Determination of Surface Moisture Content of Wood Utilizing a Colorimetric Technique

Optical properties of cobalt chloride (CoCl2) hydrate, whose color changes with surrounding humidity, were used to develop a colorimetric technique for determining surface moisture content of wood nondestructively. The colorimetric CoCl2 treated wood technique for determining surface moisture content through color degree change in CIE L*a*b* color space has been experimentally verified

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 29

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

First year Physics labs in a 'suitcase'

Over the past two decades university student demographics have considerably changed. A larger percentage of the population that now attend university come from a variety of teaching and learning cultures and a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Under these challenging circumstances, most of the students seem to juggle their time between work, study and family commitments to complete their degree. A survey conducted by Curtin Applied Physics in October 2000 revealed that 58% of the full time students studying physics for their first time work either part time or full time and therefore are time disadvantaged as compared to their full time non-working colleagues. In order to address these issues Physics113/114/115 units were restructured into modular format providing flexible assessment using WebCT. These units have been running for the past three years. Over these years we have found that the flexible module assessment is working well to the satisfaction of the students, but some of the students are still finding it difficult to budget their time to attend laboratories to complete the unit. The laboratory program is an essential part of these units and is thus heavily weighted and requires a considerable time input by the students. At the time when these units were modularised, flexible laboratory program could not be provided due to lack of equipment, funding and staff time constraints

Renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the duodenum: Treatment by classic pancreaticoduodenectomy and review of the literature

Renal cell cancer (RCC) most commonly metastasizes to the lungs, bones, liver, renal fossa, and brain, although metastases can occur elsewhere. RCC metastatic to the duodenum is especially rare, with only a small number of cases reported in the literature. Herein, we describe a case of an 86-year-old woman with a history of RCC treated by radical nephrectomy 13 years previously. The patient presented with duodenal obstruction and anemia from a solitary duodenal mass invading into the pancreas and was treated via classic pancreaticoduodenectomy. Preoperative imaging and intra-operative assessment showed no evidence of other disease. Pathology confirmed metastatic RCC without lymph node involvement. Our case report and review of the English language literature underscore the rarity of this entity and support aggressive surgical treatment in such patients