Change of the plane of oscillation of a Foucault pendulum from simple pictures

The change of the plane of oscillation of a Foucault pendulum is calculated without using equations of motion, the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, parallel transport, or assumptions that are difficult to explain.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Conservation of Arabidopsis thaliana photoperiodic flowering time genes in onion (Allium cepa L.)

The genetics underlying onion development is poorly understood. Here the characterisation of onion homologues of Arabidopsis photoperiodic flowering pathway genes is reported with the end goal of accelerating onion breeding programmes by understanding the genetic basis of adaptation to different latitudes. The expression of onion GI, FKF1 and ZTL homologues under SD and LD conditions was examined using quantitative RT-PCR. The expression of AcGI and AcFKF1 was examined in onion varieties which exhibit different daylength responses. Phylogenetic trees were constructed to confirm the identity of the homologues. AcGI and AcFKF1 showed diurnal expression patterns similar to their Arabidopsis counterparts while AcZTL was found to be constitutively expressed. AcGI showed similar expression patterns in varieties which exhibit different daylength responses whereas AcFKF1 showed differences. It is proposed that these differences could contribute to the different daylength responses in these varieties. Phylogenetic analyses showed that all the genes isolated are very closely related to their proposed homologues. The results presented here show that key genes controlling photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis are conserved in onion and a role for these genes in the photoperiodic control of bulb initiation is predicted. This theory is supported by expression and phylogenetic data

On the Uniformity of (3/2)n(3/2)^n Modulo 1

It has been conjectured that the sequence $(3/2)^n$ modulo $1$ is uniformly distributed. The distribution of this sequence is signifcant in relation to unsolved problems in number theory including the Collatz conjecture. In this paper, we describe an algorithm to compute $(3/2)^n$ modulo $1$ to $n = 10^8$. We then statistically analyze its distribution. Our results strongly agree with the hypothesis that $(3/2)^n$ modulo 1 is uniformly distributed.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Tar River History - J. M. McManaway

Xerox copy of James M. McManaway in Thomas J. Taylor\u27s A History of the Tar River Baptist Association, 1830-1921. Sent by John R. Woodard to Roland Leath.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/first-baptist-shelby-james-mcmanaway/1002/thumbnail.jp

Application of digital particle image velocimetry to insect aerodynamics: measurement of the leading-edge vortex and near wake of a Hawkmoth.

Some insects use leading-edge vortices to generate high lift forces, as has been inferred from qualitative smoke visualisations of the flow around their wings. Here we present the first Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) data and quantitative analysis of an insect’s leading-edge vortex and near wake at two flight speeds. This allows us to describe objectively 2D slices through the flow field of a tethered Tobacco Hawkmoth (Manduca sexta). The near-field vortex wake appears to braodly resemble elliptical vortex loops. The presence of a leading-edge vortex towards the end of the downstroke is found to coincide with peak upward force production measured by a six-component force–moment balance. The topology of Manduca’s leading-edge vortex differs from that previously described because late in the downstroke, the structure extends continuously from wingtip across the thorax to the other wingtip

Long-term results of cyclosporine-steroid therapy in 131 non-matched cadaveric renal transplants.

One-hundred-and-twenty-eight recipients of 131 consecutive, non-matched cadaver renal allografts were treated with cyclosporine and steroids. They have been followed for 4 to 6 yr. Cumulative patient survival at 1-yr was 92.2% and at 6yr it is 77.8%. Cumulative graft survival at 1-yr was 79.4% and at 6 yr it is 50.0%. After the high-risk 1st yr, the rate of graft loss was even and similar to that reported after the 1st yr for grafts treated with azathioprine and steroids. This indicates that cyclosporine nephrotoxicity has not had an obvious adverse effect on the survival of chronically functioning grafts. The results were better with primary grafting versus retransplantation, but were not significantly influenced by age, diabetes mellitus, or a delayed switch in patients from cyclosporine to azathioprine. We have concluded that cyclosporine-steroid therapy is safe and effective for long-term use after cadaveric renal transplantation

Teleprinter uses thermal printing technique

Alphameric/facsimile printer receives serial digital data in the form of a specified number of bits per group and prints it on thermally sensitive paper. A solid state shift-register memorizes the incoming serial digital data

Association of molecules using a resonantly modulated magnetic field

We study the process of associating molecules from atomic gases using a magnetic field modulation that is resonant with the molecular binding energy. We show that maximal conversion is obtained by optimising the amplitude and frequency of the modulation for the particular temperature and density of the gas. For small modulation amplitudes, resonant coupling of an unbound atom pair to a molecule occurs at a modulation frequency corresponding to the sum of the molecular binding energy and the relative kinetic energy of the atom pair. An atom pair with an off-resonant energy has a probability of association which oscillates with a frequency and time-varying amplitude which are primarily dependent on its detuning. Increasing the amplitude of the modulation tends to result in less energetic atom pairs being resonantly coupled to the molecular state, and also alters the dynamics of the transfer from continuum states with off-resonant energies. This leads to maxima and minima in the total conversion from the gas as a function of the modulation amplitude. Increasing the temperature of the gas leads to an increase in the modulation frequency providing the best fit to the thermal distribution, and weakens the resonant frequency dependence of the conversion. Mean-field effects can alter the optimal modulation frequency and lead to the excitation of higher modes. Our simulations predict that resonant association can be effective for binding energies of order $h \times 1$ MHz.Comment: 8 pages latex, figures revised, references updated and typos correcte

Two- and three-dimensional viscous computations of a hypersonic inlet flow

The three-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes code has been used to investigate the flow through a Mach 7.4 inlet. A two-dimensional parametric study of grid resolution, turbulence modeling and effect of gamma has been done and compared with experimental results. The results show that mesh resolution of the shock waves, real gas effects and turbulence length scaling are very important to get accurate results for hypersonic inlet flows. In addition a three-dimensional calculation of the Mach 7.4 inlet has been done on a straight sideplate configuration. The results show that the glancing shock/boundary layer interaction phenomena causes significant three-dimensional flow in the inlet

Modifications to the Aesop's Fable paradigm change New Caledonian crow performances

While humans are able to understand much about causality, it is unclear to what extent non-human animals can do the same. The Aesop's Fable paradigm requires an animal to drop stones into a water-filled tube to bring a floating food reward within reach. Rook, Eurasian jay, and New Caledonian crow performances are similar to those of children under seven years of age when solving this task. However, we know very little about the cognition underpinning these birds' performances. Here, we address several limitations of previous Aesop's Fable studies to gain insight into the causal cognition of New Caledonian crows. Our results provide the first evidence that any non-human animal can solve the U-tube task and can discriminate between water-filled tubes of different volumes. However, our results do not provide support for the hypothesis that these crows can infer the presence of a hidden causal mechanism. They also call into question previous object-discrimination performances. The methodologies outlined here should allow for more powerful comparisons between humans and other animal species and thus help us to determine which aspects of causal cognition are distinct to humans.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe