#### Sample records for rigid nephroscopy sufficient

1. Laparoscopic - assisted transpyelic rigid nephroscopy - simple alternative when flexible ureteroscopy is not available

PubMed Central

Tobias-Machado, Marcos; Hidaka, Alexandre Kiyoshi; Nunes-Silva, Igor; Chagas, Carlos Alberto; Leal, Leandro Correa; Pompeo, Antonio Carlos Lima

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Introduction: In special situations such as malrotated or ectopic kidneys and UPJ stenosis treatment of renal lithiasis can be challenging. In these rare cases laparoscopy can be indicated. Objective: Describe the Laparoscopic-assisted rigid nephroscopy performed via transpyelic approach and report the feasibility. Patients and methods: We present two cases of caliceal lithiasis. The first is a patient that ESWL and previous percutaneous lithotripsy have failed, with pelvic kidney where laparoscopic dissection of renal pelvis was carried out followed by nephroscopy utilizing the 30 Fr rigid nephroscope to remove the calculus. Ideal angle between the major axis of renal pelvis and the rigid nephroscope to allow success with this technique was 60-90 grades. In the second case, the kidney had a dilated infundibulum. Results: The operative time was 180 minutes for both procedures. No significant blood loss or perioperative complications occurred. The bladder catheter was removed in the postoperative day 1 and Penrose drain on day 2 when patients were discharged. The convalescence was completed after 3 weeks. Patients were stone free without symptons in one year of follow-up. Conclusions: Laparoscopic-assisted rigid nephroscopy performed via tranpyelic approach can be done safely with proper patient selection and adherence to standard laparoscopic surgical principles. This approach is an alternative in cases where flexible endoscope is not available and when standard procedure is unlikely to produce a stone-free status. PMID:27564304

2. Laparoscopic Stone Surgery With the Aid of Flexible Nephroscopy

PubMed Central

Jung, Jae Hyun; Cho, Sung Yong; Jeong, Chang Wook; Jeong, Hyeon; Son, Hwancheol; Woo, Seung Hyo; Kim, Dae Kyung; Min, Sun-Ho; Oh, Seung-June; Kim, Hyeon-Hoe

2014-01-01

Purpose To report the outcome of laparoscopic pyelo- and ureterolithotomies with the aid of flexible nephroscopy. Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in 71 patients with complex renal stones or large and impacted proximal ureteral stones. Patients underwent laparoscopic pyelo- or ureterolithotomies with or without the removal of small residual stones by use of flexible nephroscopy between July 2005 and July 2010. Operative success was defined as no residual stones in the intravenous pyelogram at 12 weeks postoperatively. Perioperative results and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results The patients' mean age was 54.7±13.7 years, and 53 males (74.6%) and 18 females (25.4%) were included. The mean maximal stone size was 19.4±9.4 mm. A total of 47 cases were complex renal stones and 24 cases were impacted ureteral stones. Mean operative time was 139.0±63.7 minutes. Stones were completely removed in 61 cases (85.9%), and no further ancillary treatment was needed for clinically insignificant residual fragments in 7 cases (9.9%). For complex renal stones, the complete stone-free rate and clinically significant stone-free rate were 80.9% and 93.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the use of flexible nephroscopy for complex renal stones can reduce the risk of residual stones. A major complication occurred in one case, in which open conversion was performed. Conclusions Laparoscopic stone surgery is a safe and minimally invasive procedure with a high success rate, especially with the aid of flexible nephroscopy, and is not associated with procedure-specific complications. PMID:25045447

3. Standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy alone versus in combination with intraoperative anterograde flexible nephroscopy for staghorn stones: A retrospective study.

PubMed

Goktug, Goksel; Karakoyunlu, Nihat; Sener, Nevzat Can; Zengin, Kursad; Nalbant, Ismail; Karabacak, Osman; Ozturk, Ufuk; Imamoglu, Abdurrahim

2015-11-01

This study aimed to compare the outcomes of standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) to PCNL with intraoperative antegrade flexible nephroscopy (IAFN) for treating stones of staghorn nature. We retrospectively analyzed patients treated using PCNL between January 2007 and July 2013. A total of 1250 patients were treated using PCNL, and 166 patients had staghorn stones. All patients had been subjected to a complete blood count, routine biochemical analyses, coagulation tests, a complete urine analysis, and urine cultures. Patients with a positive urine culture had been treated with appropriate antibiotics until the urine culture became negative. After purchasing a flexible renoscope in March 2012, we routinely used this tool to improve the stone-free (SF) rate. The 105 patients who underwent standard PCNL prior to March 2012 were classified as Group 1, and the 61 patients who underwent PCNL + IAFN after that date were classified as Group 2. The two groups had similar and homogeneous demographic data. The fluoroscopy and total operative times were significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p < 0.01). Additionally, the hospitalization time (p < 0.01) and the mean hematocrit decrease (p < 0.01) were significantly lower in Group 1. In both groups, the SF rates were higher than 85%, similar to those reported in the literature. Although Group 2 had a slightly better SF rates, this difference was not statistically significant. For staghorn calculi, PCNL combined with IAFN yields excellent outcomes. However, similar prospective studies on larger cohorts should be performed to support our findings. PMID:26678936

4. Abdominal rigidity

MedlinePlus

Rigidity of the abdomen ... is a sore area inside the belly or abdomen, the pain will get worse when a hand ... Causes can include: Abscess inside the abdomen Appendicitis ... small intestine, large bowel, or gallbladder ( gastrointestinal ...

5. Rotating rigid motion in general relativity

SciTech Connect

Mason, D.P.; Pooe, C.A.

1987-11-01

Kinematic and dynamic expressions are derived for the Lie derivative of vorticity along a particle world line in a rigid motion. It is found that the evolution of vorticity in a rigid motion is governed by the electric part of the Weyl tensor. Necessary and sufficient kinematic and dynamic conditions are established for a rotating rigid motion to be isometric.

6. Ex vivo pyelotomy, nephroscopy and holmium laser lithotripsy of a staghorn stone in a donor kidney prior to renal transplant

PubMed Central

Janczak, Dariusz; Bolanowska, Barbara; Jankowski, Paweł; Dorobisz, Tadeusz; Dorobisz, Karolina; Chabowski, Mariusz; Janczak, Dawid

2015-01-01

This case report presents the diagnostic and treatment procedures of stone removal from the kidney of a 67-year-old donor, the transplantation of the kidney to a 65-year-old recipient, and the postoperative course until the end of hospitalization. Computed tomography performed before collecting the organ showed a staghorn stone in the renal pelvis and lower calyces in the right donor kidney. The stones were removed ex-vivo using a rigid ureteroscope and a holmium laser prior to transplantation. Then the organ was transplanted to the left iliac fossa of a 65-year-old man with end-stage renal failure. The authors think there is a possibility of increasing the kidney pool, by using organs containing large calculi. In such cases stones should be removed before the operation and the patient should be monitored regularly, especially in the first months after the transplant. PMID:26240630

7. Rigid bronchoscopy.

PubMed

Alraiyes, Abdul Hamid; Machuzak, Michael S

2014-12-01

8. 21 CFR 876.5020 - External penile rigidity devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false External penile rigidity devices. 876.5020 Section 876.5020 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... maintain sufficient penile rigidity for sexual intercourse. External penile rigidity devices include...

9. 21 CFR 876.5020 - External penile rigidity devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false External penile rigidity devices. 876.5020 Section 876.5020 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... maintain sufficient penile rigidity for sexual intercourse. External penile rigidity devices include...

10. 21 CFR 876.5020 - External penile rigidity devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false External penile rigidity devices. 876.5020 Section 876.5020 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... maintain sufficient penile rigidity for sexual intercourse. External penile rigidity devices include...

11. 21 CFR 876.5020 - External penile rigidity devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false External penile rigidity devices. 876.5020 Section 876.5020 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... maintain sufficient penile rigidity for sexual intercourse. External penile rigidity devices include...

12. Rigid particulate matter sensor

DOEpatents

Hall, Matthew

2011-02-22

A sensor to detect particulate matter. The sensor includes a first rigid tube, a second rigid tube, a detection surface electrode, and a bias surface electrode. The second rigid tube is mounted substantially parallel to the first rigid tube. The detection surface electrode is disposed on an outer surface of the first rigid tube. The detection surface electrode is disposed to face the second rigid tube. The bias surface electrode is disposed on an outer surface of the second rigid tube. The bias surface electrode is disposed to face the detection surface electrode on the first rigid tube. An air gap exists between the detection surface electrode and the bias surface electrode to allow particulate matter within an exhaust stream to flow between the detection and bias surface electrodes.

13. Pneumatically erected rigid habitat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The pneumatically erected rigid habitat concept consists of a structure based on an overexpanded metal bellows. The basic concept incorporates the advantages of both inflatable and rigid structures. The design and erection detail are presented with viewgraphs.

14. Necessary, but also Sufficient?

PubMed

Martens, Sascha

2016-07-01

Cell biologists are equipped with a plethora of techniques and approaches to unravel the fascinating inner working of the cell. Among these, biochemistry has the ability to define the machinery that is both necessary and sufficient for a given process and, therefore, to define its core mechanism. PMID:27142894

15. When is Testing Sufficient

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenberg, Linda H.; Arthur, James D.; Stapko, Ruth K.; Davani, Darush

1999-01-01

The Software Assurance Technology Center (SATC) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has been investigating how projects can determine when sufficient testing has been completed. For most projects, schedules are underestimated, and the last phase of the software development, testing, must be decreased. Two questions are frequently asked: "To what extent is the software error-free? " and "How much time and effort is required to detect and remove the remaining errors? " Clearly, neither question can be answered with absolute certainty. Nonetheless, the ability to answer these questions with some acceptable level of confidence is highly desirable. First, knowing the extent to which a product is error-free, we can judge when it is time to terminate testing. Secondly, if errors are judged to be present, we can perform a cost/benefit trade-off analysis to estimate when the software will be ready for use and at what cost. This paper explains the efforts of the SATC to help projects determine what is sufficient testing and when is the most cost-effective time to stop testing.

16. Fracturing rigid materials.

PubMed

Bao, Zhaosheng; Hong, Jeong-Mo; Teran, Joseph; Fedkiw, Ronald

2007-01-01

We propose a novel approach to fracturing (and denting) brittle materials. To avoid the computational burden imposed by the stringent time step restrictions of explicit methods or with solving nonlinear systems of equations for implicit methods, we treat the material as a fully rigid body in the limit of infinite stiffness. In addition to a triangulated surface mesh and level set volume for collisions, each rigid body is outfitted with a tetrahedral mesh upon which finite element analysis can be carried out to provide a stress map for fracture criteria. We demonstrate that the commonly used stress criteria can lead to arbitrary fracture (especially for stiff materials) and instead propose the notion of a time averaged stress directly into the FEM analysis. When objects fracture, the virtual node algorithm provides new triangle and tetrahedral meshes in a straightforward and robust fashion. Although each new rigid body can be rasterized to obtain a new level set, small shards can be difficult to accurately resolve. Therefore, we propose a novel collision handling technique for treating both rigid bodies and rigid body thin shells represented by only a triangle mesh. PMID:17218752

17. Rigidity of melting DNA.

PubMed

Pal, Tanmoy; Bhattacharjee, Somendra M

2016-05-01

The temperature dependence of DNA flexibility is studied in the presence of stretching and unzipping forces. Two classes of models are considered. In one case the origin of elasticity is entropic due to the polymeric correlations, and in the other the double-stranded DNA is taken to have an intrinsic rigidity for bending. In both cases single strands are completely flexible. The change in the elastic constant for the flexible case due to thermally generated bubbles is obtained exactly. For the case of intrinsic rigidity, the elastic constant is found to be proportional to the square root of the bubble number fluctuation. PMID:27300825

18. Rigidity of melting DNA

Pal, Tanmoy; Bhattacharjee, Somendra M.

2016-05-01

The temperature dependence of DNA flexibility is studied in the presence of stretching and unzipping forces. Two classes of models are considered. In one case the origin of elasticity is entropic due to the polymeric correlations, and in the other the double-stranded DNA is taken to have an intrinsic rigidity for bending. In both cases single strands are completely flexible. The change in the elastic constant for the flexible case due to thermally generated bubbles is obtained exactly. For the case of intrinsic rigidity, the elastic constant is found to be proportional to the square root of the bubble number fluctuation.

19. Effective rigidity of membranes

Peliti, L.

1986-12-01

The role of thermal fluctuations of shape (undulations) in reducing the effective rigidity of membranes is reviewed. The consequences of this effect on vesicle size distribution and on the structure of microemulsions, as well as on other physical phenomena, are sketched.

20. Rigid molecular foams

SciTech Connect

Steckle, W.P. Jr.; Mitchell, M.A.; Aspen, P.G.

1998-12-31

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Organic analogues to inorganic zeolites would be a significant step forward in engineered porous materials and would provide advantages in range, selectivity, tailorability, and processing. Rigid molecular foams or {open_quotes}organic zeolites{close_quotes} would not be crystalline materials and could be tailored over a broader range of pore sizes and volumes. A novel process for preparing hypercrosslinked polymeric foams has been developed via a Friedel-Crafts polycondensation reaction. A series of rigid hypercrosslinked foams have been prepared using simple rigid polyaromatic hydrocarbons including benzene, biphenyl, m-terphenyl, diphenylmethane, and polystyrene, with dichloroxylene (DCX) as the pore size. After drying the foams are robust and rigid. Densities of the resulting foams can range from 0.15 g/cc to 0.75 g/cc. Nitrogen adsorption studies have shown that by judiciously selecting monomers and the crosslinking agent along with the level of crosslinking and the cure time of the resulting gel, the pore size, pore size distribution, and the total surface area of the foam can be tailored. Surface areas range from 160 to 1,200 m{sup 2}/g with pore sizes ranging from 6 {angstrom} to 2,000 {angstrom}.

1. Electrostatics of Rigid Polyelectrolytes

SciTech Connect

Wong, G.C.L.

2009-06-04

The organization of rigid biological polyelectrolytes by multivalent ions and macroions are important for many fundamental problems in biology and biomedicine, such as cytoskeletal regulation and antimicrobial sequestration in cystic fibrosis. These polyelectrolytes have been used as model systems for understanding electrostatics in complex fluids. Here, we review some recent results in theory, simulations, and experiments.

2. How rigid are viruses

Hartschuh, R. D.; Wargacki, S. P.; Xiong, H.; Neiswinger, J.; Kisliuk, A.; Sihn, S.; Ward, V.; Vaia, R. A.; Sokolov, A. P.

2008-08-01

Viruses have traditionally been studied as pathogens, but in recent years they have been adapted for applications ranging from drug delivery and gene therapy to nanotechnology, photonics, and electronics. Although the structures of many viruses are known, most of their biophysical properties remain largely unexplored. Using Brillouin light scattering, we analyzed the mechanical rigidity, intervirion coupling, and vibrational eigenmodes of Wiseana iridovirus (WIV). We identified phonon modes propagating through the viral assemblies as well as the localized vibrational eigenmode of individual viruses. The measurements indicate a Young’s modulus of ˜7GPa for single virus particles and their assemblies, surprisingly high for “soft” materials. Mechanical modeling confirms that the DNA core dominates the WIV rigidity. The results also indicate a peculiar mechanical coupling during self-assembly of WIV particles.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gasch, Matthew J.

2011-01-01

NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate s (ESMD) Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Technology Development Project (TDP) and the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate s (ARMD) Hypersonics Project are developing new advanced rigid ablators in an effort to substantially increase reliability, decrease mass, and reduce life cycle cost of rigid aeroshell-based entry systems for multiple missions. Advanced Rigid Ablators combine ablation resistant top layers capable of high heat flux entry and enable high-speed EDL with insulating mass-efficient bottom that, insulate the structure and lower the areal weight. These materials may benefit Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) vendors and may potentially enable new NASA missions for higher velocity returns (e.g. asteroid, Mars). The materials have been thermally tested to 400-450 W/sq cm at the Laser Hardened Materials Evaluation Lab (LHMEL), Hypersonics Materials Evaluation Test System (HyMETS) and in arcjet facilities. Tested materials exhibit much lower backface temperatures and reduced recession over the baseline materials (PICA). Although the EDL project is ending in FY11, NASA in-house development of advanced ablators will continue with a focus on varying resin systems and fiber/resin interactions.

4. Rigid porous filter

DOEpatents

Chiang, Ta-Kuan; Straub, Douglas L.; Dennis, Richard A.

2000-01-01

The present invention involves a porous rigid filter including a plurality of concentric filtration elements having internal flow passages and forming external flow passages there between. The present invention also involves a pressure vessel containing the filter for the removal of particulates from high pressure particulate containing gases, and further involves a method for using the filter to remove such particulates. The present filter has the advantage of requiring fewer filter elements due to the high surface area-to-volume ratio provided by the filter, requires a reduced pressure vessel size, and exhibits enhanced mechanical design properties, improved cleaning properties, configuration options, modularity and ease of fabrication.

5. Working toward Self-Sufficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Nathan

1985-01-01

Upon arrival in the United States, the Southeast Asian "Boat People" faced a multitude of problems that would seem to have hindered their achieving economic self-sufficiency. Nonetheless, by the time of a 1982 research study which interviewed nearly 1,400 refugee households, 25 percent of all the households in the sample had achieved economic…

6. Generalized flexibility-rigidity index

Nguyen, Duc Duy; Xia, Kelin; Wei, Guo-Wei

2016-06-01

Flexibility-rigidity index (FRI) has been developed as a robust, accurate, and efficient method for macromolecular thermal fluctuation analysis and B-factor prediction. The performance of FRI depends on its formulations of rigidity index and flexibility index. In this work, we introduce alternative rigidity and flexibility formulations. The structure of the classic Gaussian surface is utilized to construct a new type of rigidity index, which leads to a new class of rigidity densities with the classic Gaussian surface as a special case. Additionally, we introduce a new type of flexibility index based on the domain indicator property of normalized rigidity density. These generalized FRI (gFRI) methods have been extensively validated by the B-factor predictions of 364 proteins. Significantly outperforming the classic Gaussian network model, gFRI is a new generation of methodologies for accurate, robust, and efficient analysis of protein flexibility and fluctuation. Finally, gFRI based molecular surface generation and flexibility visualization are demonstrated.

7. Repulsive Casimir force: Sufficient conditions

SciTech Connect

Rosa, Luigi; Lambrecht, Astrid

2010-09-15

In this paper the Casimir energy of two parallel plates made by materials of different penetration depth and no medium in between is derived. We study the Casimir force density and derive analytical constraints on the two penetration depths which are sufficient conditions to ensure repulsion. Compared to other methods our approach needs no specific model for dielectric or magnetic material properties and constitutes a complementary analysis.

8. Rigid substructure search

PubMed Central

Shirvanyants, David; Alexandrova, Anastassia N.; Dokholyan, Nikolay V.

2011-01-01

Motivation: Identifying the location of binding sites on proteins is of fundamental importance for a wide range of applications, including molecular docking, de novo drug design, structure identification and comparison of functional sites. Here we present Erebus, a web server that searches the entire Protein Data Bank for a given substructure defined by a set of atoms of interest, such as the binding scaffolds for small molecules. The identified substructure contains atoms having the same names, belonging to same amino acids and separated by the same distances (within a given tolerance) as the atoms of the query structure. The accuracy of a match is measured by the root-mean-square deviation or by the normal weight with a given variance. Tests show that our approach can reliably locate rigid binding scaffolds of drugs and metal ions. Availability and Implementation: We provide this service through a web server at http://erebus.dokhlab.org. Contact: dokh@unc.edu PMID:21460026

9. Fractal rigidity in migraine

Latka, Miroslaw; Glaubic-Latka, Marta; Latka, Dariusz; West, Bruce J.

2004-04-01

We study the middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAfv) in humans using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). Scaling properties of time series of the axial flow velocity averaged over a cardiac beat interval may be characterized by two exponents. The short time scaling exponent (STSE) determines the statistical properties of fluctuations of blood flow velocities in short-time intervals while the Hurst exponent describes the long-term fractal properties. In many migraineurs the value of the STSE is significantly reduced and may approach that of the Hurst exponent. This change in dynamical properties reflects the significant loss of short-term adaptability and the overall hyperexcitability of the underlying cerebral blood flow control system. We call this effect fractal rigidity.

10. Rigid collapsible dish structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palmer, William B. (Inventor); Giebler, Martin M. (Inventor)

1982-01-01

A collapsible dish structure composed of a plurality of rows of rigid radial petal assemblies concentric with the axis of the dish. The petal assemblies consist of a center petal and two side petals, the center petal hinged on an axis tangent to a circle concentric with the axis of the dish and the side petals hinged to the center petal at their mating edge. The center petal is foldable inwardly and the side petals rotate about their hinges such that the collapsed dish structure occupies a much smaller volume than the deployed dish. Means of controlling the shape of the dish to compensate for differential expansion of the deployed dish are also provided.

11. Puzzle geometry and rigidity

Smania, Daniel

2007-07-01

We describe a new and robust method to prove rigidity results in complex dynamics. The new ingredient is the geometry of the critical puzzle pieces: under control of geometry and complex bounds'', two generalized polynomial-like maps which admit a topological conjugacy, quasiconformal outside the filled-in Julia set, are indeed quasiconformally conjugate. The proof uses a new abstract removability-type result for quasiconformal maps, following ideas of Heinonen and Koskela and of Kallunki and Koskela, optimized for applications in complex dynamics. We prove, as the first application of this new method, that, for even criticalities distinct from two, the period two cycle of the Fibonacci renormalization operator is hyperbolic with 1 -dimensional unstable manifold.

12. Electrically conductive rigid polyurethane foam

DOEpatents

Neet, Thomas E.; Spieker, David A.

1985-03-19

A rigid, polyurethane foam comprises about 2-10 weight percent, based on the total foam weight, of a carbon black which is CONDUCTEX CC-40-220 or CONDUCTEX SC, whereby the rigid polyurethane foam is electrically conductive and has essentially the same mechanical properties as the same foam without carbon black added.

13. Electrically conductive rigid polyurethane foam

DOEpatents

Neet, T.E.; Spieker, D.A.

1983-12-08

A rigid, moldable polyurethane foam comprises about 2 to 10 weight percent, based on the total foam weight, of a carbon black which is CONDUCTEX CC-40-220 or CONDUCTEX SC, whereby the rigid polyurethane foam is electrically conductive and has essentially the same mechanical properties as the same foam without carbon black added.

