A rate- and state-dependent ductile flow law of polycrystalline halite under large shear strain and implications for transition to brittle deformation

We have conducted double-shear biaxial deformation experiments in layers of NaCl within its fully-plastic (FP) regime up to large shear strains (γ < 50) with velocity steps. From this, we have empirically formulated a rate- and state-dependent flow law which explains the transient mechanical behavior. The steady state flow stress in the FP regime can be explained by a power-law with a stress exponent ~8.5 and an activation enthalpy of ~1.3 eV, with the instantaneous response having a higher stress exponent (13 ± 8), although there is data scatter. The transition to brittle regime is associated with weakening from the ductile flow law. In FP regime, the mechanical response is characterized by a monotonic decay to a new steady state while in the transitional regime, by a peak-decay behavior. The transient flow law obtained here is of considerable importance in the study of the brittle-ductile transition in rocks

TeleOperator/telePresence System (TOPS) Concept Verification Model (CVM) development

The development of an anthropomorphic, undersea manipulator system, the TeleOperator/telePresence System (TOPS) Concept Verification Model (CVM) is described. The TOPS system's design philosophy, which results from NRaD's experience in undersea vehicles and manipulator systems development and operations, is presented. The TOPS design approach, task teams, manipulator, and vision system development and results, conclusions, and recommendations are presented

The Effect of Environmental Regulation on the Locational Choice of Japanese Foreign Direct Investment

This paper assesses the impact of environmental regulation in host countries on Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) decision-making. It tests the pollution haven hypothesis using data on national environmental regulation standards and Japanese inward FDI in five dirty industries (iron and steel industry, non-ferrous metals industry, chemicals industry, paper and pulp industry, non-metallic products industry). The results do not support the pollution hypothesis. On the contrary, inward Japanese FDI appears to be attracted to countries which have committed themselves to a transparent and stable environment regulatory environment, suggesting that the quality of the regulatory framework in terms of its certainty and transparency has a greater influence on foreign investors' choice of location than the level of the environmental regulatory measures.Environmental regulation, foreign direct investment, Japanese multinationals, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Q56, F21,

Systemic Argyria Secondary to Breath Freshener "Jintan Silver Pills®"

A case of generalized argyria secondary to "Jintan Silver Pills® " is described. Jintan Silver Pills® are made of natural extracts and coated with silver, and they are very popular as one of the breath fresheners in Japan. The patient has extreme blue-gray pigmentation of her skin. Histopathologically, the fine black granules were present in greatest number in the basement membrane zone surrounding the sweat glands and scattered diffusely through the dermis. She has taken about five hundred Jintan Silver Pills® a day for nineteen years. Her total intake of silver was calculated to be about 350g, which can be sufficient for producing argyria

Configuration Spaces Of Convex And Embedded Polygons In The Plane

This paper concerns the topology of configuration spaces of linkages whose underlying graph is a single cycle. Assume that the edge lengths are such that there are no configurations in which all the edges lie along a line. The main results are that, modulo translations and rotations, each component of the space of convex configurations is homeomorphic to a closed Euclidean ball and each component of the space of embedded configurations is homeomorphic to a Euclidean space. This represents an elaboration on the topological information that follows from the convexification theorem of Connelly, Demaine, and Rote