Sphere forming method and apparatus

A system is provided for forming small accurately spherical objects. Preformed largely spherical objects are supported at the opening of a conduit on the update of hot gas emitted from the opening, so the object is in a molten state. The conduit is suddenly jerked away at a downward incline, to allow the molten object to drop in free fall, so that surface tension forms a precise sphere. The conduit portion that has the opening, lies in a moderate vacuum chamber, and the falling sphere passes through the chamber and through a briefly opened valve into a tall drop tower that contains a lower pressure, to allow the sphere to cool without deformation caused by falling through air

The effect of ring distortions on buckling of blunt conical shells

A rigorous analytical study of cones stiffened by many thin-gage, open-section rings is presented. The results are compared with data previously obtained from uniform pressure tests of the Viking mission flight aeroshell and of the Viking structural prototype aeroshells. A conventional analysis, in which the rings are modeled as discrete rigid cross sections, is shown to lead to large, unconservative strength predictions. A more sophisticated technique of modeling the rings as shell branches leads to much more realistic strength predictions and more accurately predicts the failure modes. It is also shown that if a small initial imperfection proportional to the shape of the buckling mode is assumed, the critical buckling modes from analysis and test are in agreement. However, the reduction in buckling strength from the perfect-shell predictions is small

An automatic data system for vibration modal tuning and evaluation

A digitally based automatic modal tuning and analysis system developed to provide an operational capability beginning at 0.1 hertz is described. The elements of the system, which provides unique control features, maximum operator visibility, and rapid data reduction and documentation, are briefly described; and the operational flow is discussed to illustrate the full range of capabilities and the flexibility of application. The successful application of the system to a modal survey of the Skylab payload is described. Information about the Skylab test article, coincident-quadrature analysis of modal response data, orthogonality, and damping calculations is included in the appendixes. Recommendations for future application of the system are also made

Ames collaborative study of cosmic-ray neutrons. 2: Low- and mid-latitude flights

Progress of the study of cosmic ray neutrons is described. Data obtained aboard flights from Hawaii at altitudes of 41,000 and 45,000 feet, and in the range of geomagnetic latitude 17 N less than or equal to lambda less than or equal to 21 N are reported. Preliminary estimates of neutron spectra are made

Final report: Wind Energy and the just transition. Political and socio-economic pinch points in wind turbine manufacturing and windfarm communities in Europe and South Africa’

This report has been funded by the British Academy under the call the ‘Just Transition within Sectors and Industries Globally’ (grant COVJT210011, October 27th, 2021 – March 22nd, 2022). It presents our finding from the research project ‘Wind energy and the Just Transition: Political and socio-economic pinch points in wind turbine manufacturing and windfarm communities in Europe and South Africa’. In this project, we explored four key pinch-points of the Just Transition: community outcomes leading to either acceptance or resistance to windfarms and skill formation, job quality and social dialogue in the wind turbine manufacturing industry. This report presents our findings regarding these four pinch points and four key questions that were informed by the British Academy’s call: 1. How is the Just Transition defined by workers, managers, social partners, and community stakeholders in the industry? 2. What are the political and socio-economic pinch points at windfarm manufacturing sites and in communities where windfarms are located? 3. How are work intensification and intensified use of the natural environment resulting from the political imperative to deploy wind turbines quickly and at large scale dealt with? 4. How can the process of structural change, meaning here the expansion of the wind turbine industry, be managed equitably so that communities and workers benefit more broadly? Our findings are based on data from windfarm communities and the wind turbine industry in Germany, Denmark, South Africa and the UK, which we collected between the years 2012 and 2022. The bulk of our data consists of semi structured interviews and focus groups with in total156 participants including industry experts, local citizens, activists, trade union and industry representatives, managers in the industry and workers, managers and instructors from skill formation providers, and municipal policy makers. We complemented this data with secondary sources, news clippings and policy documents to develop community and industry case studies for each country

Wind Energy and the just transition. Political and socio-economic pinch points in wind turbine manufacturing and windfarm communities in Europe and South Africa

