Portable machine welding head automatically controls arc

Portable weld tool makes weld repairs out-of-station and on the side opposite the original weld. It provides full automatic control of the arc voltage, current, wire feed, and electrode travel speed in all welding attitudes. The device is readily adaptable to commercially available straight polarity dc weld packs

Sessile droplet evaporation on superheated superhydrophobic surfaces

This fluid dynamics video depicts the evaporation of sessile water droplets placed on heated superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces of varying cavity fraction, F_c, and surface temperature, T_s, above the saturation temperature, T_sat. Images were captured at 10,000 FPS and are played back at 30 FPS in this video. Teflon-coated silicon surfaces of F_c = 0, 0.5, 0.8, and 0.95 were used for these experiments. T_s ranging from 110{\deg}C to 210{\deg}C were studied. The video clips show how the boiling behavior of sessile droplets is altered with changes in surface microstructure. Quantitative results from heat transfer rate experiments conducted by the authors are briefly discussed near the end of the video.Comment: videos include

Police Use of CCTV Surveillance: Constitutional Implications and Proposed Regulations

This article evaluates the constitutionality of CCTV searches. Part I discusses the present uses being made of closed circuit technology and evaluates the merits of the CCTV surveillance system. The critical policy trade-off is the system\u27s effectiveness in combatting crime against the resulting loss of privacy to individual citizens. Part II considers the constitutional implications of CCTV use in terms of three major doctrines: the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures ; the constitutional right of privacy; and the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and association. This part briefly summarizes the state of the law concerning these constitutional doctrines. These separate doctrines are then applied to a hypothetical fact situation involving police use of CCTV surveillance. The conclusion is that current case law is inadequate to deal with the advanced technological capabilities of CCTV surveillance. Part III advocates stringent regulation of police use of CCTV, despite the system\u27s demonstrated and potential success in preventing crime, in order to stay within the constitutional parameters and to prevent abuses which unjustifiably intrude on the personal ·privacy of individuals

The Effect of Female Quality on Mating Preferences in the Eastern Gray Treefrog

Understanding the mechanisms driving female mate choice is critical to developing a holistic framework from which to assess effects and outcomes of sexual selection. I investigated the effects of female quality (measured as size, body condition and fecundity) on preferences for call traits that indicate either male quality (call duration) or species specificity (call pulse rate). I document large variation in both quality and call trait preferences of individual female Gray treefrogs, and show that preferences are influenced by female quality. Contrary to previous studies, however, I found that intermediate quality females show the strongest preferences, while low and high quality females show similar, and weaker, preferences. Further, preferences for male quality were influenced by more quality measures than preferences for species specificity, suggesting that species recognition is somewhat more immune to quality effects than choice for conspecific mate quality

Chewing the Welfare Cud: A Digested Analysis of a Consumer Versus Producer-Defined Standard of Welfare Practices in Animals Raised for Human Consumption

Since the eighteenth century, animal well-being remains a concern for American citizens. Yet, underlying this concern is the thought that while humans should not be cruel to animals, animals are still private property subject to human ownership. Therefore, multi-faceted questions of what constitutes “animal welfare” find a place in modern American debate. One such question becomes: should the producer or the consumer define welfare practice standards of animals raised for human consumption?7 This note provides an answer to this question by first analyzing the robust history of animal welfare in the United States, along with the domestic and international impact of the livestock industry on the U.S. economy in Parts I and II. Next, in Part III, the note connects that history to constitutional rights and how the Commerce Clause influences consumers’ relationships to food, even though there is no constitutional right to food, or right to know about food. To illustrate the concepts in the first three parts of the article, Part IV reviews the arguments concerning California’s Proposition 12 (“Prop 12”)–a recent ballot initiative limiting pork pen size currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Part IV parses whether such a ballot initiative adequately resolves the tension between producer-defined and consumer-defined standards. Using precedent, Part IV also examines the tendency of courts to favor producer interests over consumer interests. Part IV further examines when, if at all, morality expressed through animal welfare regulations become constitutional violations. The note concludes by summarizing potential solutions found in current case law and the livestock industry generally

An Uncertain Position: Examining the Status of Teaching as a Profession

The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics of a full profession, to review how many and which characteristics cannot be ascribed to teaching, and how this situation has come to be. The affect of gender and social class on the perception of teaching as a profession is discussed. Although, teaching still has an ambiguous status as a profession, discussing it will allow people to continue to talk, think and write about this issue. Teaching will probably never be considered a full profession because it does not involve all the characteristics of a profession

Chewing the Welfare Cud: A Digested Analysis of a Consumer Versus Producer-Defined Standard of Welfare Practices in Animals Raised for Human Consumption

Since the eighteenth century, animal well-being remains a concern for American citizens. Yet, underlying this concern is the thought that while humans should not be cruel to animals, animals are still private property subject to human ownership. Therefore, multi-faceted questions of what constitutes “animal welfare” find a place in modern American debate. One such question becomes: should the producer or the consumer define welfare practice standards of animals raised for human consumption?7 This note provides an answer to this question by first analyzing the robust history of animal welfare in the United States, along with the domestic and international impact of the livestock industry on the U.S. economy in Parts I and II. Next, in Part III, the note connects that history to constitutional rights and how the Commerce Clause influences consumers’ relationships to food, even though there is no constitutional right to food, or right to know about food. To illustrate the concepts in the first three parts of the article, Part IV reviews the arguments concerning California’s Proposition 12 (“Prop 12”)–a recent ballot initiative limiting pork pen size currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Part IV parses whether such a ballot initiative adequately resolves the tension between producer-defined and consumer-defined standards. Using precedent, Part IV also examines the tendency of courts to favor producer interests over consumer interests. Part IV further examines when, if at all, morality expressed through animal welfare regulations become constitutional violations. The note concludes by summarizing potential solutions found in current case law and the livestock industry generally

Development of the CHARIOT Research Register for the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia and Other Late Onset Neurodegenerative Diseases

Identifying cognitively healthy people at high risk of developing dementia is an ever-increasing focus. These individuals are essential for inclusion in observational studies into the natural history of the prodromal and early disease stages and for interventional studies aimed at prevention or disease modification. The success of this research is dependent on having access to a well characterised, representative and sufficiently large population of individuals. Access to such a population remains challenging as clinical research has, historically, focussed on patients with dementia referred to secondary and tertiary services. The primary care system in the United Kingdom allows access to a true prodromal population prior to symptoms emerging and specialist referral. We report the development and recruitment rates of the CHARIOT register, a primary care-based recruitment register for research into the prevention of dementia. The CHARIOT register was designed specifically to support recruitment into observational natural history studies of pre-symptomatic or prodromal dementia stages, and primary or secondary prevention pharmaceutical trials or other prevention strategies for dementia and other cognitive problems associated with ageing.Participants were recruited through searches of general practice lists across the west and central London regions. Invitations were posted to individuals aged between 60 and 85 years, without a diagnosis of dementia. Upon consent, a minimum data set of demographic and contact details was extracted from the patient's electronic health record.To date, 123 surgeries participated in the register, recruiting a total of 24,509 participants-a response rate of 22.3%. The age, gender and ethnicity profiles of participants closely match that of the overall eligible population. Higher response rates tended to be associated with larger practices (r = 0.34), practices with a larger older population (r = 0.27), less socioeconomically disadvantaged practices (r = 0.68), and practices with a higher proportion of White patients (r = 0.82).Response rates are comparable to other registers reported in the literature, and indicate good interest and support for a research register and for participation in research for the prevention of age-related neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. We consider that the simplicity of the approach means that this system is easily scalable and replicable across the UK and internationally