TeleOperator/telePresence System (TOPS) Concept Verification Model (CVM) development

The development of an anthropomorphic, undersea manipulator system, the TeleOperator/telePresence System (TOPS) Concept Verification Model (CVM) is described. The TOPS system's design philosophy, which results from NRaD's experience in undersea vehicles and manipulator systems development and operations, is presented. The TOPS design approach, task teams, manipulator, and vision system development and results, conclusions, and recommendations are presented

The relationship of women's status and empowerment with skilled birth attendant use in Senegal and Tanzania.

BackgroundMaternal mortality remains unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa with 179,000 deaths occurring each year, accounting for 2-thirds of maternal deaths worldwide. Progress in reducing maternal deaths and increasing Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) use at childbirth has stagnated in Africa. Although several studies demonstrate the important influences of women's status and empowerment on SBA use, this evidence is limited, particularly in Africa. Furthermore, few studies empirically test the operationalization of women's empowerment and incorporate multidimensional measures to represent the potentially disparate influence of women's status and empowerment on SBA use across settings.MethodsThis study examined the relationship of women's status and empowerment with SBA use in two African countries--Senegal and Tanzania--using the 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys (weighted births n = 10,688 in SN; 6748 in TZ). Factor analysis was first conducted to identify the structure and multiple dimensions of empowerment. Then, a multivariate regression analysis was conducted to examine associations between these empowerment dimensions and SBA use.ResultsOverall, women's status and empowerment were positively related to SBA use. Some sociodemographic characteristics showed similar effects across countries (e.g., age, wealth, residence, marital relationship, parity); however, women's status and empowerment influence SBA use differently by setting. Namely, women's education directly and positively influenced SBA use in Tanzania, but not in Senegal. Further, each of the dimensions of empowerment influenced SBA use in disparate ways. In Tanzania women's higher household decision-making power and employment were related to SBA use, while in Senegal more progressive perceptions of gender norms and older age at first marriage were related to SBA use.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence of the disparate influences of women's status and empowerment on SBA use across settings. Results indicate that efforts to increase SBA use and to reduce maternal mortality through the improvement of women's status and empowerment should focus both on improving girls' education and delaying marriage, as well as transforming gender norms and decision-making power. However, given the multi-dimensional and contextual nature of women's status and empowerment, it is critical to identify key drivers to increase SBA use in a given setting for contextually tailored policy and programming

Configuration Spaces Of Convex And Embedded Polygons In The Plane

This paper concerns the topology of configuration spaces of linkages whose underlying graph is a single cycle. Assume that the edge lengths are such that there are no configurations in which all the edges lie along a line. The main results are that, modulo translations and rotations, each component of the space of convex configurations is homeomorphic to a closed Euclidean ball and each component of the space of embedded configurations is homeomorphic to a Euclidean space. This represents an elaboration on the topological information that follows from the convexification theorem of Connelly, Demaine, and Rote

A rate- and state-dependent ductile flow law of polycrystalline halite under large shear strain and implications for transition to brittle deformation

We have conducted double-shear biaxial deformation experiments in layers of NaCl within its fully-plastic (FP) regime up to large shear strains (γ < 50) with velocity steps. From this, we have empirically formulated a rate- and state-dependent flow law which explains the transient mechanical behavior. The steady state flow stress in the FP regime can be explained by a power-law with a stress exponent ~8.5 and an activation enthalpy of ~1.3 eV, with the instantaneous response having a higher stress exponent (13 ± 8), although there is data scatter. The transition to brittle regime is associated with weakening from the ductile flow law. In FP regime, the mechanical response is characterized by a monotonic decay to a new steady state while in the transitional regime, by a peak-decay behavior. The transient flow law obtained here is of considerable importance in the study of the brittle-ductile transition in rocks

The Effect of Environmental Regulation on the Locational Choice of Japanese Foreign Direct Investment

