7,417 research outputs found
The growth of paracoccus halodenitrificans in a defined medium
A synthetic medium, consisting of inorganic salts and any of a number of carbon sources, supported the aerobic growth of Paracoccus halodenitrificans when supplemented with thiamine. The same medium plus a nitrogenous oxide supported anaerobic growth when additionally supplemented with methionine. The observation that vitamin B12 or betaine replaced methionine suggested that P. halodenitrificans had a defect in the cobalamin dependent pathway for methionine biosynthesis, as well as the inability to synthesize betaine when growing anaerobically
Trends in social capital: Membership of associations in Great Britain, 1991–98
This Note uses the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) to consider the changing volume and distribution of voluntary association membership (and hence social capital) in Great Britain. We aim to supplement Hall's study of trends in social capital published in this Journal with more recent and longitudinal data. This allows us to show that whilst the volume of social capital is not declining, it is becoming increasingly class specific, and that its relative aggregate stability masks considerable turnover at the individual level. These findings are significant for current debates on social capital
Velocity weakening and possibility of aftershocks in nanofriction experiments
We study the frictional behavior of small contacts as those realized in the
atomic force microscope and other experimental setups, in the framework of
generalized Prandtl-Tomlinson models. Particular attention is paid to
mechanisms that generate velocity weakening, namely a decreasing average
friction force with the relative sliding velocity.The mechanisms studied model
the possibility of viscous relaxation, or aging effects in the contact. It is
found that, in addition to producing velocity weakening, these mechanisms can
also produce aftershocks at sufficiently low sliding velocities. This provides
a remarkable analogy at the microscale, of friction properties at the
macroscale, where aftershocks and velocity weakening are two fundamental
features of seismic phenomena.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Kangaroo disease
In March, 1954, a survey of part of the Murchison area was undertaken by Messrs Gooding and Harrison, Research Officers of the Agricultural Protection Board to investigate a reported outbreak of disease among kangaroos—predominantly Marloos, also known as Red or Plain Kangaroos (Macropus rufus)—which inhabit those areas. At the time the disease was not known by any special name so the name of Lumpy Jaw was officially adopted. Upon their return to Perth, these officers sent out a questionnaire to 67 pastoralists in the area, asking for information on the disease. Only 20 replies have been received but, from these, a lot of useful information has been obtained
On the tail of the dingo
A successful motorised expedition to collect information on the breeding areas and migratory movements of wild dogs was completed in March of this year. This was the second expedition of this nature organised by the Agriculture Protection Board and much valuable information was obtained which should simplify the work of the Board\u27s doggers in the guarding of the sheep-breeding areas
Dry Friction due to Adsorbed Molecules
Using an adiabatic approximation method, which searches for Tomlinson
model-like instabilities for a simple but still realistic model for two
crystalline surfaces in the extremely light contact limit, with mobile
molecules present at the interface, sliding relative to each other, we are able
to account for the virtually universal occurrence of "dry friction." The model
makes important predictions for the dependence of friction on the strength of
the interaction of each surface with the mobile molecules.Comment: four pages of latex, figure provide
Design, fabrication, and delivery of a charge injection device as a stellar tracking device
Six 128 x 128 CID imagers fabricated on bulk silicon and with thin polysilicon upper-level electrodes were tested in a star tracking mode. Noise and spectral response were measured as a function of temperature over the range of +25 C to -40 C. Noise at 0 C and below was less than 40 rms carriers/pixel for all devices at an effective noise bandwidth of 150 Hz. Quantum yield for all devices averaged 40% from 0.4 to 1.0 microns with no measurable temperature dependence. Extrapolating from these performance parameters to those of a large (400 x 400) array and accounting for design and processing improvements, indicates that the larger array would show a further improvement in noise performance -- on the order of 25 carriers. A preliminary evaluation of the projected performance of the 400 x 400 array and a representative set of star sensor requirements indicates that the CID has excellent potential as a stellar tracking device
The Stokes-Einstein Relation in Supercooled Aqueous Solutions of Glycerol
The diffusion of glycerol molecules decreases with decreasing temperature as
its viscosity increases in a manner simply described by the Stokes-Einstein(SE)
relation. Approaching the glass transition, this relation breaks down as it
does with a number of other pure liquid glass formers. We have measured the
diffusion coefficient for binary mixtures of glycerol and water and find that
the Stokes-Einstein relation is restored with increasing water concentration.
Our comparison with theory suggests that addition of water postpones the
formation of frustration domainsComment: 4 Pages and 3 Figure
Superlubricity - a new perspective on an established paradigm
Superlubricity is a frictionless tribological state sometimes occurring in
nanoscale material junctions. It is often associated with incommensurate
surface lattice structures appearing at the interface. Here, by using the
recently introduced registry index concept which quantifies the registry
mismatch in layered materials, we prove the existence of a direct relation
between interlayer commensurability and wearless friction in layered materials.
We show that our simple and intuitive model is able to capture, down to fine
details, the experimentally measured frictional behavior of a hexagonal
graphene flake sliding on-top of the surface of graphite. We further predict
that superlubricity is expected to occur in hexagonal boron nitride as well
with tribological characteristics very similar to those observed for the
graphitic system. The success of our method in predicting experimental results
along with its exceptional computational efficiency opens the way for modeling
large-scale material interfaces way beyond the reach of standard simulation
techniques.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure
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