14. Origin of rigidity in athermal materials

Sarkar, Sumantra

Solids are distinguished from fluids by their ability to resist shear. In traditional solids, the resistance to shear is associated with the emergence of broken translational symmetry as exhibited by a non-uniform density pattern, which results from either minimizing the energy cost or maximizing the entropy or both. In this thesis, we focus on a special class of materials where this paradigm is challenged. We argue that the observation of rigidity in dry granular materials, a representative system, is a collective process controlled solely by few constraints, e.g., the boundary stresses, the constraint of force and torque balance, and the positivity of contact forces. We have shown that these constraints lead to a broken translational symmetry in a dual space of heights (loop forces) which leads to the observed rigidity (jamming) in such a system. We investigate the structure and behavior of the dual space through a geometrical construction as the system evolves towards the rigidity transition, commonly known as jamming. In that context, we explore the role of friction in jamming and establish the equivalence of real space and stress space description. We conclude that the role of real space geometry is negligible, and a stress only description is sufficient to understand the phenomenology of jamming. In the second half of the thesis, we develop a phenomenological model of the shear induced rigidity in athermal materials. Recent studies of athermal systems such as dry grains and dense, non-Brownian suspensions have shown that shear can lead to solidification through the process of shear jamming in grains and discontinuous shear thickening in suspensions. The similarities observed between these two distinct phenomena suggest that the physical processes leading to shear-induced rigidity in athermal materials are universal. We present a non-equilibrium statistical mechanics model, which exhibits the phenomenology of these shear-driven transitions: shear jamming and

15. Energy Strategic Planning & Sufficiency Project

SciTech Connect

Retziaff, Greg

2005-03-30

This report provides information regarding options available, their advantages and disadvantages, and the costs for pursuing activities to advance Smith River Rancheria toward an energy program that reduces their energy costs, allows greater self-sufficiency and stimulates economic development and employment opportunities within and around the reservation. The primary subjects addressed in this report are as follows: (1) Baseline Assessment of Current Energy Costs--An evaluation of the historical energy costs for Smith River was conducted to identify the costs for each component of their energy supply to better assess changes that can be considered for energy cost reductions. (2) Research Viable Energy Options--This includes a general description of many power generation technologies and identification of their relative costs, advantages and disadvantages. Through this research the generation technology options that are most suited for this application were identified. (3) Project Development Considerations--The basic steps and associated challenges of developing a generation project utilizing the selected technologies are identified and discussed. This included items like selling to third parties, wheeling, electrical interconnections, fuel supply, permitting, standby power, and transmission studies. (4) Energy Conservation--The myriad of federal, state and utility programs offered for low-income weatherization and utility bill payment assistance are identified, their qualification requirements discussed, and the subsequent benefits outlined. (5) Establishing an Energy Organization--The report includes a high level discussion of formation of a utility to serve the Tribal membership. The value or advantages of such action is discussed along with some of the challenges. (6) Training--Training opportunities available to the Tribal membership are identified.

16. Rigidity generation by nonthermal fluctuations

Sheshka, R.; Recho, P.; Truskinovsky, L.

2016-05-01

Active stabilization in systems with zero or negative stiffness is an essential element of a wide variety of biological processes. We study a prototypical example of this phenomenon and show how active rigidity, interpreted as a formation of a pseudowell in the effective energy landscape, can be generated in an overdamped stochastic system. We link the transition from negative to positive rigidity with time correlations in the additive noise, and we show that subtle differences in the out-of-equilibrium driving may compromise the emergence of a pseudowell.

17. Rigidity-tuning conductive elastomer

Shan, Wanliang; Diller, Stuart; Tutcuoglu, Abbas; Majidi, Carmel

2015-06-01

We introduce a conductive propylene-based elastomer (cPBE) that rapidly and reversibly changes its mechanical rigidity when powered with electrical current. The elastomer is rigid in its natural state, with an elastic (Young’s) modulus of 175.5 MPa, and softens when electrically activated. By embedding the cPBE in an electrically insulating sheet of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), we create a cPBE-PDMS composite that can reversibly change its tensile modulus between 37 and 1.5 MPa. The rigidity change takes ˜6 s and is initiated when a 100 V voltage drop is applied across the two ends of the cPBE film. This magnitude of change in elastic rigidity is similar to that observed in natural skeletal muscle and catch connective tissue. We characterize the tunable load-bearing capability of the cPBE-PDMS composite with a motorized tensile test and deadweight experiment. Lastly, we demonstrate the ability to control the routing of internal forces by embedding several cPBE-PDMS ‘active tendons’ into a soft robotic pneumatic bending actuator. Selectively activating the artificial tendons controls the neutral axis and direction of bending during inflation.

18. Comparative analysis of rigidity across protein families.

PubMed

Wells, S A; Jimenez-Roldan, J E; Römer, R A

2009-01-01

We present a comparative study in which 'pebble game' rigidity analysis is applied to multiple protein crystal structures, for each of six different protein families. We find that the main-chain rigidity of a protein structure at a given hydrogen bond energy cutoff is quite sensitive to small structural variations, and conclude that the hydrogen bond constraints in rigidity analysis should be chosen so as to form and test specific hypotheses about the rigidity of a particular protein. Our comparative approach highlights two different characteristic patterns ('sudden' or 'gradual') for protein rigidity loss as constraints are removed, in line with recent results on the rigidity transitions of glassy networks. PMID:19773604

19. Signature of Thermal Rigidity Percolation

2013-12-01

To explore the role that temperature and percolation of rigidity play in determining the macroscopic properties, we propose a model that adds translational degrees of freedom to the spins of the well known Ising hamiltonian. In particular, the Ising model illustrate the longstanding idea that the growth of correlations on approach to a critical point could be describable in terms of the percolation of some sort of "physical cluster". For certain parameters of this model we observe two well defined peaks of CV, that suggest the existence of two kinds of "physical percolation", namely connectivity and rigidity percolation. Thermal fluctuations give rise to two different kinds of elementary excitations, i.e. droplets and configuron, as suggested by Angell in the framework of a bond lattice model approach. The later is reflected in the fluctuations of redundant constraints that gives stability to the structure and correlate with the order parameter.

20. Associative memory through rigid origami

Murugan, Arvind; Brenner, Michael

2015-03-01

Mechanisms such as Miura Ori have proven useful in diverse contexts since they have only one degree of freedom that is easily controlled. We combine the theory of rigid origami and associative memory in frustrated neural networks to create structures that can learn'' multiple generic folding mechanisms and yet can be robustly controlled. We show that such rigid origami structures can recall'' a specific learned mechanism when induced by a physical impulse that only need resemble the desired mechanism (i.e. robust recall through association). Such associative memory in matter, seen before in self-assembly, arises due to a balance between local promiscuity (i.e., many local degrees of freedom) and global frustration which minimizes interference between different learned behaviors. Origami with associative memory can lead to a new class of deployable structures and kinetic architectures with multiple context-dependent behaviors.

1. Evaluating Whole Chemical Mixtures and Sufficient Similarity

EPA Science Inventory

This powerpoint presentation supports apresentation describing dose-response assessment for complex chemical mixtures including deriving reference doses for mixtures evaluating sufficient similarity among chemical mixtures.

2. Some existence and sufficient conditions of optimality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Assefi, T.

1976-01-01

The role of the existence and sufficiency conditions in the field of optimal control was briefly described. The existence theorems are discussed for general nonlinear systems. However, the sufficiency conditions pertain to "nearly" linear systems with integral convex costs. Moreover, a brief discussion of linear systems with multiple-cost functions is presented.

3. Portable device for quantifying parkinsonian wrist rigidity.

PubMed

Caligiuri, M P

1994-01-01

The need for objectivity in the assessment of parkinsonism prompted the development of a portable transducer capable of quantifying muscular rigidity. This paper describes the development and use of a device for measuring wrist rigidity and reports the preliminary findings from 25 normal healthy controls and 29 patients, many of whom were undergoing antiparkinsonian treatment to alleviate rigidity or antipsychotic treatment, which produced parkinsonian rigidity. An objective rigidity score, representing the degree to which motor activity increases muscular stiffness in the wrist, correlates highly with clinical ratings of parkinsonian rigidity and demonstrates 89% specificity and 82% sensitivity. Unlike previous techniques for quantifying rigidity, this transducer offers greater portability and apparent face validity. PMID:7908119

4. Rigid separator lead acid batteries

SciTech Connect

Cannone, A.G.; Salkind, A.J.; Stempin, J.L.; Wexell, D.R.

1996-11-01

Lead acid cells assembled with extruded separators displayed relatively uniform capacity and voltage parameters through 100{sup +} cycles of charge/discharge. This contrasts to failure of control cells with glass mat separators after 60 cycles. The mullite/alumina separators with 50, 60, and 70% porosity separators appear suitable for both flooded and sealed lead acid cell applications. The advantages of the rigid ceramic separators over fiber mat materials are in the uniformity of capacity and voltage, the ease of cell assembly, and the probability that firm stacking pressure on the active material will yield greater cycle life, especially at elevated temperatures.

5. Ureteroscopes: flexible, rigid, and semirigid.

PubMed

Basillote, Jay B; Lee, David I; Eichel, Louis; Clayman, Ralph V

2004-02-01

Since its introduction, the ureteroscope has undergone significant improvements. Using the currently available rigid, semirigid, and flexible ureteroscopes and working instruments, urologists can diagnose and treat lesions throughout the upper urinary tract. Over the past 25 years, the ureteroscope in combination with shock wave lithotripsy has transformed the diagnosis and treatment of more than 90% of upper urinary tract pathology from an open to an endourologic procedure. With endoscope manufacturers continually incorporating new technology into their ureteroscopes, future models will undoubtedly provide better optics, increased durability, and improved capabilities, resulting in greater success when urologists perform endoscopic forays into the upper urinary tract. PMID:15040398

6. Rigid zeolite containing polyurethane foams

DOEpatents

Frost, Charles B.

1985-01-01

A closed cell rigid polyurethane foam has been prepared which contains up to about 60% by weight of molecular sieves capable of sorbing molecules with effective critical diameters of up to about 10 .ANG.. The molecular sieve component of the foam can be preloaded with catalysts or with reactive compounds that can be released upon activation of the foam to control and complete crosslinking after the foam is formed. The foam can also be loaded with water or other flame-retarding agents, after completion. Up to about 50% of the weight of the isocyanate component of the foam can be replaced by polyimide resin precursors for incorporation into the final polymeric network.

7. Rigid zeolite containing polyurethane foams

DOEpatents

Frost, C.B.

1984-05-18

A closed cell rigid polyurethane foam has been prepared which contains up to about 60% by weight of molecular sieves capable of sorbing molecules with effective critical diameters of up to about 10 A. The molecular sieve component of the foam can be preloaded with catalysts or with reactive compounds that can be released upon activation of the foam to control and complete crosslinking after the foam is formed. The foam can also be loaded with water or other flame-retarding agents, after completion. Up to about 50% of the weight of the isocyanate component of the foam can be replaced by polyimide resin precursors for incorporation into the final polymeric network.

8. Lubrication of rigid ellipsida solids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamrock, B. J.; Dowson, D.

1982-01-01

The influence of geometry on the isothermal hydrodynamic film separating two rigid solids was investigated. The minimum film thickness is derived for fully flooded conjunctions by using the Reynolds boundary conditions. It was found that the minimum film thickness had the same speed, viscosity, and load dependence as Kapitza' classical solution. However, the incorporation of Reynolds boundary conditions resulted in an additional geometry effect. Solutions using the parabolic film approximation are compared by using the exact expression for the film in the analysis. Contour plots are known that indicate in detail the pressure developed between the solids.

9. Enhanced rigid-bond restraints

SciTech Connect

Thorn, Andrea; Dittrich, Birger; Sheldrick, George M.

2012-07-01

An extension is proposed to the rigid-bond description of atomic thermal motion in crystals. The rigid-bond model [Hirshfeld (1976 ▶). Acta Cryst. A32, 239–244] states that the mean-square displacements of two atoms are equal in the direction of the bond joining them. This criterion is widely used for verification (as intended by Hirshfeld) and also as a restraint in structure refinement as suggested by Rollett [Crystallographic Computing (1970 ▶), edited by F. R. Ahmed et al., pp. 167–181. Copenhagen: Munksgaard]. By reformulating this condition, so that the relative motion of the two atoms is required to be perpendicular to the bond, the number of restraints that can be applied per anisotropic atom is increased from about one to about three. Application of this condition to 1,3-distances in addition to the 1,2-distances means that on average just over six restraints can be applied to the six anisotropic displacement parameters of each atom. This concept is tested against very high resolution data of a small peptide and employed as a restraint for protein refinement at more modest resolution (e.g. 1.7 Å)

10. Graph rigidity and localization of multi-robot formations.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan

2004-05-01

This paper provides theoretical foundation for the problem of localization in multi-robot formations. Sufficient and necessary conditions for completely localizing a formation of mobile robots/vehicles in SE(2) based on distributed sensor networks and graph rigidity are proposed. A method for estimating the quality of localizations via a linearized weighted least-squares algorithm is presented, which considers incomplete and noisy sensory information. The approach in this paper had been implemented in a multi-robot system of five car-like robots equipped with omni-directional cameras and IEEE 802.11b wireless network. PMID:15083542

11. Rigidity and flexibility of biological networks.

PubMed

Gáspár, Merse E; Csermely, Peter

2012-11-01

The network approach became a widely used tool to understand the behaviour of complex systems in the last decade. We start from a short description of structural rigidity theory. A detailed account on the combinatorial rigidity analysis of protein structures, as well as local flexibility measures of proteins and their applications in explaining allostery and thermostability is given. We also briefly discuss the network aspects of cytoskeletal tensegrity. Finally, we show the importance of the balance between functional flexibility and rigidity in protein-protein interaction, metabolic, gene regulatory and neuronal networks. Our summary raises the possibility that the concepts of flexibility and rigidity can be generalized to all networks. PMID:23165349

12. Mooring and ground handling rigid airships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, H., Jr.

1975-01-01

The problems of mooring and ground handling rigid airships are discussed. A brief history of Mooring and Ground Handling Rigid Airships from July 2, 1900 through September 1, 1939 is included. Also a brief history of ground handling developments with large U. S. Navy nonrigid airships between September 1, 1939 and August 31, 1962 is included wherein developed equipment and techniques appear applicable to future large rigid airships. Finally recommendations are made pertaining to equipment and procedures which appear desirable and feasible for future rigid airship programs.

13. Rigidity and retention of ceramic root canal posts.

PubMed

Purton, D G; Love, R M; Chandler, N P

2000-01-01

Ceramic root-canal posts offer potential advantages over other types with respect to aesthetics and biocompatibility. Any post must be sufficiently rigid and retentive to withstand functional forces. Ceraposts (1.2 mm coronal diameter, ceramic, tapering, smooth posts) and Paraposts (1.25 mm, stainless-steel, parallel, serrated posts) were tested for rigidity by means of a three-point bending test. To test retention in roots, ceramic posts were cemented using one of three protocols: (1) glass-ionomer cement, (2) silane coupling agent and resin cement, or (3) sandblasted post surface, silane coupling agent, and resin cement. Stainless-steel posts were cemented with resin. The tensile force required to dislodge the posts, following four weeks of storage in water, was recorded. Data were compared using Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U analysis. Ceraposts were significantly more rigid than Paraposts (p < 0.001). Paraposts cemented with resin were significantly more strongly retained than Ceraposts following any cementation protocol (p < 0.001). Retention of the ceramic posts was significantly greater with a silane coupling agent and resin cement than with glass-ionomer cement (p < 0.001). Sandblasting the ceramic posts produced variable results and needs further investigation before it could be recommended. PMID:11203820

14. Semiparametric tests for sufficient cause interaction

PubMed Central

Vansteelandt, Stijn; VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Robins, James M.

2014-01-01

A sufficient cause interaction between two exposures signals the presence of individuals for whom the outcome would occur only under certain values of the two exposures. When the outcome is dichotomous and all exposures are categorical, then under certain no confounding assumptions, empirical conditions for sufficient cause interactions can be constructed based on the sign of linear contrasts of conditional outcome probabilities between differently exposed subgroups, given confounders. It is argued that logistic regression models are unsatisfactory for evaluating such contrasts, and that Bernoulli regression models with linear link are prone to misspecification. We therefore develop semiparametric tests for sufficient cause interactions under models which postulate probability contrasts in terms of a finite-dimensional parameter, but which are otherwise unspecified. Estimation is often not feasible in these models because it would require nonparametric estimation of auxiliary conditional expectations given high-dimensional variables. We therefore develop ‘multiply robust tests’ under a union model that assumes at least one of several working submodels holds. In the special case of a randomized experiment or a family-based genetic study in which the joint exposure distribution is known by design or Mendelian inheritance, the procedure leads to asymptotically distribution-free tests of the null hypothesis of no sufficient cause interaction. PMID:25558182

15. Sufficiency, Intimacy and the Good Life.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Donald L.

Our capacity to provide food and shelter is freeing us from the constant burden of keeping the wolf away from the door. We are increasingly able to give our attention to other values. This type of sufficiency provides time and circumstances for developing intimate relationships. Intimate relationships are characterized by revelation of one's…

16. The Rigid Orthogonal Procrustes Rotation Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ten Berge, Jos M. F.

2006-01-01

The problem of rotating a matrix orthogonally to a best least squares fit with another matrix of the same order has a closed-form solution based on a singular value decomposition. The optimal rotation matrix is not necessarily rigid, but may also involve a reflection. In some applications, only rigid rotations are permitted. Gower (1976) has…

17. 21 CFR 868.5540 - Rigid laryngoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Rigid laryngoscope. 868.5540 Section 868.5540 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 868.5540 Rigid laryngoscope. (a) Identification....

18. 21 CFR 868.5540 - Rigid laryngoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Rigid laryngoscope. 868.5540 Section 868.5540 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 868.5540 Rigid laryngoscope. (a) Identification....

19. 21 CFR 868.5540 - Rigid laryngoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Rigid laryngoscope. 868.5540 Section 868.5540 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 868.5540 Rigid laryngoscope. (a) Identification....

20. 21 CFR 868.5540 - Rigid laryngoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Rigid laryngoscope. 868.5540 Section 868.5540 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 868.5540 Rigid laryngoscope. (a) Identification....

1. 21 CFR 868.5540 - Rigid laryngoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Rigid laryngoscope. 868.5540 Section 868.5540 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 868.5540 Rigid laryngoscope. (a) Identification....

2. Rigid fibrous ceramics for entry systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banas, Ronald P.

1993-01-01

The topics addressed are: (1) high payoff areas with reusable surface insulation; (2) technology opportunities/gap; (3) coatings for rigid fibrous ceramics; (4) challenges for reusable rigid fibrous ceramics - Lunar/Mars aerobraking heatshield; (5) comparison of LI-900 and HTP properties; and (6) comparison of microstructures.

3. Unbiased rigid registration using transfer functions

Hahn, Dieter A.; Hornegger, Joachim; Bautz, Werner; Kuwert, Torsten; Roemer, Wolfgang

2005-04-01

The evaluation of tumor growth as regression under therapy is an important clinical issue. Rigid registration of sequentially acquired 3D-images has proven its value for this purpose. Existing approaches to rigid image registration use the whole volume for the estimation of the rigid transform. Non-rigid soft tissue deformation, however, will imply a bias to the registration result, because local deformations cannot be modeled by rigid transforms. Anatomical substructures, like bones or teeth, are not affected by these deformations, but follow a rigid transform. This important observation is incorporated in the proposed registration algorithm. The selection of anatomical substructure is done by manual interaction of medical experts adjusting the transfer function of the volume rendering software. The parameters of the transfer function are used to identify the voxels that are considered for registration. A rigid transform is estimated by a quaternion gradient descent algorithm based on the intensity values of the specified tissue classes. Commonly used voxel intensity measures are adjusted to the modified registration algorithm. The contribution describes the mathematical framework of the proposed registration method and its implementation in a commercial software package. The experimental evaluation includes the discussion of different similarity measures, the comparison of the proposed method to established rigid registration techniques and the evaluation of the efficiency of the new method. We conclude with the discussion of potential medical applications of the proposed registration algorithm.

4. Aggregation dynamics of rigid polyelectrolytes

Tom, Anvy Moly; Rajesh, R.; Vemparala, Satyavani

2016-01-01

Similarly charged polyelectrolytes are known to attract each other and aggregate into bundles when the charge density of the polymers exceeds a critical value that depends on the valency of the counterions. The dynamics of aggregation of such rigid polyelectrolytes are studied using large scale molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the morphology of the aggregates depends on the value of the charge density of the polymers. For values close to the critical value, the shape of the aggregates is cylindrical with height equal to the length of a single polyelectrolyte chain. However, for larger values of charge, the linear extent of the aggregates increases as more and more polymers aggregate. In both the cases, we show that the number of aggregates decrease with time as power laws with exponents that are not numerically distinguishable from each other and are independent of charge density of the polymers, valency of the counterions, density, and length of the polyelectrolyte chain. We model the aggregation dynamics using the Smoluchowski coagulation equation with kernels determined from the molecular dynamics simulations and justify the numerically obtained value of the exponent. Our results suggest that once counterions condense, effective interactions between polyelectrolyte chains short-ranged and the aggregation of polyelectrolytes are diffusion-limited.

5. Sufficient separability criteria and linear maps

Lewenstein, Maciej; Augusiak, Remigiusz; Chruściński, Dariusz; Rana, Swapan; Samsonowicz, Jan

2016-04-01

We study families of positive and completely positive maps acting on a bipartite system CM⊗CN (with M ≤N ). The maps have a property that, when applied to any state (of a given entanglement class), result in a separable state or, more generally, a state of another certain entanglement class (e.g., Schmidt number ≤k ). This allows us to derive useful families of sufficient separability criteria. Explicit examples of such criteria have been constructed for arbitrary M ,N , with a special emphasis on M =2 . Our results can be viewed as generalizations of the known facts that in the sufficiently close vicinity of the completely depolarized state (the normalized identity matrix), all states are separable (belong to "weakly" entangled classes). Alternatively, some of our results can be viewed as an entanglement classification for a certain family of states, corresponding to mixtures of the completely polarized state with pure states, partial transposes, and/or local transformations thereof.

6. Length-dependence of flexural rigidity as a result of anisotropic elastic properties of microtubules

SciTech Connect

Li, C.; Ru, C.Q. . E-mail: c.ru@ualberta.ca; Mioduchowski, A.

2006-10-27

Unexplained length-dependence of flexural rigidity and Young's modulus of microtubules is studied using an orthotropic elastic shell model. It is showed that vibration frequencies and buckling load predicted by the accurate orthotropic shell model are much lower than that given by the approximate isotropic beam model for shorter microtubules, although the two models give almost identical results for sufficiently long microtubules. It is this inaccuracy of the isotropic beam model used by all previous researchers that leads to reported lower flexural rigidity and Young's modulus for shorter microtubules. In particular, much lower shear modulus and circumferential Young's modulus, which only weaken flexural rigidity of shorter microtubules, are responsible for the observed length-dependence of the flexural rigidity. These results confirm that longitudinal Young's modulus of microtubules is length-independent, and the observed length-dependence of the flexural rigidity and Young's modulus is a result of strongly anisotropic elastic properties of microtubules which have a length-dependent weakening effect on flexural rigidity of shorter microtubules.

7. Physical pendulum—a simple experiment can give comprehensive information about a rigid body

2014-03-01

A simple experiment with a physical pendulum examining some aspects of rigid body motion is presented in this paper. The experiment consists of measuring the period of oscillation of a rod with non-homogeneous mass distribution used as a physical pendulum, dependent upon the position of the pivot axis. The obtained dependence provides sufficient information to calculate the position of the centre of mass, moment of inertia of the rigid body and local gravitational acceleration. This experiment is intended for secondary school and undergraduate students.

8. Network Rigidity Calculations of Cold Denaturation

Wood, Gregory; Jacobs, Donald

2004-03-01

Network rigidity is used to model polypeptide chains in solution that undergo a helix to coil transition. Cooperative interactions from hydrogen bonding and hydration are modeled using topological constraints. This novel methodology is used to properly account for the energetic and non-additive entropic contributions to the free energy. The network rigidity model parameters are compared to Lifson-Roig model parameters. Nucleation and propagation parameters are eliminated. Instead, nucleation is a consequence of network rigidity, which is modeled explicitly. An advantage of network rigidity is that parameters are transferable to proteins, unlike the nucleation and propagation parameters of previous helix-coil theories. Results of a transfer matrix method are presented, showing the thermodynamic conditions where a polypeptide chain in an alpha-helix state is subject to hot and cold denaturing. Calculated helix content is found to be in excellent agreement with experimental measurements on two different polypeptides of different length and solvent concentrations.

9. Policy Capacity Is Necessary but Not Sufficient

PubMed Central

Gen, Sheldon; Wright, Amy Conley

2015-01-01

Policy capacity focuses on the managerial and organizational abilities to inform policy decisions with sound research and analysis, and facilitate policy implementation with operational efficiency. It stems from a view of the policy process that is rational and positivistic, in which optimal policy choices can be identified, selected, and implemented with objectivity. By itself, however, policy capacity neglects the political aspects of policy-making that can dominate the process, even in health policies. These technical capabilities are certainly needed to advance reforms in health policies, but they are not sufficient. Instead, they must be complemented with public engagement and policy advocacy to ensure support from the public that policies are meant to serve. PMID:26673469

10. Metrology of Non-Rigid Objects

SciTech Connect

Blaedel, K L; Smith, D W; Claudet, A A; Kasper, E P; Patterson, S R

2002-01-01

Dimensional characterization of non-rigid parts presents many challenges. For example, when a non-rigid part is mounted in an inspection apparatus the effects of fixturing constraints cause significant deformation of the part. If the part is not used in normal service with the same load conditions as during inspection, the dimensional characteristics in service will deviate from the reported values during inspection. Further, the solution of designing specialized fixturing to duplicate ''as-installed'' conditions does not fully resolve the problem because each inspection requires its own methodology. The goal of this project is to formulate the research problem and propose a method of assessing the dimensional characteristics of non-rigid parts. The measured dimension of a rigid component is traceable at some level of confidence to a single source (NIST in the USA). Hence the measurement of one component of an assembly can be related to the measurement of another component of that assembly. There is no generalized analog to this pedigreed process for dimensionally characterizing non-rigid bodies. For example, a measurement made on a sheet-metal automobile fender is heavily influenced by how it is held during the measurement making it difficult to determine how well that fender will assemble to the rest of the (non-rigid) car body. This problem is often overcome for specific manufacturing problems by constructing rigid fixtures that over-constrain the non-rigid parts to be assembled and then performing the dimensional measurement of the contour of each component to check whether each meets specification. Note that such inspection measurements will yield only an approximation to the assembled shape, which is a function of both the geometry and the compliance of the component parts of the assembly. As a result, non-rigid components are more difficult to specify and inspect and therefore are more difficult to purchase from outside vendors compared to rigid components

11. Metrology of Non-Rigid Objects

SciTech Connect

Blaedel, K; Swift, D; Claudet, A; Kasper, E; Patterson, S

2002-01-01

Dimensional characterization of non-rigid parts presents many challenges. For example, when a non-rigid part is mounted in an inspection apparatus the effects of fixturing constraints are significant. If the part is not used in normal service with the same load conditions as during inspection, the dimensional characteristics will deviate from reported values. Further, the solution of designing specialized fixturing to duplicate ''as-installed'' conditions does not fully resolve the problem because each inspection requires its own methodology. The goal of this project is to formulate the research problem and propose a method of assessing the dimensional characteristics of non-rigid parts. The measured dimension of a rigid component is traceable at some level of confidence to a single source (NIST in the USA). Hence the measurement of one component of an assembly can be related to the measurement of another component of that assembly. There is no generalized analog to this pedigreed process for dimensionally characterizing non-rigid bodies. For example, a measurement made on a sheet-metal automobile fender is heavily influenced by how it is held during the measurement making it difficult to determine how well that fender will assemble to the rest of the (non-rigid) car body. This problem is often overcome for specific manufacturing problems by constructing rigid fixtures that over-constrain the non-rigid parts to be assembled and then performing the dimensional measurement of the contour of each component to check whether each meets specification. Note that such inspection measurements will yield only an approximation to the assembled shape, which is a function of both the geometry and the compliance of the component parts of the assembly. As a result, non-rigid components are more difficult to specify and inspect and therefore are more difficult to purchase from outside vendors compared to rigid components. The problems are compounded as the requirements come to

12. Patient comfort during flexible and rigid cystourethroscopy

PubMed Central

Zdrojowy, Romuald; Wojciechowska, Joanna; Kościelska, Katarzyna; Dembowski, Janusz; Matuszewski, Michał; Tupikowski, Krzysztof; Małkiewicz, Bartosz; Kołodziej, Anna

2016-01-01

Introduction Cystourethroscopy (CS) is an endoscopic method used to visualize the urethra and the bladder. Aim In this study, we prospectively evaluated pain in men undergoing cyclic cystoscopic assessment with rigid and flexible instruments after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURB). Material and methods One hundred and twenty male patients who were under surveillance after a TURB procedure due to urothelial cell carcinoma and who had undergone at least one rigid cystourethroscopy in the past were enrolled in the trial. Patients were prospectively randomized to age-matched groups for flexible (group F) or rigid (group R) CS. Patient's comfort was evaluated on an 11-grade scale, ranging from 0 (free from pain) to 10 points (unbearable pain). Results The patients described the pain during the previous rigid CS as ranging from 4 to 10 (mean: 6.8) in group F and from 0 to 10 (mean: 5.8) in group R. Group R patients described the pain during the current rigid CS as ranging from 0 to 10 (mean: 5.7). No mean change in the grade was observed between the two pain descriptions (no change 11 patients, weaker pain 25 patients, stronger pain 24 patients, gamma 0.51, p < 0.0001). Group F described the pain as 1 to 5 (mean: 2.1). In the case of flexible CS the pain experience was greatly lowered compared to the previous rigid CS. All flexible CS patients reported lowered pain (by 1 to 9 grades). Patients’ age did not influence the comfort of the flexible CS or the change in pain level. Conclusions Flexible CS is better tolerated than rigid cystoscopy by male patients regardless of patients’ age. PMID:27458489

13. Rigidity Dependence of Cosmic Ray Modulation

Agarwal Mishra, Rekha; Mishra, Rajesh Kumar

2012-07-01

The various observed harmonics of the cosmic ray variation may be understood on a unified basis if the free space cosmic ray anisotropy is non-sinusoidal in form. The major objective of this paper is to study the first three harmonics of cosmic ray intensity on geo-magnetically quiet days over the period 1965-1990 for Deep River, Goose Bay and Tokyo neutron monitoring stations. The amplitude of first harmonic remains high for Deep River having low cutoff rigidity as compared to Tokyo neutron monitor having high cutoff rigidity on quiet days. The diurnal amplitude significantly decreases in 1987 at Deep River and in 1986 at Tokyo during solar activity minimum years. The diurnal time of maximum significantly shifts to an earlier time as compared to the corotational direction at both the stations having different cutoff rigidities. The time of maximum for first harmonic significantly shifts towards later hours and for second harmonic it shifts towards earlier hours at low cutoff rigidity station i.e. Deep River as compared to the high cut off rigidity station i.e. Tokyo on quiet days. The amplitude of second/third harmonics shows a good positive correlation with solar wind velocity, while the others (i.e. amplitude and phase) have no significant correlation on quiet days. The solar wind velocity significantly remains in the range 350 to 425 km/s i.e. being nearly average on quiet days. The amplitude and direction of the anisotropy on quiet days are weakly dependent on high-speed solar wind streams for these neutron monitoring stations of low and high cutoff rigidity threshold. Keywords: cosmic ray, cut off rigidity, quiet days, harmonics.

14. Nonmagnetic rigid and flexible outer sheath with pneumatic interlocking mechanism for minimally invasive surgical approach.

PubMed

Yamashita, Hiromasa; Zuo, Siyang; Masamune, Ken; Liao, Hongen; Dohi, Takeyoshi

2009-01-01

We developed a nonmagnetic rigid and flexible outer sheath with pneumatic interlocking mechanism using flexible toothed links and a wire-driven bending distal end. The outer sheath can be switched between rigid and flexible modes easily depending on surgical scenes, and the angle of its distal end can be controlled by three nylon wires. All components of flexible parts are made of MRI-compatible nonmagnetic plastics. We manufactured the device with 300-mm long, 16-mm outer diameter, 7-mm inner diameter and 90-mm bending distal end. Holding power of the device in rigid mode was maximum 3.6 N, which was sufficient for surgical tasks in body cavity. In vivo experiment using a swine, our device performed smooth insertion of a flexible endoscope and a biopsy forceps into reverse side of the liver, intestines and spleen with a curved path. In conclusion, our device shows availability of secure approach of surgical instruments into deep cavity. PMID:20426015

15. Neurodegenerative Diseases: Neurotoxins as Sufficient Etiologic Agents?

PubMed Central

Shaw, Christopher A.; Höglinger, Günter U.

2008-01-01

A dominant paradigm in neurological disease research is that the primary etiological factors for diseases such as Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are genetic. Opposed to this perspective are the clear observations from epidemiology that purely genetic casual factors account for a relatively small fraction of all cases. Many who support a genetic etiology for neurological disease take the view that while the percentages may be relatively small, these numbers will rise in the future with the inevitable discoveries of additional genetic mutations. The follow up argument is that even if the last is not true, the events triggered by the aberrant genes identified so far will be shown to impact the same neuronal cell death pathways as those activated by environmental factors that trigger most sporadic disease cases. In this article we present a countervailing view that environmental neurotoxins may be the sole sufficient factor in at least three neurological disease clusters. For each, neurotoxins have been isolated and characterized that, at least in animal models, faithfully reproduce each disorder without the need for genetic co-factors. Based on these data, we will propose a set of principles that would enable any potential toxin to be evaluated as an etiological factor in a given neurodegenerative disease. Finally, we will attempt to put environmental toxins into the context of possible genetically-determined susceptibility. PMID:17985252

16. Sufficient dimension reduction with additional information.

PubMed

Hung, Hung; Liu, Chih-Yen; Horng-Shing Lu, Henry

2016-07-01

Sufficient dimension reduction is widely applied to help model building between the response [Formula: see text] and covariate [Formula: see text] In some situations, we also collect additional covariate [Formula: see text] that has better performance in predicting [Formula: see text], but has a higher obtaining cost, than [Formula: see text] While constructing a predictive model for [Formula: see text] based on [Formula: see text] is straightforward, this strategy is not applicable since [Formula: see text] is not available for future observations in which the constructed model is to be applied. As a result, the aim of the study is to build a predictive model for [Formula: see text] based on [Formula: see text] only, where the available data is [Formula: see text] A naive method is to conduct analysis using [Formula: see text] directly, but ignoring [Formula: see text] can cause the problem of inefficiency. On the other hand, it is not trivial to utilize the information of [Formula: see text] to infer [Formula: see text], either. In this article, we propose a two-stage dimension reduction method for [Formula: see text] that is able to utilize the information of [Formula: see text] In the breast cancer data, the risk score constructed from the two-stage method can well separate patients with different survival experiences. In the Pima data, the two-stage method requires fewer components to infer the diabetes status, while achieving higher classification accuracy than the conventional method. PMID:26704765

17. Organically Modified Nanoclay-Reinforced Rigid Polyurethane Films

Park, Yong Tae; Qian, Yuqiang; Lindsay, Chris; Stein, Andreas; Macosko, Christopher

2012-02-01

The nanodispersion of vermiculite in polyurethanes was investigated to produce organoclay-reinforced rigid gas barrier films. Reducing gas transport can improve the insulation performance of closed cell polyurethane foam. In a previous study, the dispersion of vermiculite in polyurethanes without organic modification was not sufficient due to the non-uniform dispersion morphology. When vermiculite was modified by cation exchange with long-chain quaternary ammonium cations, the dispersion in methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) was significantly improved. Dispersion was improved by combining high intensity dispersive mixing with efficient distributive mixing. Polymerization conditions were also optimized in order to provide a high state of nanodispersion in the polyurethane nanocomposite. The dispersions were characterized using rheological, microscopic and scattering/diffraction techniques. The final nanocomposites showed enhancement of mechanical properties and reduction in permeability to carbon dioxide at low clay concentration (around 2 wt percent).

18. Flexible implementation of rigid solar cell technologies.

SciTech Connect

Hollowell, Andrew E.

2010-08-01

As a source of clean, remote energy, photovoltaic (PV) systems are an important area of research. The majority of solar cells are rigid materials with negligible flexibility. Flexible PV systems possess many advantages, such as being transportable and incorporable on diverse structures. Amorphous silicon and organic PV systems are flexible; however, they lack the efficiency and lifetime of rigid cells. There is also a need for PV systems that are light weight, especially in space and flight applications. We propose a solution to this problem by arranging rigid cells onto a flexible substrate creating efficient, light weight, and flexible devices. To date, we have created a working prototype of our design using the 1.1cm x 1cm Emcore cells. We have achieved a better power to weight ratio than commercially available PowerFilm{reg_sign}, which uses thin film silicon yielding .034W/gram. We have also tested our concept with other types of cells and verified that our methods are able to be adapted to any rigid solar cell technology. This allows us to use the highest efficiency devices despite their physical characteristics. Depending on the cell size we use, we can rival the curvature of most available flexible PV devices. We have shown how the benefits of rigid solar cells can be integrated into flexible applications, allowing performance that surpasses alternative technologies.

19. Crystal structure prediction of rigid molecules.

PubMed

Elking, Dennis M; Fusti-Molnar, Laszlo; Nichols, Anthony

2016-08-01

A non-polarizable force field based on atomic multipoles fit to reproduce experimental crystal properties and ab initio gas-phase dimers is described. The Ewald method is used to calculate both long-range electrostatic and 1/r(6) dispersion energies of crystals. The dispersion energy of a crystal calculated by a cutoff method is shown to converge slowly to the exact Ewald result. A method for constraining space-group symmetry during unit-cell optimization is derived. Results for locally optimizing 4427 unit cells including volume, cell parameters, unit-cell r.m.s.d. and CPU timings are given for both flexible and rigid molecule optimization. An algorithm for randomly generating rigid molecule crystals is described. Using the correct experimentally determined space group, the average and maximum number of random crystals needed to find the correct experimental structure is given for 2440 rigid single component crystals. The force field energy rank of the correct experimental structure is presented for the same set of 2440 rigid single component crystals assuming the correct space group. A complete crystal prediction is performed for two rigid molecules by searching over the 32 most probable space groups. PMID:27484371

20. Generic Rigidity Percolation in Two Dimensions

Thorpe, M. F.; Jacobs, D. J.; Day, A. R.

1996-03-01

We study rigidity percolation for random central-force networks, using the Pebble Game(D. J. Jacobs and M. F. Thorpe, Phys. Rev. Letts. 75), 4051 (1995) algorithm on the bond and site diluted generic triangular lattice. Here, each site location is randomly displaced from the perfect lattice, removing any special symmetries. The total number of floppy modes are counted exactly, and exhibit a cusp singularity in the second derivative of the number of floppy modes, at the transition from a rigid to a floppy structure. The critical thresholds for bond and site dilution are found to be 0.6602 ± 0.0003 and 0.6976 ± 0.0003 respectively. We find that the generic rigidity percolation transition is second order, but in a different universality class than connectivity percolation, with the exponents; α = -0.48 ± 0.05 , β = 0.175 ± 0.02 and ν = 1.21 ± 0.06 . The fractal dimension of the spanning rigid clusters and the spanning stressed regions at the critical threshold are found to be df = 1.86 ± 0.02 and d_BB = 1.80 ± 0.03 respectively. Some elastic properties of the rigid backbone will be discussed.

1. Rigidity loss in disordered network materials

Ellenbroek, Wouter G.; Hagh, Varda F.; Kumar, Avishek; Thorpe, M. F.; van Hecke, Martin

Weakly jammed sphere packings show a very peculiar elasticity, with a ratio of compression modulus to shear modulus that diverges as the number of contacts approaches the minimum required for rigidity. Creating artificial isotropic network materials with this property is a challenge: so far, the least elaborate way to generate them is to actually simulate weakly compressed repulsive spheres. The next steps in designing such networks hinge upon a solid understanding of what properties of the sphere-packing derived network are essential for its elasticity. We elucidate the topological aspects of this question by comparing the rigidity transition in these networks to that in other random spring network models, including the common bond-diluted triangular net and a self-stress-free variant of that. We use the pebble game algorithm for identifying rigid clusters in mechanical networks to demonstrate that the marginally rigid state in sphere packings is perfectly isostatic everywhere, and the addition or removal of a single bond creates a globally stressed or globally floppy network, respectively. By contrast, the other classes of random network random networks show a more localized response to addition and removal of bonds, and, correspondingly, a more gradual rigidity transition.

2. Generic rigidity percolation in two dimensions

Jacobs, D. J.; Thorpe, M. F.

1996-04-01

We study rigidity percolation for random central-force networks on the bondand site-diluted generic triangular lattice. Here, each site location is randomly displaced from the perfect lattice, removing any special symmetries. Using the pebble game algorithm, the total number of floppy modes are counted exactly, and exhibit a cusp singularity in the second derivative at the transition from a rigid to a floppy structure. The critical thresholds for bond and site dilution are found to be 0.66020+/-0.0003 and 0.69755+/-0.0003, respectively. The network is decomposed into unique rigid clusters, and we apply the usual percolation scaling theory. From finite size scaling, we find that the generic rigidity percolation transition is second order, but in a different universality class from connectivity percolation, with the exponents α=-0.48+/-0.05, β=0.175+/-0.02, and ν=1.21+/-0.06. The fractal dimension of the spanning rigid clusters and the spanning stressed regions at the critical threshold are found to be df=1.86+/-0.02 and dBB=1.80+/-0.03, respectively.

3. 21 CFR 876.3630 - Penile rigidity implant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Penile rigidity implant. 876.3630 Section 876.3630...) MEDICAL DEVICES GASTROENTEROLOGY-UROLOGY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 876.3630 Penile rigidity implant. (a) Identification. A penile rigidity implant is a device that consists of a pair of semi-rigid rods implanted in...

4. 21 CFR 876.3630 - Penile rigidity implant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Penile rigidity implant. 876.3630 Section 876.3630...) MEDICAL DEVICES GASTROENTEROLOGY-UROLOGY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 876.3630 Penile rigidity implant. (a) Identification. A penile rigidity implant is a device that consists of a pair of semi-rigid rods implanted in...

5. 21 CFR 876.3630 - Penile rigidity implant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Penile rigidity implant. 876.3630 Section 876.3630...) MEDICAL DEVICES GASTROENTEROLOGY-UROLOGY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 876.3630 Penile rigidity implant. (a) Identification. A penile rigidity implant is a device that consists of a pair of semi-rigid rods implanted in...

6. 21 CFR 876.3630 - Penile rigidity implant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Penile rigidity implant. 876.3630 Section 876.3630...) MEDICAL DEVICES GASTROENTEROLOGY-UROLOGY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 876.3630 Penile rigidity implant. (a) Identification. A penile rigidity implant is a device that consists of a pair of semi-rigid rods implanted in...

7. 49 CFR 178.706 - Standards for rigid plastic IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. 178.706 Section... Performance-Oriented Standards § 178.706 Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. (a) The provisions in this section apply to rigid plastic IBCs intended to contain solids or liquids. Rigid plastic IBC types...

8. 49 CFR 178.706 - Standards for rigid plastic IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. 178.706 Section... Performance-Oriented Standards § 178.706 Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. (a) The provisions in this section apply to rigid plastic IBCs intended to contain solids or liquids. Rigid plastic IBC types...

9. 49 CFR 178.706 - Standards for rigid plastic IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. 178.706 Section... Performance-Oriented Standards § 178.706 Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. (a) The provisions in this section apply to rigid plastic IBCs intended to contain solids or liquids. Rigid plastic IBC types...

10. 49 CFR 178.706 - Standards for rigid plastic IBCs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. 178.706 Section... Performance-Oriented Standards § 178.706 Standards for rigid plastic IBCs. (a) The provisions in this section apply to rigid plastic IBCs intended to contain solids or liquids. Rigid plastic IBC types...

11. Energy Strategic Planning & Self-Sufficiency Project

SciTech Connect

Greg Retzlaff

2005-03-30

This report provides information regarding options available, their advantages and disadvantages, and the costs for pursuing activities to advance Smith River Rancheria toward an energy program that reduces their energy costs, allows greater self-sufficiency and stimulates economic development and employment opportunities within and around the reservation. The primary subjects addressed in this report are as follow: (1) Baseline Assessment of Current Energy Costs--An evaluation of the historical energy costs for Smith River was conducted to identify the costs for each component of their energy supply to better assess changes that can be considered for energy cost reductions. (2) Research Viable Energy Options--This includes a general description of many power generation technologies and identification of their relative costs, advantages and disadvantages. Through this research the generation technology options that are most suited for this application were identified. (3) Project Development Considerations--The basic steps and associated challenges of developing a generation project utilizing the selected technologies are identified and discussed. This included items like selling to third parties, wheeling, electrical interconnections, fuel supply, permitting, standby power, and transmission studies. (4) Energy Conservation--The myriad of federal, state and utility programs offered for low-income weatherization and utility bill payment assistance are identified, their qualification requirements discussed, and the subsequent benefits outlined. (5) Establishing an Energy Organization--The report includes a high level discussion of formation of a utility to serve the Tribal membership. The value or advantages of such action is discussed along with some of the challenges. (6) Training--Training opportunities available to the Tribal membership are identified.

12. Generic Rigidity for Circle Diffeomorphisms with Breaks

Kocić, Saša

2016-05-01

We prove that C^r -smooth (r > 2 ) circle diffeomorphisms with a break, i.e., circle diffeomorphisms with a single singular point where the derivative has a jump discontinuity, are generically, i.e., for almost all irrational rotation numbers, not C^1+ɛ -rigid, for any ɛ > 0 . This result complements our recent proof, joint with Khanin (Geom Funct Anal 24:2002-2028, 2014), that such maps are generically C^1 -rigid. It stands in remarkable contrast to the result of Yoccoz (Ann Sci Ec Norm Sup 17:333-361, 1984) that C^r -smooth circle diffeomorphisms are generically C^r-1-κ -rigid, for any κ > 0.

13. Generic Rigidity for Circle Diffeomorphisms with Breaks

Kocić, Saša

2016-06-01

We prove that {C^r}-smooth ({r > 2}) circle diffeomorphisms with a break, i.e., circle diffeomorphisms with a single singular point where the derivative has a jump discontinuity, are generically, i.e., for almost all irrational rotation numbers, not {C^{1+\\varepsilon}}-rigid, for any {\\varepsilon > 0}. This result complements our recent proof, joint with Khanin (Geom Funct Anal 24:2002-2028, 2014), that such maps are generically {C^1}-rigid. It stands in remarkable contrast to the result of Yoccoz (Ann Sci Ec Norm Sup 17:333-361, 1984) that {C^r}-smooth circle diffeomorphisms are generically {C^{r-1-κ}}-rigid, for any {κ > 0}.

14. Quantum mechanics of a generalised rigid body

Gripaios, Ben; Sutherland, Dave

2016-05-01

We consider the quantum version of Arnold’s generalisation of a rigid body in classical mechanics. Thus, we quantise the motion on an arbitrary Lie group manifold of a particle whose classical trajectories correspond to the geodesics of any one-sided-invariant metric. We show how the derivation of the spectrum of energy eigenstates can be simplified by making use of automorphisms of the Lie algebra and (for groups of type I) by methods of harmonic analysis. We show how the method can be extended to cosets, generalising the linear rigid rotor. As examples, we consider all connected and simply connected Lie groups up to dimension 3. This includes the universal cover of the archetypical rigid body, along with a number of new exactly solvable models. We also discuss a possible application to the topical problem of quantising a perfect fluid.

15. Rigid polyurethane and kenaf core composite foams

Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System (TEKTRAN)

Rigid polyurethane foams are valuable in many construction applications. Kenaf is a bast fiber plant where the surface stem skin provides bast fibers whose strength-to-weight ratio competes with glass fiber. The higher volume product of the kenaf core is an under-investigated area in composite appli...

16. Bending rigidity of composite resin coating clasps.

PubMed

Ikebe, K; Kibi, M; Ono, T; Nokubi, T

1993-12-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the bending profiles of composite resin coating cast clasps. The cobalt-chromium alloy cast clasps were made using tapered wax pattern. Silane coupling method (Silicoater MD, Kulzer Co.) was used to attach composite resin to metal surface. The breakage and the bending rigidity of composite resin coating clasps were evaluated. Results were as follows: 1) After the repeated bending test to the tips of clasp arm at 10,000 times in 0.25 mm deflection, neither crack on composite resin surface nor separation at resin/metal interface was observed in any specimen. 2) There was no significant difference in the bending rigidity of clasp arms between before and after composite resin coating. From these results, it was demonstrated that the composite resin coating cast clasp was available in clinical cases and coating with composite resin had little influence on the bending rigidity of clasp arms. Therefore, it was suggested that our clasp designing and fabricating system to control the bending rigidity of clasp arms could be applied to composite resin coating clasps. PMID:8935086

17. Adjustable Optical Mount Is More Rigid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asbury, Bill G.; Coombs, David S.; Jones, Irby W.; Moore, Alvah S., Jr.

1994-01-01

Improved mount for lens or mirror in laser offers rigidity similar to that of nonadjustable optical mount. In comparison with older adjustable optical mounts, this one less susceptible to movements and distortions caused by vibrations and by thermal expansions and contractions. Mount contains neither adjustment rods (which grow or shrink as temperature varies) nor springs (which transmit vibrations to mounted optic).

18. Phosphorescence and Energy Transfer in Rigid Solutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enciso, E.; Cabello, A.

1980-01-01

Describes an experiment which illustrates the general aspects of intermolecular energy transfer between triplet states in rigid solutions of organic compounds solved in an ethanol-ether mixture. Measurements of quenching and energy transfer processes are made using the chemicals of benzophenone and naphthalene. (CS)

19. Two exactly soluble models of rigidity percolation

PubMed Central

Thorpe, M. F.; Stinchcombe, R. B.

2014-01-01

We summarize results for two exactly soluble classes of bond-diluted models for rigidity percolation, which can serve as a benchmark for numerical and approximate methods. For bond dilution problems involving rigidity, the number of floppy modes F plays the role of a free energy. Both models involve pathological lattices with two-dimensional vector displacements. The first model involves hierarchical lattices where renormalization group calculations can be used to give exact solutions. Algebraic scaling transformations produce a transition of the second order, with an unstable critical point and associated scaling laws at a mean coordination 〈r〉=4.41, which is above the ‘mean field’ value 〈r〉=4 predicted by Maxwell constraint counting. The order parameter exponent associated with the spanning rigid cluster geometry is β=0.0775 and that associated with the divergence of the correlation length and the anomalous lattice dimension d is dν=3.533. The second model involves Bethe lattices where the rigidity transition is massively first order by a mean coordination 〈r〉=3.94 slightly below that predicted by Maxwell constraint counting. We show how a Maxwell equal area construction can be used to locate the first-order transition and how this result agrees with simulation results on larger random-bond lattices using the pebble game algorithm. PMID:24379428

20. Stabilization of a fluid-rigid body system

Takahashi, Takéo; Tucsnak, Marius; Weiss, George

2015-12-01

We consider the mathematical model of a rigid ball moving in a viscous incompressible fluid occupying a bounded domain Ω, with an external force acting on the ball. We investigate in particular the case when the external force is what would be produced by a spring and a damper connecting the center of the ball h to a fixed point h1 ∈ Ω. If the initial fluid velocity is sufficiently small, and the initial h is sufficiently close to h1, then we prove the existence and uniqueness of global (in time) solutions for the model. Moreover, in this case, we show that h converges to h1, and all the velocities (of the fluid and of the ball) converge to zero. Based on this result, we derive a control law that will bring the ball asymptotically to the desired position h1 even if the initial value of h is far from h1, and the path leading to h1 is winding and complicated. Now, the idea is to use the force as described above, with one end of the spring and damper at h, while other end is jumping between a finite number of points in Ω, that depend on h (a switching feedback law).

1. Rigid Cluster Decomposition Reveals Criticality in Frictional Jamming

Henkes, Silke; Quint, David A.; Fily, Yaouen; Schwarz, J. M.

2016-01-01

We study the nature of the frictional jamming transition within the framework of rigidity percolation theory. Slowly sheared frictional packings are decomposed into rigid clusters and floppy regions with a generalization of the pebble game including frictional contacts. Our method suggests a second-order transition controlled by the emergence of a system-spanning rigid cluster accompanied by a critical cluster size distribution. Rigid clusters also correlate with common measures of rigidity. We contrast this result with frictionless jamming, where the rigid cluster size distribution is noncritical.

2. Quasiclassical trajectory studies of rigid rotor--rigid surface scattering. II. Corrugated surface

SciTech Connect

Park, S.C.; Bowman, J.M.

1984-03-01

The quasiclassical trajectory method, previously applied to rigid rotor--rigid flat surface scattering (J. M. Bowman and S. C. Park, J. Chem. Phys. 77, 5441 (1982)) is applied to a rigid rotor--rigid corrugated surface, i.e., a N/sub 2/--LiF(001), system. The mechanisms for rotational excitation at low and high collision energies are studied as well as their dependence on initial beam orientation and corrugation strength. A significant correlation between long-lived trajectories and high rotational excitation is found for low energy collisions and rotational rainbows are clearly observed in the high energy regime, although these features are broadened relative to the flat surface reported previously.

3. Sticky Particles: Modeling Rigid Aggregates in Dense Planetary Rings

Perrine, Randall P.; Richardson, D. C.; Scheeres, D. J.

2008-09-01

We present progress on our study of planetary ring dynamics. We use local N-body simulations to examine small patches of dense rings in which self-gravity and mutual collisions dominate the dynamics of the ring material. We use the numerical code pkdgrav to model the motions of 105-7 ring particles, using a sliding patch model with modified periodic boundary conditions. The exact nature of planetary ring particles is not well understood. If covered in a frost-like layer, such irregular surfaces may allow for weak cohesion between colliding particles. Thus we have recently added new functionality to our model, allowing "sticky particles” to lock into rigid aggregates while in a rotating reference frame. This capability allows particles to adhere to one another, forming irregularly shaped aggregates that move as rigid bodies. (The bonds between particles can subsequently break, given sufficient stress.) These aggregates have greater strength than gravitationally bound "rubble piles,” and are thus able to grow larger and survive longer under similar stresses. This new functionality allows us to explore planetary ring properties and dynamics in a new way, by self-consistently forming (and destroying) non-spherical aggregates and moonlets via cohesive forces, while in a rotating frame, subjected to planetary tides. (We are not aware of any similar implementations in other existing models.) These improvements allow us to study the many effects that particle aggregation may have on the rings, such as overall ring structure; wake formation; equilibrium properties of non-spherical particles, like pitch angle, orientation, shape, size distribution, and spin; and the surface properties of the ring material. We present test cases and the latest results from this new model. This work is supported by a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship.

4. Development of Laser Ruler in Rigid Laryngoscope

PubMed Central

Lee, Young-Ok; Kim, Byoung-Chul; Lee, Jung-Hoon; Lee, Jin-Choon; Lee, Byung-Joo; Wang, Soo-Geun; Ro, Jung-Hoon; Jeon, Gye-Rok

2011-01-01

Objectives The objective of this study was to develop a new device that provides a simple, noninvasive method of measuring accurate lesion size while using an endoscope. Methods We developed a rigid laryngoscope with a built-in laser-ruler using a one-light emitting diode and an acrylic plate. The invention incorporates a built-in laser diode that projects an auto-parallel beam into the optical path of the rigid laryngoscope to form two spots in the field of view. Results While the interspot distance remains consistent despite changes in focal plane, magnification, or viewing angle of the laryngoscope, projection to an uneven surface introduces certain variations in the shape, and size of the spots, and the distance between the two spots. Conclusion The device enables a laryngologist to easily measure the distance between landmarks, as well as the change in real size, and the progressive change of vocal fold lesions in an outpatient setting. PMID:22232716

5. Rapid determination of RMSDs corresponding to macromolecular rigid body motions.

PubMed

Popov, Petr; Grudinin, Sergei

2014-05-01

Finding the root mean sum of squared deviations (RMSDs) between two coordinate vectors that correspond to the rigid body motion of a macromolecule is an important problem in structural bioinformatics, computational chemistry, and molecular modeling. Standard algorithms compute the RMSD with time proportional to the number of atoms in the molecule. Here, we present RigidRMSD, a new algorithm that determines a set of RMSDs corresponding to a set of rigid body motions of a macromolecule in constant time with respect to the number of atoms in the molecule. Our algorithm is particularly useful for rigid body modeling applications, such as rigid body docking, and also for high-throughput analysis of rigid body modeling and simulation results. We also introduce a constant-time rotation RMSD as a similarity measure for rigid molecules. A C++ implementation of our algorithm is available at http://nano-d.inrialpes.fr/software/RigidRMSD. PMID:24615729

6. Modular Habitats Comprising Rigid and Inflatable Modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Kriss J.

2010-01-01

Modular, lightweight, fully equipped buildings comprising hybrids of rigid and inflatable structures can be assembled on Earth and then transported to and deployed on the Moon for use as habitats. Modified versions of these buildings could also prove useful on Earth as shelters that can be rapidly and easily erected in emergency situations and/or extreme environments: examples include shelters for hurricane relief and for Antarctic exploration.

7. Rigid plastic collars for marking geese

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ballou, R.M.; Martin, F.W.

1964-01-01

Rigid plastic collars of one to three colors proved useful for recognition of individual Canada geese (Branta canadensis). The collars did not seem to affect the behavior of the geese, and there was little mortality caused by their use. In good light, bright colors are visible through a 20-power spotting scope for more than 1 mile. Retention of collars was about 90 percent for 1 year and more than 80 percent for 2 years.

8. Permeability of Rigid Fibrous Refractory Insulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marschall, J.; Milos, F. S.; Rasky, Daniel J. (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

Rigid fibrous refractory insulations (TPS tiles) are integral components of many spacecraft thermal protection systems. These materials are composed of refractory fibers With diameters on the order of 1 to 15 micrometers. They are lightweight and have an open, highly porous microstructure. Typical densities are less than 500 kilograms per cubic meters, and porosities generally exceed 0.8. Because of their open porosity, these materials are permeable to gas glow. There are numerous instances in which internal gas transport in a thermal protection system could be important; examples include the penetration of hot boundary-layer gases into the insulation, the flow of decomposition (pyrolysis) products from the interior, the use of convective flows to mitigate ice formation caused by cryopumping, and the design of refractory vents for pressure equilibration during atmospheric entry. Computational analysis of gas flow through porous media requires values of permeability which have not previously been available for the rigid fibrous insulations used in thermal protection systems. This paper will document measurements of permeability for a variety of insulations from NASA's LI, FRCI, and AETB families of lightweight ceramic ablators. The directional anisotropy of permeability and its dependence on gas pressure and material density will be presented. It will be shown that rarified-flow effects are significant in the flow through such materials. Connections will be drawn between the insulation microstructure and permeability. The paper will also include representative computations of flow through rigid fibrous insulations.

9. 49 CFR 587.18 - Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier. 587.18 Section 587.18 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY... Deformable Barrier § 587.18 Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier. (a) The fixed rigid barrier has a mass of...

10. 49 CFR 587.18 - Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier. 587.18 Section 587.18 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY... Deformable Barrier § 587.18 Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier. (a) The fixed rigid barrier has a mass of...

11. A Cognitive Developmental Model of Rigidity in Senescence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapsley, Daniel K.; Enright, Robert D.

1983-01-01

The rigidity construct is reinterpreted in terms of the cognitive developmental approach. A review reveals both cognitive and developmental themes, with an emphasis on the structural and operational properties of rigidity. Notes weaknesses of previous approaches to rigidity and discusses implications and predictions from the proposed model.…

12. Expandable and rigid endorectal coils for prostate MRI: impact on prostate distortion and rigid image registration.

PubMed

Kim, Yongbok; Hsu, I-Chow J; Pouliot, Jean; Noworolski, Susan Moyher; Vigneron, Daniel B; Kurhanewicz, John

2005-12-01

Endorectal coils (ERCs) are used for acquiring high spatial resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of the human prostate. The goal of this study is to determine the impact of an expandable versus a rigid ERC on changes in the location and deformation of the prostate gland and subsequently on registering prostate images acquired with and without an ERC. Sagittal and axial T2 weighted MR images were acquired from 25 patients receiving a combined MR imaging/MR spectroscopic imaging staging exam for prostate cancer. Within the same exam, images were acquired using an external pelvic phased array coil both alone and in combination with either an expandable ERC (MedRad, Pittsburgh, PA) or a rigid ERC (USA Instruments, Aurora, OH). Rotations, translations and deformations caused by the ERC were measured and compared. The ability to register images acquired with and without the ERC using a manual rigid-body registration was assessed using a similarity index (SI). Both ERCs caused the prostate to tilt anteriorly with an average tilt of 18.5 degrees (17.4 +/- 9.9 and 19.5 +/- 11.3 degrees, mean +/- standard deviation, for expandable and rigid ERC, respectively). However, the expandable coil caused a significantly larger distortion of the prostate as compared to the rigid coil; compressing the prostate in the anterior/posterior direction by 4.1 +/- 3.0 mm vs 1.2 +/- 2.2 mm (14.5% vs 4.8%) (p < 0.0001), and widening the prostate in the right/left direction by 3.8 +/- 3.7 mm vs 1.5 +/- 3.1 mm (8.3% vs 3.4%) (p = 0.004). Additionally, the ability to manually align prostate images acquired with and without ERC was significantly (p < 0.0001) better for the rigid coil (SI = 0.941 +/- 0.008 vs 0.899 +/- 0.033, for the rigid and expandable coils, respectively). In conclusion, the manual rigid-body alignment of prostate MR images acquired with and without the ERC can be improved through the use of a rigid ERC. PMID:16475755

13. Rigid and non-rigid micro-plates: Philippines and Myanmar-Andaman case studies

Rangin, Claude

2016-01-01

Generally, tectonic plates are considered as rigid. Oblique plate convergence favors the development of micro-plates along the converging boundaries. The north-south-trending Philippines archipelago (here named Philippine Mobile Belt, PMB), a few hundreds kilometers wide, is one of such complex tectonic zones. We show here that it is composed of rigid rotating crustal blocks (here called platelets). In Myanmar, the northernmost tip of the Sumatra-Andaman subduction system is another complex zone made of various crustal blocks in-between convergent plates. Yet, contrary to PMB, it sustains internal deformation with platelet buckling, altogether indicative of a non-rigid behavior. Therefore, the two case studies, Philippine Mobile Belt and Myanmar-Andaman micro-plate (MAS), illustrate the complexity of micro-plate tectonics and kinematics at convergent plate boundaries.

14. Understanding geological processes: Visualization of rigid and non-rigid transformations

Shipley, T. F.; Atit, K.; Manduca, C. A.; Ormand, C. J.; Resnick, I.; Tikoff, B.

2012-12-01

Visualizations are used in the geological sciences to support reasoning about structures and events. Research in cognitive sciences offers insights into the range of skills of different users, and ultimately how visualizations might support different users. To understand the range of skills needed to reason about earth processes we have developed a program of research that is grounded in the geosciences' careful description of the spatial and spatiotemporal patterns associated with earth processes. In particular, we are pursuing a research program that identifies specific spatial skills and investigates whether and how they are related to each other. For this study, we focus on a specific question: Is there an important distinction in the geosciences between rigid and non-rigid deformation? To study a general spatial thinking skill we employed displays with non-geological objects that had been altered by rigid change (rotation), and two types of non-rigid change ("brittle" (or discontinuous) and "ductile" (or continuous) deformation). Disciplinary scientists (geosciences and chemistry faculty), and novices (non-science faculty and undergraduate psychology students) answered questions that required them to visualize the appearance of the object before the change. In one study, geologists and chemists were found to be superior to non-science faculty in reasoning about rigid rotations (e.g., what an object would look like from a different perspective). Geologists were superior to chemists in reasoning about brittle deformations (e.g., what an object looked like before it was broken - here the object was a word cut into many fragments displaced in different directions). This finding is consistent with two hypotheses: 1) Experts are good at visualizing the types of changes required for their domain; and 2) Visualization of rigid and non-rigid changes are not the same skill. An additional important finding is that there was a broad range of skill in both rigid and non-rigid

15. MASPROP- MASS PROPERTIES OF A RIGID STRUCTURE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hull, R. A.

1994-01-01

The computer program MASPROP was developed to rapidly calculate the mass properties of complex rigid structural systems. This program's basic premise is that complex systems can be adequately described by a combination of basic elementary structural shapes. Thirteen widely used basic structural shapes are available in this program. They are as follows: Discrete Mass, Cylinder, Truncated Cone, Torus, Beam (arbitrary cross section), Circular Rod (arbitrary cross section), Spherical Segment, Sphere, Hemisphere, Parallelepiped, Swept Trapezoidal Panel, Symmetric Trapezoidal Panels, and a Curved Rectangular Panel. MASPROP provides a designer with a simple technique that requires minimal input to calculate the mass properties of a complex rigid structure and should be useful in any situation where one needs to calculate the center of gravity and moments of inertia of a complex structure. Rigid body analysis is used to calculate mass properties. Mass properties are calculated about component axes that have been rotated to be parallel to the system coordinate axes. Then the system center of gravity is calculated and the mass properties are transferred to axes through the system center of gravity by using the parallel axis theorem. System weight, moments of inertia about the system origin, and the products of inertia about the system center of mass are calculated and printed. From the information about the system center of mass the principal axes of the system and the moments of inertia about them are calculated and printed. The only input required is simple geometric data describing the size and location of each element and the respective material density or weight of each element. This program is written in FORTRAN for execution on a CDC 6000 series computer with a central memory requirement of approximately 62K (octal) of 60 bit words. The development of this program was completed in 1978.

16. Brownian dynamics of confined rigid bodies.

PubMed

Delong, Steven; Balboa Usabiaga, Florencio; Donev, Aleksandar

2015-10-14

We introduce numerical methods for simulating the diffusive motion of rigid bodies of arbitrary shape immersed in a viscous fluid. We parameterize the orientation of the bodies using normalized quaternions, which are numerically robust, space efficient, and easy to accumulate. We construct a system of overdamped Langevin equations in the quaternion representation that accounts for hydrodynamic effects, preserves the unit-norm constraint on the quaternion, and is time reversible with respect to the Gibbs-Boltzmann distribution at equilibrium. We introduce two schemes for temporal integration of the overdamped Langevin equations of motion, one based on the Fixman midpoint method and the other based on a random finite difference approach, both of which ensure that the correct stochastic drift term is captured in a computationally efficient way. We study several examples of rigid colloidal particles diffusing near a no-slip boundary and demonstrate the importance of the choice of tracking point on the measured translational mean square displacement (MSD). We examine the average short-time as well as the long-time quasi-two-dimensional diffusion coefficient of a rigid particle sedimented near a bottom wall due to gravity. For several particle shapes, we find a choice of tracking point that makes the MSD essentially linear with time, allowing us to estimate the long-time diffusion coefficient efficiently using a Monte Carlo method. However, in general, such a special choice of tracking point does not exist, and numerical techniques for simulating long trajectories, such as the ones we introduce here, are necessary to study diffusion on long time scales. PMID:26472363

17. Brownian dynamics of confined rigid bodies

Delong, Steven; Balboa Usabiaga, Florencio; Donev, Aleksandar

2015-10-01

We introduce numerical methods for simulating the diffusive motion of rigid bodies of arbitrary shape immersed in a viscous fluid. We parameterize the orientation of the bodies using normalized quaternions, which are numerically robust, space efficient, and easy to accumulate. We construct a system of overdamped Langevin equations in the quaternion representation that accounts for hydrodynamic effects, preserves the unit-norm constraint on the quaternion, and is time reversible with respect to the Gibbs-Boltzmann distribution at equilibrium. We introduce two schemes for temporal integration of the overdamped Langevin equations of motion, one based on the Fixman midpoint method and the other based on a random finite difference approach, both of which ensure that the correct stochastic drift term is captured in a computationally efficient way. We study several examples of rigid colloidal particles diffusing near a no-slip boundary and demonstrate the importance of the choice of tracking point on the measured translational mean square displacement (MSD). We examine the average short-time as well as the long-time quasi-two-dimensional diffusion coefficient of a rigid particle sedimented near a bottom wall due to gravity. For several particle shapes, we find a choice of tracking point that makes the MSD essentially linear with time, allowing us to estimate the long-time diffusion coefficient efficiently using a Monte Carlo method. However, in general, such a special choice of tracking point does not exist, and numerical techniques for simulating long trajectories, such as the ones we introduce here, are necessary to study diffusion on long time scales.

18. Brownian dynamics of confined rigid bodies

SciTech Connect

Delong, Steven; Balboa Usabiaga, Florencio; Donev, Aleksandar

2015-10-14

We introduce numerical methods for simulating the diffusive motion of rigid bodies of arbitrary shape immersed in a viscous fluid. We parameterize the orientation of the bodies using normalized quaternions, which are numerically robust, space efficient, and easy to accumulate. We construct a system of overdamped Langevin equations in the quaternion representation that accounts for hydrodynamic effects, preserves the unit-norm constraint on the quaternion, and is time reversible with respect to the Gibbs-Boltzmann distribution at equilibrium. We introduce two schemes for temporal integration of the overdamped Langevin equations of motion, one based on the Fixman midpoint method and the other based on a random finite difference approach, both of which ensure that the correct stochastic drift term is captured in a computationally efficient way. We study several examples of rigid colloidal particles diffusing near a no-slip boundary and demonstrate the importance of the choice of tracking point on the measured translational mean square displacement (MSD). We examine the average short-time as well as the long-time quasi-two-dimensional diffusion coefficient of a rigid particle sedimented near a bottom wall due to gravity. For several particle shapes, we find a choice of tracking point that makes the MSD essentially linear with time, allowing us to estimate the long-time diffusion coefficient efficiently using a Monte Carlo method. However, in general, such a special choice of tracking point does not exist, and numerical techniques for simulating long trajectories, such as the ones we introduce here, are necessary to study diffusion on long time scales.

19. Large-strain, rigid-to-rigid deformation of bistable electroactive polymers

Yu, Zhibin; Yuan, Wei; Brochu, Paul; Chen, Bin; Liu, Zhitian; Pei, Qibing

2009-11-01

Thermoplastic poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PTBA) is reported as an electroactive polymer that is rigid at ambient conditions and turns into a dielectric elastomer above a transition temperature. In the rubbery state, a PTBA thin film can be electrically actuated to strains up to 335% in area expansion. The calculated actuation pressure is 3.2 MPa. The actuation is made bistable by cooling to below glass transition temperature. The PTBA represents the bistable electroactive polymer (BSEP) that can be actuated to various largely strained, rigid shapes. The application of the BSEP for refreshable Braille display, an active tactile display, is also demonstrated.

