. Using state-of-the-art technology as well as traditional methods, they are redefining what “handmade means. By developing humane and ingenious solutions to contemporary problems such as sustainability and cultural preservation, they, like the Arts and Crafts artists of the 19th century, are the creators of a new tradition.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/risdmuseum_journals/1019/thumbnail.jp