Drop Test Release Mechanism

Many boxes for shipping undergo drop tests by the manufacturer to ensure their durability. Certain constraints are necessary to successfully carry out these tests such as not damaging the box prior to the drop and maintaining consistency throughout every drop. Our team has designed a Drop Test Release Mechanism that addresses these constraints. It provides repetitive drops for different objects that vary in shape and size such as small electronics or parts. This device utilizes a soft-clamping mechanism that can release an object with minimal force applied onto it prior to drop. A frame made of 80/20 was designed to provide rigidity to the soft-clamping mechanism. The soft clamping mechanism supports the object between it by utilizing foam and a friction pad to induce a high friction force. The clamp can be adjusted for multiple sized objects by use of sliding rails that allow it to widen or tighten. Our design focuses on just the release of the test object. A test stand to introduce varying heights must be designed for a fully functional drop test measurement process. The final prototype was tested to analyze the effectiveness of our design. The tests involved verifying the repeatability of the drop mechanism by testing the object to see if it fell in the same orientation and with the same impact each time. The drop mechanism passed these tests but failed at a usability test and an electronic test. The report goes into detail about the design and testing of the prototype

The Importance of Fatherhood to U.S. Married and Cohabiting Men

Using a non-hierarchical approach to identity theory, we construct a scale to analyze the characteristics associated with the importance of fatherhood in a national sample of male partners (N = 932) of U.S. women of reproductive age, including fathers and non-fathers. OLS multiple regression shows that economic situation is not associated with importance of fatherhood, but valuing career success, higher education, higher religiosity and non-egalitarian gender attitudes (compared to egalitarian) are associated with higher importance of fatherhood scores. Leisure, age, fertility problems, and non-egalitarian gender attitudes are associated with importance of fatherhood scores differently for fathers and non-fathers. Although fathers place a higher value on fatherhood than do non-fathers, non-fathers, especially those who have experienced infertility, also have high importance of fatherhood scores

Considering a Student Managed Venture Capital Fund? Approaches, Benefits, and Performance

This paper explores the rationale for and performance of student-managed venture capital funds. In particular, it seeks to identify whether the performance of student-managed funds is inferior to professionally-managed funds. The results suggest that professionally-managed funds may perform better than student managed funds, but this difference disappears when comparing investments made 7 or more years ago -a typical holding period for a VC firm. Pedagogical benefits of having a student-managed fund are discussed, and guidelines of implementing a student-managed VC fund are derived

Variation in Attitudes toward Being a Mother by Race/Ethnicity and Education among Women in the United States

Do differences in experiences of motherhood (e.g., number of children, age at first child, and relationship type) by race/ethnicity and social class mean that attitudes toward motherhood also vary by social location? We examine attitudes toward being a mother among black, Hispanic, Asian, and white women of higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES, as measured by education). Results using the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (N = 4,796) indicate that, despite fertility differences, attitudes toward being a mother differ little between groups. White and Asian women have higher positive attitudes toward being a mother than black and Hispanic women. Only black women appear to distinguish between having and raising children; surprisingly, lower educated Hispanic women are less likely to think that they would be a mother, see motherhood as fulfilling, and think that it is important to have and to raise children compared with higher educated, white women

A comparative study of selected sorbents for sampling of aromatic VOCs from indoor air

Indoor air canbecome pollutedwith VOCs, and understanding the factors which affect adsorption of VOCs from indoor air is important for: (i) the accurate measurement of VOCs, and (ii) to apply mitigation strategies when high analyte concentrations are measured. In this study four VOCs (toluene, ethylbenzene, cumene and dichlorobenzene) were generated as a constant and controlled polluted air stream of VOCs from a dynamic atmospheric chamber. The effects of relative humidity, and sampling flow rate, on adsorption onto Tenax TA and the relatively new silica adsorbents SBA-15 or MCM-41 were studied

Differences in client and therapist views of the working alliance in drug treatment