20. The High Rigidity Spectrometer for FRIB

Baumann, T.

2016-06-01

The High Rigidity Spectrometer (HRS) is being developed to make optimum use of the fast rare-isotope beams that will be available at the Facility for Rare-Isotope Beams (FRIB) and will be the key experimental tool to study the most exotic, neutron-rich nuclei. The HRS will accommodate detector systems for charged particles, neutrons, and gamma rays. This will enable coincidence measurements of reaction products that stem from a variety of reactions such as knockout, breakup, charge exchange or Coulomb excitation. First-order ion optical studies are under way and this paper will offer some details on the current design ideas.

1. Edge shape and comfort of rigid lenses.

PubMed

La Hood, D

1988-08-01

One of the main factors determining the comfort of a rigid contact lens is the shape of the edge. The comfort of four different contact lens edge shapes was assessed with four unadapted subjects in a randomized masked trial. Lenses with well rounded anterior edge profiles were found to be significantly more comfortable than lenses with square anterior edges. There was no significant difference in subjective comfort between a rounded and square posterior edge profile. The results suggest that the interaction of the edge with the eyelid is more important in determining comfort than edge effects on the cornea, when lenses are fitted according to a corneal alignment philosophy. PMID:3177585

2. A rigid porous filter and filtration method

SciTech Connect

Chiang, Ta-Kuan; Straub, Douglas, Straub L.; Dennis, Richard A.

1998-12-01

The present invention involves a porous rigid filter comprising a plurality of concentric filtration elements having internal flow passages and forming external flow passages there between. The present invention also involves a pressure vessel containing the filter for the removal of particulate from high pressure particulate containing gases, and further involves a method for using the filter to remove such particulate. The present filter has the advantage of requiring fewer filter elements due to the high surface area- to-volume ratio provided by the filter, requires a reduced pressure vessel size, and exhibits enhanced mechanical design properties, improved cleaning properties, configuration options, modularity and ease of fabrication.

3. Mechanical Characterization of Rigid Polyurethane Foams.

SciTech Connect

Lu, Wei-Yang

2014-12-01

Foam materials are used to protect sensitive components from impact loading. In order to predict and simulate the foam performance under various loading conditions, a validated foam model is needed and the mechanical properties of foams need to be characterized. Uniaxial compression and tension tests were conducted for different densities of foams under various temperatures and loading rates. Crush stress, tensile strength, and elastic modulus were obtained. A newly developed confined compression experiment provided data for investigating the foam flow direction. A biaxial tension experiment was also developed to explore the damage surface of a rigid polyurethane foam.

4. Dynamical rigidity of transcendental meromorphic functions

Skorulski, Bartłomiej; Urbański, Mariusz

2012-08-01

We prove the form of dynamical rigidity of transcendental meromorphic functions which asserts that if two tame transcendental meromorphic functions restricted to their Julia sets are topologically conjugate via a locally bi-Lipschitz homeomorphism, then they, treated as functions defined on the entire complex plane { C} , are topologically conjugate via an affine map, i.e. a map from { C} to { C} of the form z ↦ az + b. As an intermediate step we show that no tame transcendental meromorphic function is essentially affine.

5. Rigid-flexible printed wiring boards

Sydow, E. V.

1993-05-01

Rigid-flexible printed wiring board materials, fabrication processes, product requirements, and reliability were established. Considerable effort was spent testing plated-through holes, analyzing plated-through hole failure mechanisms, and then incorporating materials, processes, and product requirements to provide adequate control and reduce failures. The principal processes developed were tooling concepts, process sequence, lamination, drilling, plasma etchback, copper electroplating, and solder coating. Product requirements and reliability were established with thermal shock, thermal stress, innerlayer adhesion, and fold flexibility tests. Plated-through hole failure mechanisms were analyzed with thermal mechanical and finite element analyses.

6. Rigid and flexible OLEDs: prototypes to applications

Monz, Stefan; Wolf, Konrad; Möbius, Hildegard; Blankenbach, Karlheinz

2011-03-01

Major achievements of this research project on rigid and flexible OLEDs are: lifetime enhancement by advanced constant luminance (L) operation, integration into textiles and furthermore, the prototype production on flexible PET/ITO substrates of polymer OLEDs. Our OLEDs were manufactured with spin-coating assisted by ink-jet printing. We introduced constant luminance operation (instead of the usual constant current) which was implemented in order to extend the overall lifetime of OLEDs. A threefold lifetime improvement was achieved by maintaining 50% luminance using an advanced microcontroller-based lifetime(LT) model. Various approaches to textile integration and evaluation of environmental issues in clothes (e.g. moisture) were investigated.

7. Research on Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Hamilton Graph

Cui, Yan; Cui, Chao-Dong

An important concept, "closed domain" is proposed in this paper. In the same time, necessary and sufficient lemma for closed domain, R, is proved on which necessary and sufficient theorem for judging whether a general graph G is a Hamilton graph is proposed and proved. All instances in this paper are judged by comparatively using the theorem proposed herein and the original necessary condition theorem and sufficient condition theorem to prove the correctness of the method proposed in this paper.

8. Laminarization of Turbulent Boundary Layer on Flexible and Rigid Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maestrello, Lucio

2001-01-01

9. Vibration and length-dependent flexural rigidity of protein microtubules using higher order shear deformation theory.

PubMed

Tounsi, Abdelouahed; Heireche, Houari; Benhassaini, Hachemi; Missouri, Miloud

2010-09-21

Microtubules are hollow cylindrical filaments of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton characterized by extremely low shear modulus. A remarkable controversy has occurred in the literature, regarding the length dependence of flexural rigidity of microtubules predicted by the classical elastic beam model. In this study, a higher order shear deformable beam model for microtubules is employed to study unexplained length-dependent flexural rigidity and Young's modulus of microtubules reported in the literature. The formulation allows for warping of the cross-section of the microtubule and eliminates the need for using arbitrary shear correction coefficients as in other theories. It is showed that vibration frequencies predicted by the present parabolic shear deformation theory (PSDT) are much lower than that given by the approximate isotropic beam model for shorter microtubules, although the two models give almost identical results for sufficiently long microtubules. It is confirmed that transverse shearing and the warping of the cross-section of microtubules are mainly responsible for the length-dependent flexural rigidity of an isolated microtubule reported in the literature, which cannot be explained by the widely used Euler-Bernoulli beam model. Indeed, the length-dependent flexural rigidity predicted by the present model is found to be in qualitative agreement with the existing experimental data (Kurachi et al., 1995; Pampaloni et al., 2006). These results recommend that the parabolic shear deformation-beam theory offers a unified simple 1D model, which can capture the length dependence of flexural rigidity and be applied to various static and dynamic problems of microtubule mechanics. PMID:20609368

10. Quantification of rigidity in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Sepehri, Behrooz; Esteki, Ali; Ebrahimi-Takamjani, Esmaeal; Shahidi, Golam-Ali; Khamseh, Fatemeh; Moinodin, Marzieh

2007-12-01

In this paper, a new method for quantification of rigidity in elbow joint of Parkinsonian patients is introduced. One of the most known syndromes in Parkinson's disease (PD) is increased passive stiffness in muscles, which leads to rigidity in joints. Clinical evaluation of stiffness in wrist and/or elbow, commonly used by clinicians, is based on Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating System (UPDRS). Subjective nature of this method may influence the accuracy and precision of evaluations. Hence, introducing an objective standard method based on quantitative measurements may be helpful. A test rig was designed and fabricated to measure range of motion and viscous and elastic components of passive stiffness in elbow joint. Measurements were done for 41 patients and 11 controls. Measures were extracted using Matlab-R14 software and statistic analyses were done by Spss-13. Relation between each computed measure and the level of illness were analyzed. Results showed a better correlation between viscous component of stiffness and UPDRS score compared to the elastic component. Results of this research may help to introduce a standard objective method for evaluation of PD. PMID:17909970

11. Shear-induced rigidity in athermal materials

Chakraborty, Bulbul; Sarkar, Sumantra

2014-03-01

In this talk, we present a minimal model of rigidity and plastic failure in solids whose rigidity emerges directly as a result of applied stresses. Examples include shear-jamming (SJ) in dry grains and discontinuous shear thickening (DST) of dense non-Brownian suspensions. Both SJ and DST states are examples of non-equilibrium, self-assembled structures that have evolved to support the load that created them. These are strongly-interacting systems where the interactions arise primarily from the strict constraints of force and torque balance at the local and global scales. Our model is based on a reciprocal-space picture that strictly enforces the local and global constraints, and is, therefore, best suited to capturing the strong correlations in these non-equilibrium systems. The reciprocal space is a tiling whose edges represent contact forces, and whose faces represent grains. A separation of scale between force fluctuations and displacements of grains is used to represent the positional disorder as quenched randomness on variables in the reciprocal space. Comparing theoretical results to experiments, we will argue that the packing fraction controls the strength of the quenched disorder. Sumantra Sarkar et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 068301 (2013)

12. A constitutive theory for rigid polyurethane foam

SciTech Connect

Neilsen, M.K.; Krieg, R.D.; Schreyer, H.L.

1992-12-31

Rigid, closed-cell, polyurethane foam consists of interconnected polyurethane plates which form cells. When this foam is compressed, it exhibits an initial elastic regime which is followed by a plateau regime in which the load required to compress the foam remains nearly constant. In the plateau regime, cell walls are damaged and large permanent volume changes are generated. As additional load is applied, cell walls are compressed against neighboring cell walls, and the stiffness of the foam increases and approaches a value equal to that of solid polyurethane. When the foam is loaded in tension, the cell walls are damaged and the foam fractures. A constitutive theory for rigid polyurethane foam has been developed. This theory is based on a decomposition of the foam into two parts: a skeleton and a nonlinear elastic continuum in parallel. The skeleton accounts for the foam behavior in the elastic and plateau regimes and is described using a coupled plasticity with continuum damage theory. The nonlinear elastic continuum accounts for the lock-up of the foam due to internal gas pressure and cell wall interactions. This new constitutive theory has been implemented in both static and dynamic finite element codes. Numerical simulations performed using the new constitutive theory are presented.

13. Magnetic Control of Rigid Achiral Microswimmers

Cheang, U.; Meshkati, Farshad; Fu, Henry; Kim, Minjun

2013-11-01

We report control of rigid achiral microswimmers in low Reynolds number environments. A rotating magnetic field was used to actuate the microswimmers wirelessly by rotating the microswimmers, which produces propulsion. Previous magnetically actuated microswimmers in bulk fluids have been designed with either flexibility or chiral geometry; we show that simpler geometries with neither flexibility nor chirality can produce propulsion. The microswimmer consists of three magnetic beads conjugated using avidin-biotin linkages into an arc formation. We designed a magnetic field generator consisting of electromagnetic coils arranged in an approximate Helmholtz configuration. A highspeed camera provided realtime imaging of the microswimmers' motion in a PDMS chamber. The rigidity of the microswimmer was characterized by tracking the position of the individual beads and calculating their relative distances. As a function of field strength and rotation frequency, we observed changes in the rotational axis of the microswimmers and the corresponding effects on their velocities. The achiral microswimmers exhibited active propulsion and were controllable in both speed and direction, which demonstrates the possibility for future biomedical applications such as drug delivery.

14. 24 CFR 242.2 - Program financial self-sufficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Program financial self-sufficiency... self-sufficiency and actuarial soundness; i.e., to avoid mortgage defaults and claims for insurance... AUTHORITIES MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR HOSPITALS General Eligibility Requirements § 242.2 Program financial...

15. 39 CFR 491.3 - Sufficient legal form.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Sufficient legal form. 491.3 Section 491.3 Postal... AND THE POSTAL RATE COMMISSION § 491.3 Sufficient legal form. No document purporting to garnish... or an authorized official pursuant to an order of such a court or pursuant to federal, state or...

16. 39 CFR 491.3 - Sufficient legal form.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Sufficient legal form. 491.3 Section 491.3 Postal... AND THE POSTAL RATE COMMISSION § 491.3 Sufficient legal form. No document purporting to garnish... or an authorized official pursuant to an order of such a court or pursuant to federal, state or...

17. 39 CFR 491.3 - Sufficient legal form.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Sufficient legal form. 491.3 Section 491.3 Postal... AND THE POSTAL RATE COMMISSION § 491.3 Sufficient legal form. No document purporting to garnish... or an authorized official pursuant to an order of such a court or pursuant to federal, state or...

18. Southeast Asian Refugee Self-Sufficiency Study. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Nathan; And Others

This study on the economic self-sufficiency of the Southeast Asian refugee household was conducted in order to gather information on the economic status of these refugees, the factors that contribute to self-sufficiency, and refugees' needs for services. A survey of 1,384 households of Vietnamese, Sino-Vietnamese, and Lao refugees who arrived in…

19. 27 CFR 25.174 - Bond not sufficient.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

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20. 27 CFR 25.174 - Bond not sufficient.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Bond not sufficient. 25.174 Section 25.174 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS BEER Tax on Beer Prepayment of Tax § 25.174 Bond not sufficient. When...

1. 27 CFR 25.174 - Bond not sufficient.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Bond not sufficient. 25.174 Section 25.174 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL BEER Tax on Beer Prepayment of Tax § 25.174 Bond not sufficient. When...

2. 27 CFR 25.174 - Bond not sufficient.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bond not sufficient. 25.174 Section 25.174 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS BEER Tax on Beer Prepayment of Tax § 25.174 Bond not sufficient. When...

3. 27 CFR 25.174 - Bond not sufficient.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

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4. 39 CFR 491.3 - Sufficient legal form.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sufficient legal form. 491.3 Section 491.3 Postal... AND THE POSTAL RATE COMMISSION § 491.3 Sufficient legal form. No document purporting to garnish... is legal process in the nature of garnishment; that it is issued by a court of competent...

5. 39 CFR 491.3 - Sufficient legal form.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Sufficient legal form. 491.3 Section 491.3 Postal... AND THE POSTAL RATE COMMISSION § 491.3 Sufficient legal form. No document purporting to garnish... is legal process in the nature of garnishment; that it is issued by a court of competent...

6. Origin of rigidity in marginal solids

Bi, Dapeng

Granular materials are seemingly simple — they are a collection of particles large enough to be seen by eye, yet they exhibit a large range of totally different behaviors: liquid, gas and solid. We study various interesting aspects of granular materials: (1)First, analysis of experimental data yields a completely new route in which a granular fluid becomes a solid. These new states, know as shear jammed(SJ) granular matter, are an addition to the jamming framework proposed over 10 years ago. (2)We then focus on the emergence of shear-rigidity in granular materials which have no energetically preferred density modulations. In contrast to traditional solids, the emergence of mechanical rigidity in these marginal granular solids is a collective process, which is controlled solely by boundary forces, the constraints of force and torque balance, and the positivity of the contact forces. We develop a theoretical framework and show that these solids have internal patterns that are most naturally represented in the space of gauge fields that impose the constraints. Broken translational invariance in gauge space is a necessary condition for rigidity in granular solids. We use this theoretical framework to understand the stress fluctuations and the ability to resist deformations in SJ states. (3)We generalize the stress ensemble framework to a full tensor representation. In this framework, the angoricity is an intensive quantity, which is conjugate to the stress rather than the energy. We compare the predictions of this framework in SJ states and explain stress fluctuations in SJ states.(4)We also construct a dynamical framework to model deformation and stress avalanches in a slowly driven granular matter. The model assumes small patches of the driven granular material undergoing a stochastic evolution in a stress landscape, elastic deformations are equivalent to tilting the landscape while rearrangements correspond to hopping between different metastable states in this

7. Determination of Coherency and Rigidity Temperatures in Al-Cu Alloys Using In Situ Neutron Diffraction During Casting

Drezet, Jean-Marie; Mireux, Bastien; Szaraz, Zoltan; Pirling, Thilo

2014-08-01

The rigidity temperature of a solidifying alloy is the temperature at which the solid phase is sufficiently coalesced to transmit tensile stress. It is a major input parameter in numerical modeling of solidification processes as it defines the point at which thermally induced deformations start to generate internal stresses in a casting. This temperature has been determined for an Al-13 wt.% Cu alloy using in situ neutron diffraction during casting in a dog-bone-shaped mold. This setup allows the sample to build up internal stress naturally as its contraction is not possible. The cooling on both sides of the mold induces a hot spot at the middle of the sample that is irradiated by neutrons. Diffraction patterns are recorded every 11 s using a large detector, and the very first change of diffraction angles allows for the determination of the rigidity temperature. We measured rigidity temperatures equal to 557°C and 548°C depending on the cooling rate for grain refined Al-13 wt.% Cu alloys. At a high cooling rate, rigidity is reached during the formation of the eutectic phase. In this case, the solid phase is not sufficiently coalesced to sustain tensile load and thus cannot avoid hot tear formation.

8. Elastic image registration via rigid object motion induced deformation

Zheng, Xiaofen; Udupa, Jayaram K.; Hirsch, Bruce E.

2011-03-01

In this paper, we estimate the deformations induced on soft tissues by the rigid independent movements of hard objects and create an admixture of rigid and elastic adaptive image registration transformations. By automatically segmenting and independently estimating the movement of rigid objects in 3D images, we can maintain rigidity in bones and hard tissues while appropriately deforming soft tissues. We tested our algorithms on 20 pairs of 3D MRI datasets pertaining to a kinematic study of the flexibility of the ankle complex of normal feet as well as ankles affected by abnormalities in foot architecture and ligament injuries. The results show that elastic image registration via rigid object-induced deformation outperforms purely rigid and purely nonrigid approaches.

9. Fluid-Structure Interactions with Flexible and Rigid Bodies

Daily, David Jesse

Fluid structure interactions occur to some extent in nearly every type of fluid flow. Understanding how structures interact with fluids and visa-versa is of vital importance in many engineering applications. The purpose of this research is to explore how fluids interact with flexible and rigid structures. A computational model was used to model the fluid structure interactions of vibrating synthetic vocal folds. The model simulated the coupling of the fluid and solid domains using a fluid-structure interface boundary condition. The fluid domain used a slightly compressible flow solver to allow for the possibility of acoustic coupling with the subglottal geometry and vibration of the vocal fold model. As the subglottis lengthened, the frequency of vibration decreased until a new acoustic mode could form in the subglottis. Synthetic aperture particle image velocimetry (SAPIV) is a three-dimensional particle tracking technique. SAPIV was used to image the jet of air that emerges from vibrating human vocal folds (glottal jet) during phonation. The three-dimensional reconstruction of the glottal jet found faint evidence of flow characteristics seen in previous research, such as axis-switching, but did not have sufficient resolution to detect small features. SAPIV was further applied to reconstruct the smaller flow characteristics of the glottal jet of vibrating synthetic vocal folds. Two- and four-layer synthetic vocal fold models were used to determine how the glottal jet from the synthetic models compared to the glottal jet from excised human vocal folds. The two- and four-layer models clearly exhibited axis-switching which has been seen in other 3D analyses of the glottal jet. Cavitation in a quiescent fluid can break a rigid structure such as a glass bottle. A new cavitation number was derived to include acceleration and pressure head at cavitation onset. A cavitation stick was used to validate the cavitation number by filling it with different depths and hitting

10. Rigidity Loss in Disordered Systems: Three Scenarios

Ellenbroek, Wouter G.; Hagh, Varda F.; Kumar, Avishek; Thorpe, M. F.; van Hecke, Martin

2015-04-01

We reveal significant qualitative differences in the rigidity transition of three types of disordered network materials: randomly diluted spring networks, jammed sphere packings, and stress-relieved networks that are diluted using a protocol that avoids the appearance of floppy regions. The marginal state of jammed and stress-relieved networks are globally isostatic, while marginal randomly diluted networks show both overconstrained and underconstrained regions. When a single bond is added to or removed from these isostatic systems, jammed networks become globally overconstrained or floppy, whereas the effect on stress-relieved networks is more local and limited. These differences are also reflected in the linear elastic properties and point to the highly effective and unusual role of global self-organization in jammed sphere packings.

11. Dynamic soil pressures on rigid vertical walls

SciTech Connect

Veletsos, A.S.; Younan, A.H.

1992-12-01

A critical evaluation is made of the dynamic pressures and the associated forces induced by ground shaking on a rigid, straight, vertical wall retaining a semi-infinite, uniform viscoelastic layer of constant thickness. The effects of both harmonic and earthquake-induced excitations are examined. Simple approximate expressions for the responses of the system are developed, and comprehensive numerical data are presented which elucidate the effects and relative importance of the various parameters involved. These solutions are then compared with those obtained by use of a simple model proposed previously by Scott, and the accuracy of this model is assessed. Finally, two versions of an alternative model are proposed which better approximate the action of the system. In the first, the properties of the model are defined by frequency-dependent parameters, whereas in the second, which is particularly helpful in analyses of transient response, they are represented by frequency-independent, constant parameters.

12. CHARACTERIZATION OF A RIGID BARRIER FILTER SYSTEM

SciTech Connect

Chiang, Ta-Kuan

2001-11-06

A mathematical model is formulated to describe the dynamics of a rigid barrier filter system. Complete with filtration, regeneration and particle re-deposition, this model provides sizing information for new filter systems and diagnostic information for operating filter systems. To turn this model into a practical and smart filter system predictive model, monitoring devices for variables such as real-time particle concentration and size distribution are currently under laboratory development. The program goal is to introduce a smart filter system to supervise its operation and to assure its system reliability. Primarily, a smart filter system will update operating information, sound up malfunction alarms, and provide self-activated measures such as adjusting the cleaning frequency, intensity and back-pulse duration.

13. Static friction between rigid fractal surfaces

Alonso-Marroquin, Fernando; Huang, Pengyu; Hanaor, Dorian A. H.; Flores-Johnson, E. A.; Proust, Gwénaëlle; Gan, Yixiang; Shen, Luming

2015-09-01

Using spheropolygon-based simulations and contact slope analysis, we investigate the effects of surface topography and atomic scale friction on the macroscopically observed friction between rigid blocks with fractal surface structures. From our mathematical derivation, the angle of macroscopic friction is the result of the sum of the angle of atomic friction and the slope angle between the contact surfaces. The latter is obtained from the determination of all possible contact slopes between the two surface profiles through an alternative signature function. Our theory is validated through numerical simulations of spheropolygons with fractal Koch surfaces and is applied to the description of frictional properties of Weierstrass-Mandelbrot surfaces. The agreement between simulations and theory suggests that for interpreting macroscopic frictional behavior, the descriptors of surface morphology should be defined from the signature function rather than from the slopes of the contacting surfaces.

14. Modeling Decomposition of Unconfined Rigid Polyurethane Foam

SciTech Connect

CHU,TZE YAO; ERICKSON,KENNETH L.; HOBBS,MICHAEL L.

1999-11-01

The decomposition of unconfined rigid polyurethane foam has been modeled by a kinetic bond-breaking scheme describing degradation of a primary polymer and formation of a thermally stable secondary polymer. The bond-breaking scheme is resolved using percolation theory to describe evolving polymer fragments. The polymer fragments vaporize according to individual vapor pressures. Kinetic parameters for the model were obtained from Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The chemical structure of the foam was determined from the preparation techniques and ingredients used to synthesize the foam. Scale-up effects were investigated by simulating the response of an incident heat flux of 25 W/cm{sup 2} on a partially confined 8.8-cm diameter by 15-cm long right circular cylinder of foam which contained an encapsulated component. Predictions of center, midradial, and component temperatures, as well as regression of the foam surface, were in agreement with measurements using thermocouples and X-ray imaging.

15. Coherent distributions for the rigid rotator

Grigorescu, Marius

2016-06-01

Coherent solutions of the classical Liouville equation for the rigid rotator are presented as positive phase-space distributions localized on the Lagrangian submanifolds of Hamilton-Jacobi theory. These solutions become Wigner-type quasiprobability distributions by a formal discretization of the left-invariant vector fields from their Fourier transform in angular momentum. The results are consistent with the usual quantization of the anisotropic rotator, but the expected value of the Hamiltonian contains a finite "zero point" energy term. It is shown that during the time when a quasiprobability distribution evolves according to the Liouville equation, the related quantum wave function should satisfy the time-dependent Schrödinger equation.

16. Long waves induced motions to rigid spheroids

Zhou, Hongkun; Hong, Lianjin

2015-05-01

Responses of unconstrained and rigid spheroidal bodies subjected to long sound waves are analyzed by means of approaching hydrodynamic method. It is shown that in the low-frequency approximation the amplitude of translational velocity is completely determined by the density as well as the acoustic added mass which is equal to hydrodynamic one associated with the body. The inconformity of responses to sound waves in virtue of geometric asymmetry is also presented. In addition, rotational movement engendered by acoustic oblique incidence is discussed, and it represents as the modulated angular oscillation similar to the beat-frequency vibration. All these analyses on acoustically induced motions provide a theoretical evidence for developing spheroidal inertial vector receivers.

17. Management of severe and rigid idiopathic scoliosis.

PubMed

Teixeira da Silva, Luis Eduardo Carelli; de Barros, Alderico Girão Campos; de Azevedo, Gustavo Borges Laurindo

2015-07-01

Frequently, severe idiopathic scoliosis patients are first seen in a spine centre after years of deformity evolution, presenting with large curves, severe rib hump, shoulder and trunk imbalance and cardiorespiratory complications related to neglected scoliosis. Severe rigid idiopathic scoliosis has <25% of correction on bending films and major curve over 90°. Adequate mobilization of this type of deformity is necessary to achieve maximal correction, often requiring more extensive surgical intervention, with care taken to avoid clinical and neurological complications. Halo traction, internal temporary distraction, releases, osteotomies and apical vertebral resection are often used in combination to achieve optimal results. Indications must be tailored by surgeons considering resources, deformity characteristics and patient's profile. Vertebral resection procedures may have potential neurological and clinical risks and should be one of the last treatment options performed by experienced surgical team. Neuromonitoring is essential during these procedures. PMID:26033753

18. Hybrid Flexible and Rigid Ceramic Insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rasky, Daniel J. (Inventor); Kourtides, Demetrius A. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

A method is provided for closing out the edges of a flexible ceramic insulation member including inner and outer mold line covering layers. A rigid, segmented, ceramic frame is placed round the edges of the insulation member and exposed edges of the inner and outer mold line covering layers are affixed to the ceramic frame. In one embodiment wherein the covering layers comprise fabrics, the outer fabric is bonded to the top surface and to grooved portion of the side surface of the frame. In another embodiment wherein the outer cover layer comprises a metallic foil, clips on the edges of the frame are used to engage foil extensions. The ceramic frame is coated with a high emittance densifier coating.

19. Supramolecular Synthons: Will Giant Rigid Superspheres Do?

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

For the first time, the concept of supramolecular synthons was applied to giant rigid superspheres based on pentaphosphaferrocene [CpRFe(η5-P5)] (R = Me, Et) and Cu(I) halides, which reach 2.1–3.0 nm in diameter. Two supramolecular synthons, σ–π and π–π, are discovered based on halogen···CpR and Cp*···Cp* specific interactions, respectively. The geometry of the synthons is reproducible in a series of crystal structures of various supramolecules. The σ–π synthon alone is realized more frequently for Br-containing superspheres. A combination of the σ–π and π–π synthons is more typical for Cl-containing supramolecules. Each supramolecule can bear up to nine synthons to give mostly 2D and 3D architectures. PMID:27081373

20. Rigid bodies for metal forming analysis with NIKE3D

SciTech Connect

Maker, B.N.

1995-01-25

Perhaps the most common approximation in engineering is that, relative to its neighbors, a system component is structurally rigid. This paper presents a development of the rigid assumption for use in nonlinear, implicit finite element codes. In this method, computational economy is gained by condensing the size of the associated linear system of equations, eliminating the processing of rigid elements, and reducing the overall nonlinearity of the problem.

1. Ambiguous fluidity and rigidity and diamonds that ooze!

PubMed

Meyer, G E; Dougherty, T J

1990-01-01

If white hemicircles rotate over the edges of a black diamond, there occurs an ambiguity of rigidity and motion. As the hemicircles obscure the vertices of the diamond, the figure transforms from a diamond to a rotating, nonrigid cross made of a tar-like fluid. When the corners reappear, the stimulus again becomes a rigid, solid diamond. Visibility of the vertices implies rigidity. If white squares are rotated, fluidity is not perceived. If the diamond has sawtooth edges and the hemicircles are rotated, no fluidity is perceived. Similarly, if illusory contours suggest the amodal completion of the vertices, rigidity is maintained. PMID:2096367

2. Quasiclassical trajectory studies of rigid rotor--rigid surface scattering. I. Flat surface

SciTech Connect

Bowman, J.M.; Park, S.C.

1982-12-01

Rotationally inelastic transition intensities are calculated for a model N/sub 2/ rigid rotor--rigid flat surface at initial collision energies of 104 and 3800 meV and for many initial beam orientations. The interaction potential is a Morse function modulated by a term which depends on the rotor orientation angle. The calculations are based on the quasiclassical trajectory method and a distorted trajectory perturbation theory. At the low collision energy the rotational excitation is mediated by the attractive part of the potential and by the repulsive part at high energies. The collision dynamics is direct in both energy regimes, however, quite complicated in the former one. Rotational rainbows are clearly observed for the high energy collisions.

3. A kidney deformation model for use in non-rigid registration during image-guided surgery

Ong, Rowena E.; Herrell, S. Duke, III; Miga, Michael I.; Galloway, Robert L., Jr.

2008-03-01

In order to facilitate the removal of tumors during partial nephrectomies, an image-guided surgery system may be useful. This system would require a registration of the physical kidney to a pre-operative image volume; however, it is unclear whether a rigid registration would be sufficient. One possible source of non-rigid deformation is the clamping of the renal artery during surgery and the subsequent loss of pressure as the kidney is punctured and blood loss occurs. To explore this issue, a model of kidney deformation due to loss of perfusion and pressure was developed based on Biot's consolidation model. The model was tested on two resected porcine kidneys in which the renal artery and vein were clamped. CT image volumes of the kidney were obtained before and after the deformation caused unclamping, and fiducial markers embedded on the kidney surface allowed the deformation to be tracked. The accuracy of the kidney model was accessed by calculating the model error at the fiducial locations and using image similarity measures. Preliminary results indicate that the model may be useful in a non-rigid registration scheme; however, further refinements to the model may be necessary to better simulate the deformation due to loss of perfusion and pressure.

4. Structure-property relationship in rigid-rigid polymer-toughened polypropylene blends

Wei, Guangxue

1999-11-01

The rigid-rigid polymer toughening concept is used to toughen and strengthen isotactic polypropylene (iPP). The morphology and mechanical behavior of iPP and Noryl poly(phenylene oxide)/polystyrene blends (iPP/Noryl) are studied. It is found that the fracture toughness of iPP can be significantly improved by adding rigid Noryl particles without causing any reduction in modulus. Large Noryl particles (about 10--15 mum) are formed if no compatibilizers are utilized in the iPP/Noryl blend. An addition of a small amount of styrene-ethylene-propylene (SEP) compatibilizer causes a significant reduction in Noryl particle size. A noticeable improvement in particle-matrix interfacial adhesion is also observed. Also, the fracture energies required for both crack initiation and crack propagation of iPP are greatly increased. The results show that phase morphology has a great effect on the mechanical performance of these blends. The toughening mechanisms in blends of iPP/Noryl are studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Crazing is found to be the dominant toughening mechanism in iPP/Noryl blend. A detailed investigation of fracture mechanisms reveals that Noryl particles help trigger and stabilize massive crazes in the iPP matrix. Crazing and shear banding mechanisms are found to operate sequentially in iPP/Noryl/SEP blends. As a result, the toughness of PP is significantly improved.

5. Perceptual, cognitive, and personality rigidity in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Díaz-Santos, Mirella; Cao, Bo; Yazdanbakhsh, Arash; Norton, Daniel J; Neargarder, Sandy; Cronin-Golomb, Alice

2015-03-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with motor and non-motor rigidity symptoms (e.g., cognitive and personality). The question is raised as to whether rigidity in PD also extends to perception, and if so, whether perceptual, cognitive, and personality rigidities are correlated. Bistable stimuli were presented to 28 non-demented individuals with PD and 26 normal control adults (NC). Necker cube perception and binocular rivalry were examined during passive viewing, and the Necker cube was additionally used for two volitional-control conditions: Hold one percept in front, and Switch between the two percepts. Relative to passive viewing, PD were significantly less able than NC to reduce dominance durations in the Switch condition, indicating perceptual rigidity. Tests of cognitive flexibility and a personality questionnaire were administered to explore the association with perceptual rigidity. Cognitive flexibility was not correlated with perceptual rigidity for either group. Personality (novelty seeking) correlated with dominance durations on Necker passive viewing for PD but not NC. The results indicate the presence in mild-moderate PD of perceptual rigidity and suggest shared neural substrates with novelty seeking, but functional divergence from those supporting cognitive flexibility. The possibility is raised that perceptual rigidity may be a harbinger of cognitive inflexibility later in the disease course. PMID:25640973

6. Decision-Making in Old Age: Cautiousness and Rigidity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calhoun, Richard E.; Hutchison, Sam L., Jr.

1981-01-01

Elderly participants (N=64) were classified as to high or low rigidity and completed the Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire. Previous findings were supported in that subjects preferred not to make decisions. Subjects were more cautious in making decisions applying to younger individuals and rigidity was related to risky decisions. (RC)

7. Lift on Flexible and Rigid Cambered Wings at High Incidence

Jones, Anya; Mancini, Peter; Granlund, Kenneth; Ol, Michael

2014-11-01

The effects of camber and camber change due to elastic deflection of a membrane wing were investigated for wings in rectilinear translation with parameter variations in wing incidence and acceleration. Direct force and moment measurements were performed on a rigid flat plate wing, rigid cambered wings, and a membrane wing. Features in the force histories were further examined via flow visualization by planar laser illumination of fluorescent dye. Below 10 degrees of incidence, Wagner's approximation accurately predicts the time-evolution of lift for the rigid wings. At higher incidence, flow separation results in force transients, and the effect of wing camber is no longer additive. Both the rigid flat plate and rigid cambered wings reach peak lift at a 35 degree angle of attack, whereas the flexible wing experiences stall delay and reaches peak lift at 50 degrees. Due to the aeroelasticity of the flexible membrane, flow over the suction surface remains attached for much higher incidence angles than for the rigid wings. For incidence angles less than 30 degrees, the peak lift of the flexible wing is lower than that of its rigid counterparts. Beyond 30 degrees, the flexible wing experiences an aeroelastically induced stall delay that allows lift to exceed the rigid analogs. This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory under the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) program.

8. Perceptual, Cognitive, and Personality Rigidity in Parkinson’s Disease

PubMed Central

Díaz-Santos, Mirella; Cao, Bo; Yazdanbakhsh, Arash; Norton, Daniel J.; Neargarder, Sandy; Cronin-Golomb, Alice

2015-01-01

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with motor and non-motor rigidity symptoms (e.g., cognitive and personality). The question is raised as to whether rigidity in PD also extends to perception, and if so, whether perceptual, cognitive, and personality rigidities are correlated. Bistable stimuli were presented to 28 non-demented individuals with PD and 26 normal control adults (NC). Necker cube perception and binocular rivalry were examined during passive viewing, and the Necker cube was additionally used for two volitional-control conditions: Hold one percept in front, and Switch between the two percepts. Relative to passive viewing, PD were significantly less able than NC to reduce dominance durations in the Switch condition, indicating perceptual rigidity. Tests of cognitive flexibility and a personality questionnaire were administered to explore the association with perceptual rigidity. Cognitive flexibility was not correlated with perceptual rigidity for either group. Personality (novelty seeking) correlated with dominance durations on Necker passive viewing for PD but not NC. The results indicate the presence in mild-moderate PD of perceptual rigidity and suggest shared neural substrates with novelty seeking, but functional divergence from those supporting cognitive flexibility. The possibility is raised that perceptual rigidity may be a harbinger of cognitive inflexibility later in the disease course. PMID:25640973

9. 21 CFR 876.3630 - Penile rigidity implant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Penile rigidity implant. 876.3630 Section 876.3630 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GASTROENTEROLOGY-UROLOGY DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 876.3630 Penile rigidity implant....

10. 21 CFR 886.5916 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens. 886.5916 Section 886.5916 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... lens. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens is a device intended to be worn...

11. 21 CFR 886.5916 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens. 886.5916 Section 886.5916 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... lens. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens is a device intended to be worn...

12. 21 CFR 886.5916 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens. 886.5916 Section 886.5916 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... lens. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens is a device intended to be worn...

13. 21 CFR 886.5916 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens. 886.5916 Section 886.5916 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... lens. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens is a device intended to be worn...

14. 21 CFR 886.5916 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens. 886.5916 Section 886.5916 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... lens. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens is a device intended to be worn...

15. Great apes select tools on the basis of their rigidity.

PubMed

Manrique, Héctor Marín; Gross, Alexandra Nam-Mi; Call, Josep

2010-10-01

Wild chimpanzees select tools according to their rigidity. However, little is known about whether choices are solely based on familiarity with the materials or knowledge about tool properties. Furthermore, it is unclear whether tool manipulation is required prior to selection or whether observation alone can suffice. We investigated whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) (n = 9), bonobos (Pan paniscus) (n = 4), orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) (n = 6), and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) (n = 2) selected new tools on the basis of their rigidity. Subjects faced an out-of-reach reward and a choice of three tools differing in color, diameter, material, and rigidity. We used 10 different 3-tool sets (1 rigid, 2 flexible). Subjects were unfamiliar with the tools and needed to select and use the rigid tool to retrieve the reward. Experiment 1 showed that subjects chose the rigid tool from the first trial with a 90% success rate. Experiments 2a and 2b addressed the role of manipulation and observation in tool selection. Subjects performed equally well in conditions in which they could manipulate the tools themselves or saw the experimenter manipulate the tools but decreased their performance if they could only visually inspect the tools. Experiment 3 showed that subjects could select flexible tools (as opposed to rigid ones) to meet new task demands. We conclude that great apes spontaneously selected unfamiliar rigid or flexible tools even after gathering minimal observational information. PMID:20718558

16. Rigid Body Motion in Stereo 3D Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zabunov, Svetoslav

2010-01-01

This paper addresses the difficulties experienced by first-grade students studying rigid body motion at Sofia University. Most quantities describing the rigid body are in relations that the students find hard to visualize and understand. They also lose the notion of cause-result relations between vector quantities, such as the relation between…

17. Variation in fracture zone rigidity by dynamic effects

Spivak, A. A.; Khazins, V. M.

2013-03-01

The coefficient of normal rigidity of different-order fault zones was evaluated from seismic data. The crust tectonic faults were shown to be dynamic systems and nonstatic. Specifically, this is manifested in the variability of their rigidity with time. The value of the rigidity of fault zones varies in time with periods of 13-15 days, 27-32 days, and around 1 year. Here, the coefficient of normal rigidity of different-order fault zones can vary by 1.3 (semimonthly variations) 1.5 (monthly variations), and 2.5 times (annual variations), respectively. These variations are most likely governed by the rate and intensity of the transformation of matter of fault zones and, as a consequence, the variations in their mechanical properties under tidal conditions. Dynamic effects like seismoexplosive waves lead to a reduction in the rigidity of fault zones by 5-50% depending on the amplitude of the compression wave.

18. Rigidity-Preserving Team Partitions in Multiagent Networks.

PubMed

Carboni, Daniela; Williams, Ryan K; Gasparri, Andrea; Ulivi, Giovanni; Sukhatme, Gaurav S

2015-12-01

Motivated by the strong influence network rigidity has on collaborative systems, in this paper, we consider the problem of partitioning a multiagent network into two sub-teams, a bipartition, such that the resulting sub-teams are topologically rigid. In this direction, we determine the existence conditions for rigidity-preserving bipartitions, and provide an iterative algorithm that identifies such partitions in polynomial time. In particular, the relationship between rigid graph partitions and the previously identified Z-link edge structure is given, yielding a feasible direction for graph search. Adapting a supergraph search mechanism, we then detail a methodology for discerning graphs cuts that represent valid rigid bipartitions. Next, we extend our methods to a decentralized context by exploiting leader election and an improved graph search to evaluate feasible cuts using only local agent-to-agent communication. Finally, full algorithm details and pseudocode are provided, together with simulation results that verify correctness and demonstrate complexity. PMID:25561600

19. Inflatable Tubular Structures Rigidized with Foams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tinker, Michael L.; Schnell, Andrew R.

2010-01-01

Inflatable tubular structures that have annular cross sections rigidized with foams, and the means of erecting such structures in the field, are undergoing development. Although the development effort has focused on lightweight structural booms to be transported in compact form and deployed in outer space, the principles of design and fabrication are also potentially applicable to terrestrial structures, including components of ultralightweight aircraft, lightweight storage buildings and shelters, lightweight insulation, and sales displays. The use of foams to deploy and harden inflatable structures was first proposed as early as the 1960s, and has been investigated in recent years by NASA, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, industry, and academia. In cases of deployable booms, most of the investigation in recent years has focused on solid cross sections, because they can be constructed relatively easily. However, solid-section foam-filled booms can be much too heavy for some applications. In contrast, booms with annular cross sections according to the present innovation can be tailored to obtain desired combinations of stiffness and weight through choice of diameters, wall thicknesses, and foam densities. By far the most compelling advantage afforded by this innovation is the possibility of drastically reducing weights while retaining or increasing the stiffnesses, relative to comparable booms that have solid foamfilled cross sections. A typical boom according to this innovation includes inner and outer polyimide film sleeves to contain foam that is injected between them during deployment.

20. Rigid multipodal platforms for metal surfaces

PubMed Central

Valášek, Michal; Lindner, Marcin

2016-01-01

Summary In this review the recent progress in molecular platforms that form rigid and well-defined contact to a metal surface are discussed. Most of the presented examples have at least three anchoring units in order to control the spatial arrangement of the protruding molecular subunit. Another interesting feature is the lateral orientation of these foot structures which, depending on the particular application, is equally important as the spatial arrangement of the molecules. The numerous approaches towards assembling and organizing functional molecules into specific architectures on metal substrates are reviewed here. Particular attention is paid to variations of both, the core structures and the anchoring groups. Furthermore, the analytical methods enabling the investigation of individual molecules as well as monomolecular layers of ordered platform structures are summarized. The presented multipodal platforms bearing several anchoring groups form considerably more stable molecule–metal contacts than corresponding monopodal analogues and exhibit an enlarged separation of the functional molecules due to the increased footprint, as well as restrict tilting of the functional termini with respect to the metal surface. These platforms are thus ideally suited to tune important properties of the molecule–metal interface. On a single-molecule level, several of these platforms enable the control over the arrangement of the protruding rod-type molecular structures (e.g., molecular wires, switches, rotors, sensors) with respect to the surface of the substrate. PMID:27335731

1. Spontaneous droplet trampolining on rigid superhydrophobic surfaces.

PubMed

Schutzius, Thomas M; Jung, Stefan; Maitra, Tanmoy; Graeber, Gustav; Köhme, Moritz; Poulikakos, Dimos

2015-11-01

Spontaneous removal of condensed matter from surfaces is exploited in nature and in a broad range of technologies to achieve self-cleaning, anti-icing and condensation control. But despite much progress, our understanding of the phenomena leading to such behaviour remains incomplete, which makes it challenging to rationally design surfaces that benefit from its manifestation. Here we show that water droplets resting on superhydrophobic textured surfaces in a low-pressure environment can self-remove through sudden spontaneous levitation and subsequent trampoline-like bouncing behaviour, in which sequential collisions with the surface accelerate the droplets. These collisions have restitution coefficients (ratios of relative speeds after and before collision) greater than unity despite complete rigidity of the surface, and thus seemingly violate the second law of thermodynamics. However, these restitution coefficients result from an overpressure beneath the droplet produced by fast droplet vaporization while substrate adhesion and surface texture restrict vapour flow. We also show that the high vaporization rates experienced by the droplets and the associated cooling can result in freezing from a supercooled state that triggers a sudden increase in vaporization, which in turn boosts the levitation process. This effect can spontaneously remove surface icing by lifting away icy drops the moment they freeze. Although these observations are relevant only to systems in a low-pressure environment, they show how surface texturing can produce droplet-surface interactions that prohibit liquid and freezing water-droplet retention on surfaces. PMID:26536959

2. Rigid body cable for virtual environments.

PubMed

Servin, Martin; Lacoursière, Claude

2008-01-01

The present paper addresses real-time simulation of cables for virtual environments. A faithful physical model based on constrained rigid bodies is introduced and discretized. The performance and stability of the numerical method are analyzed in details and found to meet the requirements of interactive heavy hoisting simulations. The physical model is well behaved in the limit of infinite stiffness as well as in the elastic regime, and the tuning parameters correspond directly to conventional material constants. The integration scheme mixes the well known Störmer-Verlet method for the dynamics equations with the linearly implicit Euler method for the constraint equations and enables physical constraint relaxation and stabilization terms. The technique is shown to have superior numerical stability properties in comparison with either chain link systems, or spring and damper models. Experimental results are presented to show that the method results in stable, real-time simulations. Stability persists for moderately large fixed integration step of Delta t = 1/60 s, with hoisting loads of up to 10(5) times heavier than the elements of the cable. Further numerical experiments validating the physical model are also presented. PMID:18467754

3. The rigidity of three flavor quark matter

SciTech Connect

Sharma, Rishi; Mannarelli, Massimo

2008-01-01

Cold three flavor quark matter at large (but not asymptotically large) densities may exist in a crystalline color superconducting phase. These phases are characterized by a gap parameter {Delta} that varies periodieally in space, forming a crystal structure. A Ginzburg-Landau expansion in {Delta} shows that two crystal structures based on cubic symetry are particularly favorable, and may be the ground state of matter at densities present in neutron star cores. We derive the effective action for the phonon fields that describe space-and time-dependent fluctuations of the crystal structure formed by {Delta}, and obtain the shear modulus from the coefficients of the spatial derivative terms. Within a Ginzburg-Landau approximation, we find shear moduli which are 20 to 1000 times larger than those of neutron star crusts. This phase ofmatter is thus more rigid than any known material in the universe, but at the same time the crystalline color superconducting phase is also superftuid. These properties raise the possibility that the presence of this phase within neutron stars may have distinct implications for their phenomenology. For example, (some) pulsar glitches may originate in crystalline superconducting neutron star cores.

4. Sextic potential for \\gamma -rigid prolate nuclei

Buganu, P.; Budaca, R.

2015-10-01

The equation of the Bohr-Mottelson Hamiltonian with a sextic oscillator potential is solved for γ -rigid prolate nuclei. The associated shape phase space is reduced to three variables which are exactly separated. The angular equation has the spherical harmonic functions as solutions, while the β equation is converted to the quasi-exactly solvable case of the sextic oscillator potential with a centrifugal barrier. The energies and the corresponding wave functions are given in closed form and depend, up to a scaling factor, on a single parameter. The {0}+ and {2}+ states are exactly determined, having an important role in the assignment of some ambiguous states for the experimental β bands. Due to the special properties of the sextic potential, the model can simulate, by varying the free parameter, a shape phase transition from a harmonic to an anharmonic prolate β -soft rotor crossing through a critical point. Numerical applications are performed for 39 nuclei: {}98-108Ru, {}{100,102}Mo, {}116-130Xe, {}{132,134}Ce, {}146-150Nd, {}{150,152}Sm, {}{152,154}Gd, {}{154,156}Dy, 172Os, {}180-196Pt, 190Hg and 222Ra. The best candidates for the critical point are found to be 104Ru and {}{120,126}Xe, followed closely by 128Xe, 172Os, 196Pt and 148Nd.

5. Coiling of elastic rods on rigid substrates.

PubMed

Jawed, Mohammad K; Da, Fang; Joo, Jungseock; Grinspun, Eitan; Reis, Pedro M

2014-10-14

We investigate the deployment of a thin elastic rod onto a rigid substrate and study the resulting coiling patterns. In our approach, we combine precision model experiments, scaling analyses, and computer simulations toward developing predictive understanding of the coiling process. Both cases of deposition onto static and moving substrates are considered. We construct phase diagrams for the possible coiling patterns and characterize them as a function of the geometric and material properties of the rod, as well as the height and relative speeds of deployment. The modes selected and their characteristic length scales are found to arise from a complex interplay between gravitational, bending, and twisting energies of the rod, coupled to the geometric nonlinearities intrinsic to the large deformations. We give particular emphasis to the first sinusoidal mode of instability, which we find to be consistent with a Hopf bifurcation, and analyze the meandering wavelength and amplitude. Throughout, we systematically vary natural curvature of the rod as a control parameter, which has a qualitative and quantitative effect on the pattern formation, above a critical value that we determine. The universality conferred by the prominent role of geometry in the deformation modes of the rod suggests using the gained understanding as design guidelines, in the original applications that motivated the study. PMID:25267649

6. Dynamic soil pressures on rigid cylindrical vaults

SciTech Connect

Veletsos, A.S.; Younan, A.H )

1993-02-01

A critical evaluation is made of the dynamic pressures and the associated forces induced by ground shaking on an upright, circular, rigid vault that is embedded in a uniform viscoelastic stratum of constant thickness and infinite extent in the horizontal plane. Both the vault and the stratum are presumed to be supported on a non- deformable base undergoing a space-invariant, uniform horizontal motion. The effects of both harmonic and earthquake-induced excitations are examined. Simple approximate expressions for the responses of the system are formulated, and comprehensive numerical data are presented which elucidate the underlying response mechanisms and the effects and relative importance of the various parameters involved. The parameters investigated include the height to radius ratio for the vault, the conditions at the vault-medium interface, and the material properties of the stratum. In addition to valuable insights into the response of the particular system being examined, the results presented provide a conceptual framework for the analysis and interpretation of solutions for more involved systems as well.

7. Spontaneous droplet trampolining on rigid superhydrophobic surfaces

Schutzius, Thomas M.; Jung, Stefan; Maitra, Tanmoy; Graeber, Gustav; Köhme, Moritz; Poulikakos, Dimos

2015-11-01

Spontaneous removal of condensed matter from surfaces is exploited in nature and in a broad range of technologies to achieve self-cleaning, anti-icing and condensation control. But despite much progress, our understanding of the phenomena leading to such behaviour remains incomplete, which makes it challenging to rationally design surfaces that benefit from its manifestation. Here we show that water droplets resting on superhydrophobic textured surfaces in a low-pressure environment can self-remove through sudden spontaneous levitation and subsequent trampoline-like bouncing behaviour, in which sequential collisions with the surface accelerate the droplets. These collisions have restitution coefficients (ratios of relative speeds after and before collision) greater than unity despite complete rigidity of the surface, and thus seemingly violate the second law of thermodynamics. However, these restitution coefficients result from an overpressure beneath the droplet produced by fast droplet vaporization while substrate adhesion and surface texture restrict vapour flow. We also show that the high vaporization rates experienced by the droplets and the associated cooling can result in freezing from a supercooled state that triggers a sudden increase in vaporization, which in turn boosts the levitation process. This effect can spontaneously remove surface icing by lifting away icy drops the moment they freeze. Although these observations are relevant only to systems in a low-pressure environment, they show how surface texturing can produce droplet-surface interactions that prohibit liquid and freezing water-droplet retention on surfaces.

8. Coiling of elastic rods on rigid substrates

PubMed Central

Jawed, Mohammad K.; Da, Fang; Joo, Jungseock; Grinspun, Eitan; Reis, Pedro M.

2014-01-01

We investigate the deployment of a thin elastic rod onto a rigid substrate and study the resulting coiling patterns. In our approach, we combine precision model experiments, scaling analyses, and computer simulations toward developing predictive understanding of the coiling process. Both cases of deposition onto static and moving substrates are considered. We construct phase diagrams for the possible coiling patterns and characterize them as a function of the geometric and material properties of the rod, as well as the height and relative speeds of deployment. The modes selected and their characteristic length scales are found to arise from a complex interplay between gravitational, bending, and twisting energies of the rod, coupled to the geometric nonlinearities intrinsic to the large deformations. We give particular emphasis to the first sinusoidal mode of instability, which we find to be consistent with a Hopf bifurcation, and analyze the meandering wavelength and amplitude. Throughout, we systematically vary natural curvature of the rod as a control parameter, which has a qualitative and quantitative effect on the pattern formation, above a critical value that we determine. The universality conferred by the prominent role of geometry in the deformation modes of the rod suggests using the gained understanding as design guidelines, in the original applications that motivated the study. PMID:25267649

9. Flow past 2-D Hemispherical Rigid Canopies

Carnasciali, Maria-Isabel

2013-11-01

The flow past a 2-dimensional rigid hemispherical shape is investigated using PIV. Flow field measurements and images were generated with the use of a Thermoflow® apparatus. Results of this study are compared to prior work (APS DFD 2012 Session E9.00003) which employed CFD to investigate the flow in the near wake of hemispherical parachutes. The various sized gaps/open areas were positioned at distinct locations. The work presented here is part of a larger research project to investigate flow fields in deceleration devices and parachutes. Understanding the pitch-stability of parachutes is essential for accurate design and implementation of these deceleration devices but they present a difficult system to analyze. The flexibility of the parachute fabric results in large variations in the parachute geometry leading to complex fluid-structure interactions. Such flow, combined with flow through gaps and open areas, has been postulated to shed alternating vortices causing pitching/oscillations of the canopy. The results presented provide some insight into which geometric features affect vortex shedding and may enable the redesign of the baseline parachute to minimize instabilities.

10. Rigid multipodal platforms for metal surfaces.

PubMed

Valášek, Michal; Lindner, Marcin; Mayor, Marcel

2016-01-01

In this review the recent progress in molecular platforms that form rigid and well-defined contact to a metal surface are discussed. Most of the presented examples have at least three anchoring units in order to control the spatial arrangement of the protruding molecular subunit. Another interesting feature is the lateral orientation of these foot structures which, depending on the particular application, is equally important as the spatial arrangement of the molecules. The numerous approaches towards assembling and organizing functional molecules into specific architectures on metal substrates are reviewed here. Particular attention is paid to variations of both, the core structures and the anchoring groups. Furthermore, the analytical methods enabling the investigation of individual molecules as well as monomolecular layers of ordered platform structures are summarized. The presented multipodal platforms bearing several anchoring groups form considerably more stable molecule-metal contacts than corresponding monopodal analogues and exhibit an enlarged separation of the functional molecules due to the increased footprint, as well as restrict tilting of the functional termini with respect to the metal surface. These platforms are thus ideally suited to tune important properties of the molecule-metal interface. On a single-molecule level, several of these platforms enable the control over the arrangement of the protruding rod-type molecular structures (e.g., molecular wires, switches, rotors, sensors) with respect to the surface of the substrate. PMID:27335731

11. Quantification is Neither Necessary Nor Sufficient for Measurement

Mari, Luca; Maul, Andrew; Torres Irribarra, David; Wilson, Mark

2013-09-01

Being an infrastructural, widespread activity, measurement is laden with stereotypes. Some of these concern the role of measurement in the relation between quality and quantity. In particular, it is sometimes argued or assumed that quantification is necessary for measurement; it is also sometimes argued or assumed that quantification is sufficient for or synonymous with measurement. To assess the validity of these positions the concepts of measurement and quantitative evaluation should be independently defined and their relationship analyzed. We contend that the defining characteristic of measurement should be the structure of the process, not a feature of its results. Under this perspective, quantitative evaluation is neither sufficient nor necessary for measurement.

12. Is the Supply of Mathematics and Science Teachers Sufficient?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingersoll, Richard M.; Perda, David

2010-01-01

This study seeks to empirically ground the debate over mathematics and science teacher shortages and evaluate the extent to which there is, or is not, sufficient supply of teachers in these fields. The authors' analyses of nationally representative data from multiple sources show that math and science are the fields most difficult to staff, but…

13. Online Learning in Higher Education: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Cher Ping

2005-01-01

The spectacular development of information and communication technologies through the Internet has provided opportunities for students to explore the virtual world of information. In this article, the author discusses the necessary and sufficient conditions for successful online learning in educational institutions. The necessary conditions…

14. Sufficient observables for large-scale structure in galaxy surveys

Carron, J.; Szapudi, I.

2014-03-01

Beyond the linear regime, the power spectrum and higher order moments of the matter field no longer capture all cosmological information encoded in density fluctuations. While non-linear transforms have been proposed to extract this information lost to traditional methods, up to now, the way to generalize these techniques to discrete processes was unclear; ad hoc extensions had some success. We pointed out in Carron and Szapudi's paper that the logarithmic transform approximates extremely well the optimal sufficient statistics', observables that extract all information from the (continuous) matter field. Building on these results, we generalize optimal transforms to discrete galaxy fields. We focus our calculations on the Poisson sampling of an underlying lognormal density field. We solve and test the one-point case in detail, and sketch out the sufficient observables for the multipoint case. Moreover, we present an accurate approximation to the sufficient observables in terms of the mean and spectrum of a non-linearly transformed field. We find that the corresponding optimal non-linear transformation is directly related to the maximum a posteriori Bayesian reconstruction of the underlying continuous field with a lognormal prior as put forward in the paper of Kitaura et al.. Thus, simple recipes for realizing the sufficient observables can be built on previously proposed algorithms that have been successfully implemented and tested in simulations.

15. Housing Policy and Family Self-Sufficiency. Background Briefing Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bratt, Rachel

The relationship between housing and family well-being and self-sufficiency are explored in this paper's three major sections. The first section provides background information on the relationship between housing and the physical and social well-being of individuals and families and describes the major federal housing initiatives that have been…

16. Leadership, the Logic of Sufficiency and the Sustainability of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottery, Mike

2012-01-01

The notion of sufficiency has not yet entered mainstream educational thinking, and it still has to make its mark upon educational leadership. However, a number of related concepts--particularly those of sustainability and complexity theory--are beginning to be noticed. This article examines these two concepts and uses them to critique the…

17. Hawaii's energy self-sufficiency program from renewable energy sources

SciTech Connect

Neill, D.R.

1981-01-01

The need for public support for incentives to accelerate commercialization of renewable energy sources is discussed from the viewpoint of the Hawaiian program to use the state's wind, solar, geothermal, and OTEC resources to achieve energy self-sufficiency. The objectives and major events in the research, development and demonstration and implementation programs and related activities are described. (LEW)

18. Intellectual Freedom and Economic Sufficiency as Educational Entitlements.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morse, Jane Fowler

2001-01-01

Using the theories of John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx, this article supports the educational entitlements of intellectual freedom and economic sufficiency. Explores these issues in reference to their implications for teaching, the teaching profession and its training. Concludes that ideas cannot be controlled by the interests of the dominant class.…

19. The Indochinese in America: Progress Towards Self Sufficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finck, John

Despite suspicion in some quarters that refugee resettlement has been unduly expensive, evidence indicates that the Indochinese have made steady progress toward self-sufficiency. The majority of Hmong refugees in Providence, Rhode Island, for example, which has been "heavily impacted" by the large number of Indochinese who have become its newest…

20. Exploring Necessary and Sufficient Conditions in Dynamic Geometry Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Allen; Chan, Yip-Cheung

2006-01-01

This paper describes a possible dragging experiment in a dynamic geometry environment (DGE) that explores a necessary and sufficient condition for cyclic quadrilateral. The dragging modalities identified by Arzarello, Olivero, Paola, and Robutti (2002) and the functions of variation realized in DGE discussed by Leung (2003) will be used as tools…

1. Recent Widows' Kin Support and Orientations to Self-Sufficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Bryant, Shirley L.; Morgan, Leslie A.

1990-01-01

Data on recently widowed women suggest that many are quite self-sufficient; however, in areas where support is needed, they largely rely on children. Widows' past experiences and attitudes toward independence influenced amount of overall help they received, whereas income, number of children, and perceived willingness of children to help affected…

2. Nematic order by elastic interactions and cellular rigidity sensing

Friedrich, B. M.; Safran, S. A.

2011-01-01

We predict spontaneous nematic order in an ensemble of active force generators with elastic interactions as a minimal model for early nematic alignment of short stress fibers in non-motile, adhered cells. Mean-field theory is formally equivalent to Maier-Saupe theory for a nematic liquid. However, the elastic interactions are long-ranged (and thus depend on cell shape and matrix elasticity) and originate in cell activity. Depending on the density of force generators, we find two regimes of cellular rigidity sensing for which orientational, nematic order of stress fibers depends on matrix rigidity either in a step-like manner or with a maximum at an optimal rigidity.

3. Fabrication of rigid microstructures with thiol-ene-based soft lithography for continuous-flow cell lysis

PubMed Central

Burke, Jeffrey M.; Pandit, Kunal R.; Goertz, John P.

2014-01-01

In this work, we introduce a method for the soft-lithography-based fabrication of rigid microstructures and a new, simple bonding technique for use as a continuous-flow cell lysis device. While on-chip cell lysis techniques have been reported previously, these techniques generally require a long on-chip residence time, and thus cannot be performed in a rapid, continuous-flow manner. Microstructured microfluidic devices can perform mechanical lysis of cells, enabling continuous-flow lysis; however, rigid silicon-based devices require complex and expensive fabrication of each device, while polydimethylsiloxane (PMDS), the most common material used for soft lithography fabrication, is not rigid and expands under the pressures required, resulting in poor lysis performance. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of microfluidic microstructures from off-stoichiometry thiol-ene (OSTE) polymer using soft-lithography replica molding combined with a post-assembly cure for easy bonding. With finite element simulations, we show that the rigid microstructures generate an energy dissipation rate of nearly 107, which is sufficient for continuous-flow cell lysis. Correspondingly, with the OSTE device we achieve lysis of highly deformable MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells at a rate of 85%, while a comparable PDMS device leads to a lysis rate of only 40%. PMID:25538814

4. A stable fluid-structure-interaction solver for low-density rigid bodies using the immersed boundary projection method

Lācis, Uǧis; Taira, Kunihiko; Bagheri, Shervin

2016-01-01

Dispersion of low-density rigid particles with complex geometries is ubiquitous in both natural and industrial environments. We show that while explicit methods for coupling the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and Newton's equations of motion are often sufficient to solve for the motion of cylindrical particles with low density ratios, for more complex particles - such as a body with a protrusion - they become unstable. We present an implicit formulation of the coupling between rigid body dynamics and fluid dynamics within the framework of the immersed boundary projection method. Similarly to previous work on this method, the resulting matrix equation in the present approach is solved using a block-LU decomposition. Each step of the block-LU decomposition is modified to incorporate the rigid body dynamics. We show that our method achieves second-order accuracy in space and first-order in time (third-order for practical settings), only with a small additional computational cost to the original method. Our implicit coupling yields stable solution for density ratios as low as 10-4. We also consider the influence of fictitious fluid located inside the rigid bodies on the accuracy and stability of our method.

5. Comparative costs of flexible package cells and rigid cells for lithium-ionhybrid electric vehicle batteries.

SciTech Connect

Nelson, P. A.; Jansen, A. N.

2006-11-28

We conducted a design study to compare the manufacturing costs at a level of 100,000 hybrid vehicle batteries per year for flexible package (Flex) cells and for rigid aluminum container (Rigid) cells. Initially, the Rigid cells were considered to have welded closures and to be deep-drawn containers of about the same shape as the Flex cells. As the study progressed, the method of fabricating and sealing the Rigid cells was expanded to include lower cost options including double seaming and other mechanically fastened closures with polymer sealants. Both types of batteries were designed with positive electrodes containing Li(Ni{sub 1/3}Co{sub 1/3}Mn{sub 1/3})O{sub 2} and graphite negative electrodes. The use of a different combination of lithium-ion electrodes would have little effect on the difference in costs for the two types of cells. We found that 20-Ah cells could be designed with excellent performance and heat rejection capabilities for either type of cell. Many parts in the design of the Flex cells are identical or nearly identical to those of the Rigid Cell, so for these features there would be no difference in the cost of manufacturing the two types of batteries. We judged the performance, size and weight of the batteries to be sufficiently similar that the batteries would have the same value for their application. Some of the design features of the Flex cells were markedly different than those of the deep-drawn and welded Rigid cells and would result in significant cost savings. Fabrication and processing steps for which the Flex cells appear to have a cost advantage over these Rigid cells are (1) container fabrication and sealing, (2) terminal fabrication and sealing, and (3) intercell connections. The costs of providing cooling channels adjacent to the cells and for module and battery hardware appear to favor Rigid cell batteries slightly. Overall, Flex cell batteries appear to have an advantage of about $1.20-$3.70 per cell for a 25-kW Battery of 20

6. The EINSTEIN-VARIĆAK Correspondence on Relativistic Rigid Rotation

Sauer, Tilman

2008-09-01

The historical significance of the problem of relativistic rigid rotation is reviewed in light of recently published correspondence between Einstein and the mathematician Vladimir Varićak from the years 1909 to 1913.

7. 13. VIEW OF CAUSEWAY, LOOKING EAST, PROFILING DETAILS OF RIGID ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

13. VIEW OF CAUSEWAY, LOOKING EAST, PROFILING DETAILS OF RIGID FRAME SPAN OVER CANAL STREET, AND SHOWING STEEL RIBS AND FLOOR BEANS ENCASED IN CONCRETE - Notre Dame Bridge, Spanning Merrimack River on Bridge Street, Manchester, Hillsborough County, NH

8. Entrepreneurship by any other name: self-sufficiency versus innovation.

PubMed

Parker Harris, Sarah; Caldwell, Kate; Renko, Maija

2014-01-01

Entrepreneurship has been promoted as an innovative strategy to address the employment of people with disabilities. Research has predominantly focused on the self-sufficiency aspect without fully integrating entrepreneurship literature in the areas of theory, systems change, and demonstration projects. Subsequently there are gaps in services, policies, and research in this field that, in turn, have limited our understanding of the support needs and barriers or facilitators of entrepreneurs with disabilities. A thorough analysis of the literature in these areas led to the development of two core concepts that need to be addressed in integrating entrepreneurship into disability employment research and policy: clarity in operational definitions and better disability statistics and outcome measures. This article interrogates existing research and policy efforts in this regard to argue for a necessary shift in the field from focusing on entrepreneurship as self-sufficiency to understanding entrepreneurship as innovation. PMID:25225770

9. Retinal flow is sufficient for steering during observer rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Li; Warren, William H Jr

2002-01-01

How do people control locomotion while their eyes are simultaneously rotating? A previous study found that during simulated rotation, they can perceive a straight path of self-motion from the retinal flow pattern, despite conflicting extraretinal information, on the basis of dense motion parallax and reference objects. Here we report that the same information is sufficient for active control ofjoystick steering. Participants steered toward a target in displays that simulated a pursuit eye movement. Steering was highly inaccurate with a textured ground plane (motion parallax alone), but quite accurate when an array of posts was added (motion parallax plus reference objects). This result is consistent with the theory that instantaneous heading is determined from motion parallax, and the path of self-motion is determined by updating heading relative to environmental objects. Retinal flow is thus sufficient for both perceiving self-motion and controlling self-motion with a joystick; extraretinal and positional information can also contribute, but are not necessary.

10. Efficiency, sufficiency, and recent change in Newfoundland subsistence horticulture

SciTech Connect

Omohundro, J.T.

1986-09-01

Traditional Newfoundland horticulture has been a subordinate and compensatory element of the subsistence sphere in a plural economy centered on fishing. Criticized as inefficient and ruinous to the land, this tuber-rootbrassica gardening has in fact been a valuable contribution to diet, is relatively efficient, and compensates for the inadequacies of land and weather. Field data from the Great Northern Peninsula, where some traditional practices persist, demonstrate that the practices conserve time and labor, and substitute massive applications of materials to assure a yield sufficient for household needs. The inefficiency in the tradition may be understood as a response to the constraints upon household labor and follows a kind of Leibig's law of the minimum. Recent changes in gardening practices reveal the dynamics of horticulture in the household's mixed economic strategy. As cash and land have become more common, they have been used to further reduce time while maintaining sufficiency.

11. Energy and momentum conserving algorithms for rigid body contact

SciTech Connect

Puso, M.A.; Zywicz, E.

1998-04-09

Energy-momentum conserving methods are developed for rigid body dynamics with contact. Because these methods are unconditionally stable, they are not time step dependent and, hence, are well suited for incorporation into structural mechanics finite element codes. Both penalty and Lagrange multiplier methods are developed herein and are the extension of the energy-momentum conserving integration schemes for rigid bodies given by Simo and Wong [1].

12. Extracting DNA Twist Rigidity from Experimental Supercoiling Data

Neukirch, Sébastien

2004-11-01

We use an elastic rod model with contact to study the extension versus rotation diagrams of single supercoiled DNA molecules. We reproduce quantitatively the supercoiling response of overtwisted DNA and, using experimental data, we obtain an estimate of the effective supercoiling radius and of the twist rigidity of B-DNA. We find that the twist rigidity of DNA seems to vary widely with the nature and concentration of the salt buffer in which it is immersed.

13. Predictive sufficiency and the use of stored internal state

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musliner, David J.; Durfee, Edmund H.; Shin, Kang G.

1994-01-01

In all embedded computing systems, some delay exists between sensing and acting. By choosing an action based on sensed data, a system is essentially predicting that there will be no significant changes in the world during this delay. However, the dynamic and uncertain nature of the real world can make these predictions incorrect, and thus, a system may execute inappropriate actions. Making systems more reactive by decreasing the gap between sensing and action leaves less time for predictions to err, but still provides no principled assurance that they will be correct. Using the concept of predictive sufficiency described in this paper, a system can prove that its predictions are valid, and that it will never execute inappropriate actions. In the context of our CIRCA system, we also show how predictive sufficiency allows a system to guarantee worst-case response times to changes in its environment. Using predictive sufficiency, CIRCA is able to build real-time reactive control plans which provide a sound basis for performance guarantees that are unavailable with other reactive systems.