This paper assesses the impact of environmental regulation in host countries on Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) decision-making. It tests the pollution haven hypothesis using data on national environmental regulation standards and Japanese inward FDI in five dirty industries (iron and steel industry, non-ferrous metals industry, chemicals industry, paper and pulp industry, non-metallic products industry). The results do not support the pollution hypothesis. On the contrary, inward Japanese FDI appears to be attracted to countries which have committed themselves to a transparent and stable environment regulatory environment, suggesting that the quality of the regulatory framework in terms of its certainty and transparency has a greater influence on foreign investors' choice of location than the level of the environmental regulatory measures.Environmental regulation, foreign direct investment, Japanese multinationals, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Q56, F21,

Reduction of Engine Exhaust Noise by Throttling in an Exhaust Manifold

This paper covers the work done in an attempt to reduce exhaust noise level without the decay of brake mean effective pressure of a two-cylinder two-stroke cycle engine, by means of an exhaust manifold having a throttle plate in its junction. The data are shown for various dimensions and configurations of the manifold and the discussion is given on the effect of exhaust throttling on exhaust noise level and engine performance. The principal results obtained by this study are as follows: (1) The lower limit of the throttle area was about onethird of a cross-sectional area of the manifold from the view point of brake mean effective pressure. (2) Within this limit brake mean effective pressure was scarcely influenced by throttling under the condition where a number of pressure oscillation related to the pulsation effect during an interval between discharges was less than 1.7. (3) A reduction in exhaust noise level attained was 8 dB(A) at higher engine speeds. (4) The junction angle of the manifold gave little significance to exhaust noise level and brake mean effective pressure

An Investigation on Low Frequency Combustion Oscillation

This paper deals with a combustion stability of diffusion flame. A simplified linear differential equation of second order, which involves the parameters estimated from the states of steady combustion, has been suggested to discuss theoretically the nature of oscillatory combusion about a two-dimensional combustion chamber. Its validity has been testified by comparing calculated results with experimental ones. Results obtained have indicated that factors markedly affecting the low-frequency oscillatory combustion are primary volumetric air-fuel ratio, duct length of combustion side, shape of burner and inlet throttles. But outlet throttle gives little effect on the stability of combustion

An Arrangement of Flow Velocities and Turbulence Profiles of Co-Axial Cold Jet

Results of calculations and experiments on the cold co-axial flow presented in this paper are summalized as follows ; (1) A theoretical expression method for co-axial flow field of two dimension is investigated to estimate more exactly the flow profile and the velocity gradient. (2) Measurements of mixing length were carried out for the confined co-axial jet flow. On the basis of measured data, inquiry is made for the propriety of the assumption proposed in the previous paper (1) that the mixing length may be expressed as a function of the minimum distance to the nearby wall. (3) Experimental inquiry was also done on the corelation between Lagrangian length scale and the mixing length

Constitutive properties of clayey fault gouge from the Hanaore fault zone, southwest Japan

Velocity step tests at a range of slip rates (0.0154–155.54 μm s^(−1)) are performed using natural fault gouge containing smectite, mica, and quartz collected from an outcrop of the Hanaore Fault, southwest Japan. Field and microscopic observations reveal that the shear deformation is localized to a few centimeters or thinner layer of black clayey fault gouge. This layer is formed by multiple stages, and determining the width of the shear zone due to a single event is difficult to determine. The experimental data on the abrupt jumps in the load point velocity are fitted by a rate‐ and state‐dependent frictional law, coupled with the spring‐slider model, the stiffness of which is treated as a fitting parameter. This treatment is shown to be essential to determine the constitutive parameters and their errors. The velocity steps are successfully fit with typically two state variables: larger b_1 with shorter d_(c1) and smaller b_2 with longer d_(c2). At slip rates higher than 1 μm s^(−1), negative b_2 is required to fit the data in most of the cases. Thin gouge layers (∼200 μm) in the experiment enables us to simulate large averaged shear strain which is important to recognize the evolution of the state variable associated with negative b_2 and long d_(c2). Observation of microscopic structure after experiments shows poor development of Y planes. This may be consistent with the mechanical behavior observed: weak occurrence of initial peak strength at yielding and displacement hardening throughout the experiments