Background - There is growing evidence that the therapeutic alliance is one of the most consistent predictors of retention and outcomes in drug treatment. Recent psychotherapy research has indicated that there is a lack of agreement between client, therapist and observer ratings of the therapeutic alliance; however, the clinical implications of this lack of consensus have not been explored. Aims - The aims of the study are to (1) explore the extent to which, in drug treatment, clients and counsellors agree in their perceptions of their alliance, and (2) investigate whether the degree of disagreement between clients and counsellors is related to retention in treatment. Methods - The study recruited 187 clients starting residential rehabilitation treatment for drug misuse in three UK services. Client and counsellor ratings of the therapeutic alliance (using the WAI-S) were obtained during weeks 1-12. Retention was in this study defined as remaining in treatment for at least 12 weeks. Results - Client and counsellor ratings of the alliance were only weakly related (correlations ranging from r = 0.07 to 0.42) and tended to become more dissimilar over the first 12 weeks in treatment. However, whether or not clients and counsellors agreed on the quality of their relationship did not influence whether clients were retained in treatment. Conclusions - The low consensus between client and counsellor views of the alliance found in this and other studies highlights the need for drug counsellors to attend closely to their clients' perceptions of the alliance and to seek regular feedback from clients regarding their feelings about their therapeutic relationship

A Maximum Torque Per Ampere Control Strategy for Induction Motor Drives

In this paper, a new control strategy is proposed which is simple in structure and has the straightforward goal of minimizing the stator current amplitude for a given load torque. It is shown that the resulting induction motor efficiency is reasonably close to optimal and that the approach is insensitive to variations in rotor resistance. Although the torque response is not as fast as in field-oriented (FO) control strategies, the response is reasonably fast. In fact, if the mechanical time constant is large relative to the rotor time constant, which is frequently the case, the sacrifice in dynamic performance is insignificant relative to FO strategie

Uptake and effectiveness of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit in Canada: the rich get richer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Government of Canada implemented a Children's Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) in 2007 which allows a non-refundable tax credit of up to $500 to register a child in an eligible physical activity (PA) program. The purposes of this study were to assess whether the awareness, uptake, and perceived effectiveness of this tax credit varied by household income among Canadian parents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An internet-based panel survey was conducted in March 2009 with a representative sample of 2135 Canadians. Of those, parents with children aged 2 to 18 years of age (<it>n </it>= 1004) were asked if their child was involved in organized PA programs (including dance and sports), the associated costs to register their child in these programs, awareness of the CFTC, if they had claimed the CFTC for the tax year 2007, and whether they planned to claim it in the upcoming year. Parents were also asked if they believed the CFTC has lead to their child being more involved in PA programs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among parents, 54.4% stated their child was in organized PA and 55.5% were aware of the CFTC. Parents in the lowest income quartile were significantly less aware and less likely to claim the CFTC than other income groups. Among parents who had claimed the CFTC, few (15.6%) believed it had increased their child's participation in PA programs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>More than half of Canadian parents with children have claimed the CFTC. However, the tax credit appears to benefit the wealthier families in Canada.</p

Expression of Stretch-Activated Two-Pore Potassium Channels in Human Myometrium in Pregnancy and Labor

Background: We tested the hypothesis that the stretch-activated, four-transmembrane domain, two pore potassium channels (K2P), TREK-1 and TRAAK are gestationally-regulated in human myometrium and contribute to uterine relaxation during pregnancy until labor. Methodology: We determined the gene and protein expression of K2P channels in non-pregnant, pregnant term and preterm laboring myometrium. We employed both molecular biological and functional studies of K2P channels in myometrial samples taken from women undergoing cesarean delivery of a fetus. Principal Findings: TREK-1, but not TREK-2, channels are expressed in human myometrium and significantly up-regulated during pregnancy. Down-regulation of TREK-1 message was seen by Q-PCR in laboring tissues consistent with a role for TREK-1 in maintaining uterine quiescence prior to labor. The TRAAK channel was unregulated in the same women. Blockade of stretch-activated channels with a channel non-specific tarantula toxin (GsMTx-4) or the more specific TREK-1 antagonist L-methionine ethyl ester altered contractile frequency in a dose-dependent manner in pregnant myometrium. Arachidonic acid treatment lowered contractile tension an effect blocked by fluphenazine. Functional studies are consistent with a role for TREK-1 in uterine quiescence. Conclusions: We provide evidence supporting a role for TREK-1 in contributing to uterine quiescence during gestation an

Science and technology: when do they become front page news?

This study suggests that press reports of science and technology increase in complexity, in depth and breadth of coverage, and in prominent placement in the news hole in relation to increased diversity or pluralism of supporting environments. It also suggests that system changes that produce interest and expanded knowledge of science provide opportunities for clashes of interests resulting in localized conflict and thus increased news coverage. `Change' in an innovative area appears to link up conceptually in copy with theory, action descriptions, and visualization through metaphor. The study used content analysis to compare a more innovative, economically progressive `research' area in the United States with an economically flat `control' area; these areas were selected using National Bureau of the Census and local economic development office statistics.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline