Solar magnetic field reversal as seen at Ulysses

The rapid motion of the Ulysses spacecraft from high southern to high northern latitudes in 2000–2001 provided an excellent opportunity to make inferences regarding the solar magnetic dipole's behaviour around solar maximum. A simple dipole model is fitted to Ulysses measurements of the polarity of the heliospheric magnetic field mapped back to the solar wind source surface. Although higher order components of the field are ignored, the gradual reversal in orientation of the dipole field component can be followed during solar maximum, with the dipole axis crossing the solar equator during early 2000–early 2001. The dipole appears to exhibit a rotation at a slower rate than the Carrington frame of reference, similar to previous measurements made around solar maximum in the solar equatorial regions

Children's working understanding of the knowledge gained from seeing and feeling

In three Experiments, (N = 48 3- to 4-year olds; 100 3- to 5-year olds; 54 4-yearolds), children who could see or feel a target toy, recognized when they had sufficient information to answer “Which one is it?” and when they needed additional access. They were weaker at taking the informative modality of access when the choice was between seeing more of a partially visible toy and feeling it; at doing so when the target was completely hidden; and at reporting seeing or feeling as their source of knowledge of the target’s identity having experienced both. Working understanding of the knowledge gained from seeing and feeling (identifying the target efficiently) was not necessarily in advance of explicit understanding (reporting the informative source)

Development and validation of two short forms of the managing the emotions of others (MEOS) scale

The 58-item MEOS assesses managing the emotions of others, a component of trait emotional intelligence (EI). Managing another person's emotions can be used with the intention of helping the target but also in a strategically manipulative manner; the subscales of the MEOS cover both these aspects of emotion management. In order to allow researchers to access shorter versions of the MEOS for use in studies where administering the full-length scale is not feasible, two short forms of the MEOS with six (MEOS-SF) and four (MEOS-VSF) items per sub-scale were developed and validated. Study 1 used factor analysis of pre-existing MEOS item data to select items for the short forms and also compared the bivariate correlations of the MEOS, MEOS-SF and MEOS-VSF with personality and global trait EI. Study 2 examined the MEOS-SF and MEOS-VSF in two new samples (N = 394/226). The results from both studies showed that the short forms had good psychometric properties and associations similar to those of the full-length MEOS with personality, global trait EI, and other measures. The MEOS-SF and MEOS-VSF are hence suitable for use in contexts where a brief assessment of the full range of the domain of managing the emotions of others is required. The availability of short subscales assessing the manipulative facets of the MEOS is especially relevant to the emerging area of “dark side” trait EI research

Idiopathic chondrolysis, of the hip - A case report

A report of a case of idiopathic chondrolysis of the right hip in a 13-year-old Black girl is presented. Radiographs and microbiological and biochemical investigations excluded all other diseases. Cartilage and synovium were removed at biopsy of the right hip. Macroscopic and histopathological studies showed the typical features of idiopathic chondrolysis. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the histological findings. Scanning electron microscopy highlighted the irregular pitted and fibrillated surface of the cartilage. Immunofluorescent studies. on cartilage and synovium were negative. The possible pathogenesis of the disease is discussed, but the cause still remains unknown

Inkjet printing of self-healing polymers for enhanced composite interlaminar properties

Inkjet printing has been used to introduce an organic system that demonstrates thermally activated self-healing in composites. The organic system is composed of monomers that, when polymerised, are capable of thermally activated self-healing through a reversible Diels–Alder mechanism. After being synthesised the monomers were formulated into inks and inkjet printed on to carbon fibre epoxy prepreg. The polymers were co-cured with the prepreg into composite laminates and the effect on the interlaminar properties of the resultant system was investigated. A single ply at the mid-plane of double cantilever beam specimens was shown to increase the initiation (by NL Point) of the interlaminar fracture toughness by 9%. The interlaminar fracture toughness with regards to crack propagation was shown to increase further by up to 27%. Increases in apparent interlaminar shear strength as measured by short beam shear of up to 11% were also observed compared to unprinted controls. After a thermal treatment the short beam shear specimens are retested and the printed specimens are shown to have significantly smaller decreases in properties compared to the control which is consistent with repair in the interlaminar region

Nanotube Piezoelectricity

We combine ab initio, tight-binding methods and analytical theory to study piezoelectric effect of boron nitride nanotubes. We find that piezoelectricity of a heteropolar nanotube depends on its chirality and diameter and can be understood starting from the piezoelectric response of an isolated planar sheet, along with a structure specific mapping from the sheet onto the tube surface. We demonstrate that coupling between the uniaxial and shear deformation are only allowed in the nanotubes with lower chiral symmetry. Our study shows that piezoelectricity of nanotubes is fundamentally different from its counterpart in three dimensional (3D) bulk materials.Comment: 4 pages, with 3 postscript figures embedded. Uses REVTEX4 macros. Also available at http://www.physics.upenn.edu/~nsai/preprints/bn_piezo/index.htm