Method for casting polyethylene pipe

Short lengths of 7-cm ID polyethylene pipe are cast in a mold which has a core made of room-temperature-vulcanizable (RTV) silicone. Core expands during casting and shrinks on cooling to allow for contraction of the polyethylene

The role of Mg2+ in the inactivation of inwardly rectifying K+ channels in aortic endothelial cells.

We have studied the role of Mg2+ in the inactivation of inwardly rectifying K+ channels in vascular endothelial cells. Inactivation was largely eliminated in Mg(2+)-free external solutions and the extent of inactivation was increased by raising Mg2+o. The dose-response relation for the reduction of channel open probability showed that Mg2+o binds to a site (KD = approximately 25 microM at -160 mV) that senses approximately 38% of the potential drop from the external membrane surface. Analysis of the single-channel kinetics showed that Mg2+ produced a class of long-lived closures that separated bursts of openings. Raising Mg2+o reduced the burst duration, but less than expected for an open-channel blocking mechanism. The effects of Mg2+o are antagonized by K+o in manner which suggests that K+ competes with Mg2+ for the inactivation site. Mg2+o also reduced the amplitude of the single-channel current at millimolar concentrations by a rapid block of the open channel. A mechanism is proposed in which Mg2+ binds to the closed channel during hyperpolarization and prevents it from opening until it is occupied by K+

Institutional Logics: Gender and Business Creation Across GEM Countries

Building on theories of practice, cultural difference and institutional welfare regimes, we explore how gendered entrepreneurship rates are affected by both soft (values, beliefs, and expectations) and hard (institutionalized norms and practices) measures of culture. Using 2001 GEM data, we examine how institutional arrangements related to women’s employment (role of occupational segregation, gender wage inequality, female business leadership and public childcare support) interact with individual-level perceptions in ways that increase women's start-up across thirteen countries. Results suggest that gender wage inequality has a direct effect on the decision to start a business, while industry structure and the presence of childcare may influence the decision to start a business indirectly through perceptions and gender

Food or Fuel? Choices and Conflicts

Ethanol, Corn Prices, Biofuels Policy, Tax Credits, RFS, Food versus Fuel, Food Security and Poverty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q28, Q11,

Authorizing Tolkien: Control, Adaptation, and Dissemination of J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s Works

This article is the introduction to the special theme issue consisting of four essays on Authorizing Tolkien. Reid and Elam discuss medieval and postmodern theories of adaptation and interpretation and introduce the essays in the issue

HEDGING RISK FOR FEEDER CATTLE WITH A TRADITIONAL HEDGE COMPARED TO A RATIO HEDGE

This paper compares hedging risk for various weights of feeder cattle hedged with a traditional cross hedge and a ratio cross hedge. A traditional hedge calls for the purchase/sale of one pound of futures for each pound of cash feeder cattle. By contrast, a ratio hedge requires estimation of a hedge ratio to determine the number of pounds of futures needed to hedge one pound of cash feeder cattle. Hedge ratios were found to be larger than 1.0 for light-weight feeder cattle. By using the estimated hedge ratios, it was shown that hedging risk could be reduced 20-50 percent compared to that achieved by using a hedge ratio of 1.0.Livestock Production/Industries,

Membrane evaporator/sublimator investigation

Data are presented on a new evaporator/sublimator concept using a hollow fiber membrane unit with a high permeability to liquid water. The aim of the program was to obtain a more reliable, lightweight and simpler Extra Vehicular Life Support System (EVLSS) cooling concept than is currently being used

Monitoring and the Risk Governance of Repository Development and Staged Closure:Exploratory Engagement Activity in Three European Countries.

This report is the product of research activity within the EC Seventh Framework Programme “Monitoring Developments for Safe Repository Operation and Staged Closure” (MoDeRn) Project. This project aims to further develop understanding of the role of monitoring in staged implementation of geological disposal to a level of description that is closer to the actual implementation of monitoring. It focuses on monitoring conducted to confirm the basis of the long term safety case and on monitoring conducted to inform on options available to manage the stepwise disposal process from construction to closure (including e.g. the option of waste retrieval). This report investigates the potential of citizen stakeholder engagement in the identification of monitoring objectives and the development of monitoring strategies for geological disposal of high level waste (HLW) or spent nuclear fuel (SNF). It builds on an earlier MoDeRn report describing monitoring the safe disposal of radioactive waste as a socio-technical activity (Bergmans, Elam, Simmons and Sundqvist 2012)

A Computer Program to Calculate Two-Stage Short-Run Control Chart Factors for (X,MR) Charts

This paper is the second in a series of two papers that fully develops two-stage short-run (X, MR) control charts. This paper describes the development and execution of a computer program that accurately calculates first- and second-stage short-run control chart factors for (X, MR) charts using the equations derived in the first paper. The software used is Mathcad. The program accepts values for number of subgroups, alpha for the X chart, and alpha for the MR chart both above the upper control limit and below the lower control limit. Tables are generated for specific values of these inputs and the implications of the results are discussed. A numerical example illustrates the use of the program.