Design, development, and fabrication of a prototype ice pack heat sink subsystem. Potassium bifluoride/water solution investigations

A series of investigations was conducted to characterize the physical properties of potassium bifluoride and water solutions for use as the fusible heat sink material in a regenerable portable life support system

Media events, spectacles and risky globalization: a critical review and possible avenues for future research

We review the research conducted to date on media events and media spectacles. We posit that the main phenomena challenging the current conceptualizations of media event and media spectacle are (1) the understanding of risk, (2) the context of disasters and (3) globalization and the mediation of news in the context of transnational and transitional societies. We suggest that more research on disruptive events is needed. In the context of the new media landscape in particular, the ritual researcher may need to take into account the concepts of temporality and unpredictability as inherent features of media events and rituals – the traumatic events researcher may benefit from the concept of global risk society. Finally, we argue that more research needs to be carried out on transitional societies, as we need to learn more about the role of mediation, events and spectacles in democratization processes and in contemporary revolutions. Overall, our findings indicate that in the context of global risk society, constant disruptions and unplanned events, together with the changes in news transmission, need to be taken as a starting point also in the research frames used to understand the mediation of events in contemporary society

Commitments to Give-if-you-Win Exceed Donations After a Win

Should fundraisers ask a banker to donate “if he earns a bonus” or wait and ask after the bonus is known? Standard EU theory predicts these are equivalent; loss-aversion and signaling models predict a larger commitment before the bonus is known; theories of affect predict the reverse. In five experiments incorporating lab and field elements (N=1363), we solicited donations from small lottery winnings , varying the conditionality of donations between participants. Overall, we find conditional donations (“if you win”) exceeded ex-post donations. This represents the first evidence on how pro-social behavior extends to conditional commitments over uncertain income, with implications for charitable fundraising, giving pledges, and experimental methodologyWe would like to thank the Universities of Essex, Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Bonn for providing financial support for our research

Personnel and Organization Development in an R & D Matrix Overlay Operation

Increasingly, R&D companies are finding it desirable to adopt a matrixoverlay 11 organization structure to accomplish project goals on a timely and efficient basis. In shifting from a straight functional organization to a combined functional/project form, some key changes must be made in responsibilities of Program Managers and managers of engineering Capabilities Centers/ 1 New standards of performance and means for reward and advancement under the revised organization structure must be developed. Diverse management and social science experience are called upon in planning and implementing the matrix-overlay structure through the development of such standards

Development of New Synthetic Routes for Ebselen in Pursuit of the First Synthesis of Ebtellur

Ebselen, N-phenyl-1,2-benzoisoselenazol-3(2H)-one, an established anti-oxidant and cytoprotective agent, has been assessed for an array of pharmaceutical applications in treating a multitude of disorders and maladies. It has further been identified as an anti-microbial and anti-viral agent against multiple infectious agents and has even been FDA-approved for a variety of these applications. While ebselen has captured pharmaceutical interest, its tellurium analogue, ebtellur, has yet to be successfully obtained, and in only one case was an attempt to obtain ebtellur reported. We have developed multiple new synthetic routes specifically targeting the first synthesis of ebtellur and discuss the viability of each pathway herein

The role of model risk in extreme value theory for capital adequacy

© 2016 Incisive Risk Information (IP) Limited. In the recent literature, methods from extreme value theory (EVT) have frequently been applied to the estimation of tail risk measures. While previous analyses show that EVT methods often lead to accurate estimates for risk measures, a potential drawback lies in large standard errors of the point estimates in these methods, as only a fraction of the data set is used. Thus, we comprehensively study the impact of model risk on EVT methods when determining the value-at-risk and expected shortfall. We distinguish between first-order effects of model risk, which consist of misspecification and estimation risk, and second-order effects of model risk, which refer to the dispersion of risk measure estimates, and show that EVT methods are less prone to first-order effects. However, they show a greater sensitivity toward secondorder effects.We find that this can lead to severe value-at-risk and expected shortfall underestimations and should be reflected in regulatory capital models

U.S. Radio in the 21st Century: Staying the Course in Unknown Territory

This essay examines the development of the radio industry in the United States as it makes its way into the 21st century. Issues of regulation, technology, commerce, and culture are addressed

Rotating Directional Solidification of Ternary Eutectic Microstructures in Bi-In-Sn: A Phase-Field Study

For the first time, the experimental processing condition of a rotating directional solidification is simulated in this work, by means of a grand-potential-based phase-field model. To simulate the rotating directional solidification, a new simulation setup with a rotating temperature field is introduced. The newly developed configuration can be beneficent for a more precise study of the ongoing adjustment mechanisms during temperature gradient controlled solidification processes. Ad hoc, the solidification of the ternary eutectic system Bi-In-Sn with three distinct solid phases α,β,δ is studied in this paper. For this system, accurate in situ observations of both directional and rotating directional solidification experiments exist, which makes the system favorable for the investigation. The two-dimensional simulation studies are performed for both solidification processes, considering the reported 2D patterns in the steady state growth of the bulk samples. The desired αβαδ phase ordering repeat unit is obtained within both simulation types. By considering anisotropy of the interfacial energies, experimentally reported tilted lamellae with respect to normal vectors of the solidification front, as well as predominant role of αβ anisotropy in tilting phenomenon, are observed. The results are validated by using the Jackson–Hunt analysis and by comparing with the existing experimental data. The convincing agreements indicate the applicability of the introduced method

Phase diagram of KHF2 and non-equilibrium effects

The equilibrium diagram for the KHF2-H2O system was constructed from cooling and heating curves for the compositions between 5 wt% and 40 wt% KHF2 and the results are shown. The phase diagrams shown is typical of that of a two component system with miscible liquid phases and whole solid phases consist of pure components. A eutectic point was found at approximately 15% KHF2 which remains completely liquid down to a temperature of -9.0 C. No hydrate formation was observed and no anomalous behavior such as the occurrence of solid transitions or metastable states was observed. The effect of rapid freezing on the equilibrium diagram did not appear, and cooling curves exhibited only one halt. Also, at rapid freezing rates, the supercooling of the solutions was smaller than those observed at the slow cooling rates. The existence of a eutectic composition and the slow rate of dissolution of the salt are used to interpret heat absorption behavior in practical applications of the KHF2-H2O system

Low Mortality in Tall Tropical Trees

The dynamics of the tallest trees in tropical forests are of special interest due to their carbon content, canopy dominance, and the large canopy gaps created when they die. Known ecological mechanisms that may influence tall tree survival lead to conflicting predictions. Hydraulic stress and exposure to high winds and desiccation should increase death rates, yet the tallest trees have the greatest access to light and escape damage caused by falling boles and branches. The uncertainty in tall tree mortality rates has been difficult to address due to their low density, which makes mortality rates challenging to estimate accurately. Here, we use a combination of LiDAR remote sensing and field measurements to show that the mortality rate over 8.5 years among individuals \u3e40 m tall in 444 ha of lowland Neotropical rain forest was 1.2% per year, less than half the landscape-scale average for all canopy trees (2.7% per year). The low mortality is likely explained by species-specific traits that decrease the mortality risk and/or ecological advantages of height that outweigh the risks. Regardless of the mechanisms, the low mortality rate has important implications for tropical forest carbon budgets, as we estimated that a single tall individual represents 2–11% of total live aboveground carbon stocks per hectare. Our findings suggest that height-specific dynamics may be surprisingly different from traditional diameter-specific dynamics, emphasizing the importance of extending ecological studies to investigate the role of tree height in forest dynamics