This report has been funded by the British Academy under the call the ‘Just Transition within Sectors and Industries Globally’(grant COVJT210011, October 27th, 2021 – March 22nd, 2022). It presents our finding from the research project ‘Wind energy and the Just Transition: Political and socio-economic pinch points in wind turbine manufacturing and windfarm communities in Europe and South Africa’. In this project, we explored four key pinch-points of the Just Transition: community outcomes leading to either acceptance or resistance to windfarms and skill formation, job quality and social dialogue in the wind turbine manufacturing industry. This report presents our findings regarding four research questions: 1. How is the Just Transition defined by workers, managers, social partners, and community stakeholders in the industry? 2. What are the political and socio-economic pinch points at windfarm manufacturing sites and in communities where windfarms are located? 3. How are work intensification and intensified use of the natural environment resulting from the political imperative to deploy wind turbines quickly and at large scale dealt with? 4. How can the process of structural change, meaning here the expansion of the wind turbine industry, be managed equitably so that communities and workers benefit more broadly? Our findings are based on data from windfarm communities and the wind turbine industry in Germany, Denmark, South Africa and the UK, which we collected between the years 2012 and 2022. The bulk of our data consists of semi structured interviews and focus groups with in total 156 participants including industry experts, local citizens, activists, trade union and industry representatives, managers in the industry and workers, managers and instructors from skill formation providers, and municipal policy makers. We complemented this data with secondary sources, news clippings and policy documents to develop community and industry case studies for each country

A high payload aerial platform for infrastructure repair and manufacturing

The use of aerial robots in construction is an area of general interest in the robotics community. Autonomous aerial systems have the potential to improve safety, efficiency and sustainability of industrial construction and repair processes. Several solutions have been deployed in this domain focusing on problems in aerial manipulation and control using existing aerial platforms which are not specialised for the specific challenges in operating on a construction site. This paper presents a new compact, high thrust aerial platform that can act as a modular, application agnostic base for demonstrating a wide variety of capabilities. The platform has been built and tested flying both with manual controls and autonomously in a motion tracking arena while carrying a payload of up to 7.3 kg with a maximum flight time between 10–34 mins (payload dependent). In the future, this platform will be combined with vision based tracking sensors, manipulators and other hardware to operate in and interact with an outdoor environment. Future applications may include manipulation of heavy objects, deposition of material and navigating confined spaces

Effects of Selective Deletion of Tyrosine Hydroxylase from Kisspeptin Cells on Puberty and Reproduction in Male and Female Mice.

The neuropeptide kisspeptin, encoded by Kiss1, regulates reproduction by stimulating GnRH secretion. Kiss1-syntheizing neurons reside primarily in the hypothalamic anteroventral periventricular (AVPV/PeN) and arcuate (ARC) nuclei. AVPV/PeN Kiss1 neurons are sexually dimorphic, with females expressing more Kiss1 than males, and participate in estradiol (E2)-induced positive feedback control of GnRH secretion. In mice, most AVPV/PeN Kiss1 cells coexpress tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis (in this case, dopamine). Dopamine treatment can inhibit GnRH neurons, but the function of dopamine signaling arising specifically from AVPV/PeN Kiss1 cells is unknown. We generated a novel TH flox mouse and used Cre-Lox technology to selectively ablate TH specifically from Kiss1 cells. We then examined the effects of selective TH knock-out on puberty and reproduction in both sexes. In control mice, 90% of AVPV/PeN Kiss1 neurons coexpressed TH, whereas in mice lacking TH exclusively in Kiss1 cells (termed Kiss THKOs), TH was successfully absent from virtually all Kiss1 cells. Despite this absence of TH, both female and male Kiss THKOs displayed normal body weights, puberty onset, and basal gonadotropin levels in adulthood, although testosterone (T) was significantly elevated in adult male Kiss THKOs. The E2-induced LH surge was unaffected in Kiss THKO females, and neuronal activation status of kisspeptin and GnRH cells was also normal. Supporting this, fertility and fecundity were normal in Kiss THKOs of both sexes. Thus, despite high colocalization of TH and Kiss1 in the AVPV/PeN, dopamine produced in these cells is not required for puberty or reproduction, and its function remains unknown

National Preferences in Business and Communication Education: A Survey Update

This article discusses the results of a survey in the U.S. regarding national preferences in business and communication education. From the results of this and the previous study, it appears that the skills most valued in the contemporary job-entry market are communication skills. The skills of listening, oral communication (both interpersonal and public), written communication and the trait of enthusiasm are indicated to be the most important. Again, it would appear to follow that university officials wishing to be of the greatest help to their graduates in finding employment would make sure that basic competencies in oral and written communication are developed. Courses in listening, interpersonal, and public communication would form the basis of meeting the oral communication competencies. One way to meet the written communication expectation would be to include courses in rhetorical and business writing. Further, training in interviewing skills would be in order to help university graduates maximize their appearance and personality projection as well as gather information necessary for appropriate decision making