14. Design requirements for rigid printed wiring boards and assemblies. NASA Handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The NASA requirements for assuring reliable rigid printed wiring board design are prescribed. Basic considerations necessary to assure reliable rigid printed wiring board design are described and incorporated.

15. On the inertial motions of liquid-filled rigid bodies

Mazzone, Giusy; Galdi, Giovanni; Zunino, Paolo

2013-11-01

We consider a rigid body with a cavity completely filled by a viscous liquid and study the inertial motions of the system liquid-filled rigid body S . The equations governing the motion of this coupled system are given by the Navier-Stokes equations and the equations of the balance of the total angular momentum of S in absence of external forces and torques. Given any initial motion to the coupled system, characterized by an initial relative velocity of the fluid and an initial total angular momentum, we give a complete description of the behavior that the system liquid-filled rigid body will show at large times. From both analytical and numerical viewpoints, we are able to prove a longstanding conjecture stated by Zhukovskii, namely that S will eventually reach a steady state which is a rigid body permanent rotation. In other words, the liquid goes to rest with respect to the rigid body and the coupled system will rotate as a whole rigid body, with a constant angular velocity that is directed along one of the principal axes of inertia of the system.

16. Rigidity of various fixation methods used as dental splints.

PubMed

Oikarinen, K; Andreasen, J O; Andreasen, F M

1992-06-01

Horizontal and vertical rigidity of teeth fixed with seven types of dental splints were evaluated by two tooth mobility measuring devices. Altogether 21 dissected sheep mandibles including soft tissues were used for the experiments in which Fermit, flexible wire-composite, Kevlar, Fiber, Protemp, rigid wire-composite and Triad Gel splints were applied to four incisors. The mean rigidity of the central incisors within the splint was measured by means of Mühlemann periodontometer (horizontal mobility) and Periotest (horizontal and vertical mobilities). Mobility values of teeth before splinting were used as covariants and the values with the splints were illustrated as adjusted mobility. Statistical significance between the rigidity of various splints was analyzed by an unpaired t-test. It was shown that the most rigid splints both in horizontal and vertical directions were Triad Gel, rigid wire-composite and Fermit splints. Kevlar and Fiber splint allowed more horizontal movement than other splints. Protemp and flexible wire-composite splints proved to produce adequate lateral support for the fixed teeth and allowed vertical flexibility which is experimentally known to improve periodontal healing of luxated teeth. PMID:1289069

17. The coupling VIV analysis of SCRs with rigid swing

Liu, Juan; Huang, Weiping

2015-08-01

With the development of deepwater oil and gas exploration, Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) become preferred risers for resource production, import and export. Vortex induced vibration (VIV) is the key problem encountered in the design of SCRs. In this study, a new model, the rigid swing model, is proposed based on the consideration of large curvature of SCRs. The sag bend of SCRs is assumed as a rigid swing system around the axis from the hanging point to the touch down point (TDP) in the model. The torque, produced by the lift force and the swing vector, provides the driving torque for the swing system, and the weight of SCRs provides the restoring torque. The simulated response of rigid swing is coupled with bending vibration, and then the coupling VIV model of SCRs is studied in consideration of bending vibration and rigid motion. The calculated results indicate that the rigid swing has a magnitude equal to that of bending vibration, and the rigid motion affects the dynamic response of SCRs and can not be neglected in the VIV analysis.

18. Technology for human self-sufficiency in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, John L.

1988-01-01

A proposed Pathfinder program would determine the critical human and technology requirements for human self-sufficiency and productivity on manned and long-duration missions to the moon and Mars. Human health would require countermeasures against weightlessness, protection from space radiation and habitats conducive to psychological well-being. Life support systems would need regeneration of expendable resources, power systems for plant life support and processing; and microbial contaminant control. Operational performance requirements include extravehicular activities suit, interactive systems for shared control between humans and computers, and human-centered semi-autonomous systems.

19. Is recurrent processing necessary and/or sufficient for consciousness?

PubMed

Tsuchiya, Naotsugu; van Boxtel, Jeroen J A

2010-09-01

Abstract Abstract While we agree with Lamme's general framework, we are not so convinced by his mapping between psychological concepts with their underlying neuronal mechanisms. Specifically, we doubt if recurrent processing is either necessary or sufficient for consciousness. A gist of a scene may be consciously perceived by purely feedforward, without recurrent, processing. Neurophysiological studies of perceptual suppression show recurrent processing in visual cortex for consciously invisible objects. While the neuronal correlates of attention and consciousness remain to be clarified, we agree with Lamme that these two processes are independent, evinced by our recent demonstration of opposing effects of attention and consciousness. PMID:24168345

20. Vitamin D sufficiency and Staphylococcus aureus infection in children.

PubMed

Wang, Jeffrey W; Hogan, Patrick G; Hunstad, David A; Fritz, Stephanie A

2015-05-01

Vitamin D promotes epithelial immunity by upregulating antimicrobial peptides, including LL-37, which have bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus. We found that children with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency [25-hydroxyvitamin D <30 ng/mL] were more likely to present with recurrent, rather than primary, S. aureus skin or soft tissue infection. Vitamin D sufficiency may be one of a myriad of host and environmental factors that can be directly impacted to reduce the frequency of S. aureus skin and soft tissue infection. PMID:25860535

1. Molecular Rigidity in Dry and Hydrated Onion Cell Walls.

PubMed Central

Ha, M. A.; Apperley, D. C.; Jarvis, M. C.

1997-01-01

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation experiments can provide information on the rigidity of individual molecules within a complex structure such as a cell wall, and thus show how each polymer can potentially contribute to the rigidity of the whole structure. We measured the proton magnetic relaxation parameters T2 (spin-spin) and T1p (spin-lattice) through the 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of dry and hydrated cell walls from onion (Allium cepa L.) bulbs. Dry cell walls behaved as rigid solids. The form of their T2 decay curves varied on a continuum between Gaussian, as in crystalline solids, and exponential, as in more mobile materials. The degree of molecular mobility that could be inferred from the T2 and T1p decay patterns was consistent with a crystalline state for cellulose and a glassy state for dry pectins. The theory of composite materials may be applied to explain the rigidity of dry onion cell walls in terms of their components. Hydration made little difference to the rigidity of cellulose and most of the xyloglucan shared this rigidity, but the pectic fraction became much more mobile. Therefore, the cellulose/xyloglucan microfibrils behaved as solid rods, and the most significant physical distinction within the hydrated cell wall was between the microfibrils and the predominantly pectic matrix. A minor xyloglucan fraction was much more mobile than the microfibrils and probably corresponded to cross-links between them. Away from the microfibrils, pectins expanded upon hydration into a nonhomogeneous, but much softer, almost-liquid gel. These data are consistent with a model for the stress-bearing hydrated cell wall in which pectins provide limited stiffness across the thickness of the wall, whereas the cross-linked microfibril network provides much greater rigidity in other directions. PMID:12223827

2. Molecular Rigidity in Dry and Hydrated Onion Cell Walls.

PubMed

Ha, M. A.; Apperley, D. C.; Jarvis, M. C.

1997-10-01

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation experiments can provide information on the rigidity of individual molecules within a complex structure such as a cell wall, and thus show how each polymer can potentially contribute to the rigidity of the whole structure. We measured the proton magnetic relaxation parameters T2 (spin-spin) and T1p (spin-lattice) through the 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of dry and hydrated cell walls from onion (Allium cepa L.) bulbs. Dry cell walls behaved as rigid solids. The form of their T2 decay curves varied on a continuum between Gaussian, as in crystalline solids, and exponential, as in more mobile materials. The degree of molecular mobility that could be inferred from the T2 and T1p decay patterns was consistent with a crystalline state for cellulose and a glassy state for dry pectins. The theory of composite materials may be applied to explain the rigidity of dry onion cell walls in terms of their components. Hydration made little difference to the rigidity of cellulose and most of the xyloglucan shared this rigidity, but the pectic fraction became much more mobile. Therefore, the cellulose/xyloglucan microfibrils behaved as solid rods, and the most significant physical distinction within the hydrated cell wall was between the microfibrils and the predominantly pectic matrix. A minor xyloglucan fraction was much more mobile than the microfibrils and probably corresponded to cross-links between them. Away from the microfibrils, pectins expanded upon hydration into a nonhomogeneous, but much softer, almost-liquid gel. These data are consistent with a model for the stress-bearing hydrated cell wall in which pectins provide limited stiffness across the thickness of the wall, whereas the cross-linked microfibril network provides much greater rigidity in other directions. PMID:12223827

3. Assessment of sagittal split ramus osteotomy rigid internal fixation techniques using a finite element method.

PubMed

Albougha, S; Darwich, K; Darwich, M A; Albogha, M H

2015-07-01

In this study, finite element analysis (FEA) was used to evaluate nine rigid internal fixation techniques for sagittal split ramus osteotomy. To achieve this, a computed tomography (CT) scan of a healthy patient was obtained and used to generate the geometry of a half-mandible. The geometries of bicortical screws, miniplates, and monocortical screws were designed and combined with the mandible in nine models simulating various techniques. Four models used bicortical screws in various arrangements and four used miniplates of various designs. One model represented a hybrid technique. A load of 500 N was applied to the posterior teeth and FEA was applied. The most stable techniques were the hybrid technique and a single straight miniplate, presenting the least displacement among all models. Bicortical screws, while presenting reasonable stability, showed high strain areas near the anterior ramus ridge, superoposterior to the screws, implying a risk of bone fracture in this area. On the other hand, the T-shaped and double Y-shaped miniplates were associated with high von Mises stresses that would impair their rigidity, especially where angles appeared in their designs. We recommend the use of a single straight miniplate because it provides sufficient stable fixation with minimal risks or disadvantages. PMID:25766461

4. SHED: A program for three-dimensional, rigid body, shroud ejection dynamics

SciTech Connect

Segalman, D.J.

1988-03-01

The computer program SHED (for SHroud Ejection Dynamics) which calculates the exoatmospheric trajectory of a missile shroud is described. This rigid body dynamics program follows the motion of the shroud as its motors accelerate it ahead and away form the missile. Of particular interest is the ability of SHED to accommodate the forces produced by the motors which are ''fixed'' to the body in the sense that they both translate and rotate along with the body. The code as written has the following capabilities: The resulting program can accommodate an arbitrary number of motors, arranged in an arbitrary manner on the shroud, and each imposing an arbitrary schedule of thrust; The shroud may have any arbitrary shape; and Guides can be accommodated which protect the payload by preventing shroud rotation or lateral motion until the shroud has passed over the guide. Limitations are that all bodies are assumed to be rigid and aerodynamic loads are not included. SHED has proven itself sufficiently robust and versatile to permit a critical comparison of a large range of shroud separation strategies in selecting a separation strategy for the Strategic TARgeting System (STARS) funded by the Army SDI Office. 8 refs., 9 figs.

5. NON-RIGID IMAGE REGISTRATION BASED STRAIN ESTIMATOR FOR INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND ELASTOGRAPHY

PubMed Central

Richards, Michael S.; Doyley, Marvin M.

2013-01-01

Intravascular ultrasound elastography (IVUSe) could improve the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease by revealing vulnerable plaques through their mechanical tissue properties. To improve the performance of IVUSe, we developed and implemented a non-rigid image-registration method to visualize the radial and circumferential component of strain within vascular tissues. We evaluated the algorithm’s performance with four initialization schemes using simulated and experimentally acquired ultrasound images. Applying the registration method to radio-frequency (RF) echo frames improved the accuracy of displacements compared to when B-mode images were employed. However, strain elastograms measured from RF echo frames produce erroneous results when both the zero-initialization method and the mesh-refinement scheme were employed. For most strain levels, the cross-correlation-initialization method produced the best performance. The simulation study predicted that elastograms obtained from vessels with average strains in the range of 3%–5% should have high elastographic signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe)–on the order of 4.5 and 7.5 for the radial and circumferential components of strain, respectively. The preliminary in vivo validation study (phantom and an atherosclerotic rabbit) demonstrated that the non-rigid registration method could produce useful radial and circumferential strain elastograms under realistic physiologic conditions. The results of this investigation were sufficiently encouraging to warrant a more comprehensive in vivo validation. PMID:23245827

6. Photon underproduction crisis: Are QSOs sufficient to resolve it?

Khaire, Vikram; Srianand, Raghunathan

2015-07-01

We investigate the recent claim of photon underproduction crisis' by Kollmeier et al. which suggests that the known sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation may not be sufficient to generate the inferred H I photoionization rate (Γ _{H I}) in the low-redshift intergalactic medium. Using the updated QSO emissivities from the recent studies and our cosmological radiative transfer code developed to estimate the UV background, we show that the QSO contributions to Γ _{H I} is higher by a factor ˜2 as compared to the previous estimates. Using self-consistently computed combinations of star formation rate density and dust attenuation, we show that a typical UV escape fraction of 4 per cent from star-forming galaxies should be sufficient to explain the inferred Γ _{H I} by Kollmeier et al. Interestingly, we find that the contribution from QSOs alone can explain the recently inferred Γ _{H I} by Shull et al. which used the same observational data but different simulation. Therefore, we conclude that the crisis is not as severe as it was perceived before and there seems no need to look for alternate explanations such as low luminosity hidden QSOs or decaying dark matter particles.

7. A theoretical evaluation of rigid baffles in suppression of combustion instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baer, M. R.; Mitchell, C. E.

1976-01-01

An analytical technique for the prediction of the effects of rigid baffles on the stability of liquid propellant combustors is presented. A three dimensional combustor model characterized by a concentrated combustion source at the chamber injector and a constant Mach number nozzle is used. The linearized partial differential equations describing the unsteady flow field are solved by an eigenfunction matching method. Boundary layer corrections to this unsteady flow are used to evaluate viscous and turbulence effects within the flow. An integral stability relationship is then employed to predict the decay rate of the oscillations. Results show that sufficient dissipation exists to indicate that the proper mechanism of baffle damping is a fluid dynamic loss. The response of the dissipation model to varying baffle blade length, mean flow Mach number and oscillation amplitude is examined.

8. Theoretical evaluation of rigid baffles in the suppression of combustion instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baer, M. R.; Mitchell, C. E.

1976-01-01

An analytical technique for the prediction of the effects of rigid baffles on the stability of liquid propellant combustors is presented. This analysis employs both two and three dimensional combustor models characterized by concentrated combustion sources at the chamber injector and a constant Mach number nozzle. An eigenfunction-matching method is used to solve the linearized partial differential equations describing the unsteady flow field for both models. Boundary layer corrections to this unsteady flow are in a mechanical energy dissipation model to evaluate viscous and turbulence effects within the flow. An integral instability relationship is then employed to predict the decay rate of the oscillations. Results of this analysis agree qualitatively with experimental observations and show that sufficient dissipation exists to indicate that the proper mechanism of baffle damping is a fluid dynamic loss. The response of the dissipation model to varying baffle blade length, mean flow Mach number, oscillation amplitude, baffle configuration, and oscillation mode is examined.

9. Method of preparing porous, rigid ceramic separators for an electrochemical cell

DOEpatents

1981-01-01

Porous, rigid separators for electrochemical cells are prepared by first calcining particles of ceramic material at temperatures above about 1200.degree. C. for a sufficient period of time to reduce the sinterability of the particles. A ceramic powder that has not been calcined is blended with the original powder to control the porosity of the completed separator. The ceramic blend is then pressed into a sheet of the desired shape and sintered at a temperature somewhat lower than the calcination temperature. Separator sheets of about 1 to 2.5 mm thickness and 30 to 70% porosity can be prepared by this technique. Ceramics such as yttria, magnesium oxide and magnesium-aluminum oxide have advantageously been used to form separators by this method.

10. Sound scattering by rigid oblate spheroids, with implication to pressure gradient microphones

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maciulaitis, A.; Seiner, J.; Norum, T. D.

1976-01-01

The frequency limit below which sound scattering by a microphone body is sufficiently small to permit accurate pressure gradient measurements was determined. The sound pressure was measured at various points on the surface of a rigid oblate spheroid illuminated by spherical waves generated by a point source at a large distance from the spheroid, insuring an essentially plane sound field. The measurements were made with small pressure microphones flush mounted from the inside of the spheroid model. Numerical solutions were obtained for a variety of spheroid shapes, including that of the experimental model. Very good agreement was achieved between the experimental and theoretical results. It was found that scattering effects are insignificant if the ratio of the major circumference of the spheroid to the wavelength of the incident sound is less than about 0.7, this number being dependent upon the shape of the spheroid. This finding can be utilized in the design of pressure gradient microphones.

11. Method of preparing porous, rigid ceramic separators for an electrochemical cell. [Patent application

DOEpatents

Porous, rigid separators for electrochemical cells are prepared by first calcining particles of ceramic material at temperatures above about 1200/sup 0/C for a sufficient period of time to reduce the sinterability of the particles. A ceramic powder that has not been calcined is blended with the original powder to control the porosity of the completed separator. The ceramic blend is then pressed into a sheet of the desired shape and sintered at a temperature somewhat lower than the calcination temperature. Separator sheets of about 1 to 2.5 mm thickness and 30 to 70% porosity can be prepared by this technique. Ceramics such as yttria, magnesium oxide, and magnesium-aluminium oxide have advantageously been used to form separators by this method.

12. Hybrid rigid/soft and biologic/synthetic materials: polymers grafted onto cellulose microcrystals.

PubMed

Harrisson, Simon; Drisko, Glenna L; Malmström, Eva; Hult, Anders; Wooley, Karen L

2011-04-11

Rigid nanoscale polymer rods were prepared by grafting preformed amine-terminated poly(styrene) and poly(tert-butyl acrylate) onto oxidized cellulose microcrystals. Low polydispersity polymers, grown using atom transfer radical polymerization, were characterized and purified prior to cellulose attachment. Oxidation of the cellulose microcrystal led to the formation of carboxylic acids on the surface of the microcrystals. Covalent attachment of the polymers onto the cellulose microcrystals was achieved via a carbodiimide-mediated amidation reaction. The length and diameter of the polymer-cellulose composites increased upon surface modification. Typically, polymer-cellulose composites are synthesized by a grafting-from method because it can be difficult to obtain sufficient graft density using a grafting-to preparation. However, the composites reported here comprised 60-64% grafted polymer by mass. This degree of grafting-to allowed the composite to form stable suspensions in organic solvents. PMID:21381766

13. Rigid levitation and suspension of high-temperature superconductors by magnets

SciTech Connect

Brandt, E.H. )

1990-01-01

A high-{ital T}{sub {ital c}} superconductor floating freely above a magnet of low symmetry remains rigidly suspended in the air in almost any position and orientation as if stuck in an invisible heap of sand. This striking effect is due to pinning of the magnetic flux lines inside the superconductor and is often overlooked, since usually magnets with rotational symmetry are used for levitation. Magnets with rotational symmetry allow for nearly undamped orbiting and rotation of the superconductor about the magnet's symmetry axis. But even in this geometry, flux-line pinning can be seen, since it forces the orbiting superconductor to turn the same face toward the axis. Superconductors with sufficiently strong pinning may even be suspended below a magnet.

14. Barriers to cooperation aid ideological rigidity and threaten societal collapse.

PubMed

Jusup, Marko; Matsuo, Tadasu; Iwasa, Yoh

2014-05-01

Understanding the factors that promote, disrupt, or shape the nature of cooperation is one of the main tasks of evolutionary biology. Here, we focus on attitudes and beliefs supportive of in-group favoritism and strict adherence to moral consensus, collectively known as ideological rigidity, that have been linked with both ends of the political spectrum. The presence among the political right and the left is likely to make ideological rigidity a major determinant of the political discourse with an important social function. To better understand this function, we equip the indirect reciprocity framework--widely used to explain evaluation-mediated social cooperation--with multiple stylized value systems, each corresponding to the different degree of ideological rigidity. By running game theoretical simulations, we observe the competitive evolution of these systems, map conditions that lead to more ideologically rigid societies, and identify potentially disastrous outcomes. In particular, we uncover that barriers to cooperation aid ideological rigidity. The society may even polarize to the extent where social parasites overrun the population and cause the complete collapse of the social structure. These results have implications for lawmakers globally, warning against restrictive or protectionist policies. PMID:24809975

15. Barriers to Cooperation Aid Ideological Rigidity and Threaten Societal Collapse

PubMed Central

Jusup, Marko; Matsuo, Tadasu; Iwasa, Yoh

2014-01-01

Understanding the factors that promote, disrupt, or shape the nature of cooperation is one of the main tasks of evolutionary biology. Here, we focus on attitudes and beliefs supportive of in-group favoritism and strict adherence to moral consensus, collectively known as ideological rigidity, that have been linked with both ends of the political spectrum. The presence among the political right and the left is likely to make ideological rigidity a major determinant of the political discourse with an important social function. To better understand this function, we equip the indirect reciprocity framework – widely used to explain evaluation-mediated social cooperation – with multiple stylized value systems, each corresponding to the different degree of ideological rigidity. By running game theoretical simulations, we observe the competitive evolution of these systems, map conditions that lead to more ideologically rigid societies, and identify potentially disastrous outcomes. In particular, we uncover that barriers to cooperation aid ideological rigidity. The society may even polarize to the extent where social parasites overrun the population and cause the complete collapse of the social structure. These results have implications for lawmakers globally, warning against restrictive or protectionist policies. PMID:24809975

16. Packing density of rigid aggregates is independent of scale

PubMed Central

Zangmeister, Christopher D.; Radney, James G.; Dockery, Lance T.; Young, Jessica T.; Ma, Xiaofei; You, Rian; Zachariah, Michael R.

2014-01-01

Large planetary seedlings, comets, microscale pharmaceuticals, and nanoscale soot particles are made from rigid, aggregated subunits that are compacted under low compression into larger structures spanning over 10 orders of magnitude in dimensional space. Here, we demonstrate that the packing density (θf) of compacted rigid aggregates is independent of spatial scale for systems under weak compaction. The θf of rigid aggregated structures across six orders of magnitude were measured using nanoscale spherical soot aerosol composed of aggregates with ∼17-nm monomeric subunits and aggregates made from uniform monomeric 6-mm spherical subunits at the macroscale. We find θf = 0.36 ± 0.02 at both dimensions. These values are remarkably similar to θf observed for comet nuclei and measured values of other rigid aggregated systems across a wide variety of spatial and formative conditions. We present a packing model that incorporates the aggregate morphology and show that θf is independent of both monomer and aggregate size. These observations suggest that the θf of rigid aggregates subject to weak compaction forces is independent of spatial dimension across varied formative conditions. PMID:24927577

17. Maintain rigid structures in Verlet based Cartesian molecular dynamics simulations

Tao, Peng; Wu, Xiongwu; Brooks, Bernard R.

2012-10-01

An algorithm is presented to maintain rigid structures in Verlet based Cartesian molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. After each unconstrained MD step, the coordinates of selected particles are corrected to maintain rigid structures through an iterative procedure of rotation matrix computation. This algorithm, named as SHAPE and implemented in CHARMM program suite, avoids the calculations of Lagrange multipliers, so that the complexity of computation does not increase with the number of particles in a rigid structure. The implementation of this algorithm does not require significant modification of propagation integrator, and can be plugged into any Cartesian based MD integration scheme. A unique feature of the SHAPE method is that it is interchangeable with SHAKE for any object that can be constrained as a rigid structure using multiple SHAKE constraints. Unlike SHAKE, the SHAPE method can be applied to large linear (with three or more centers) and planar (with four or more centers) rigid bodies. Numerical tests with four model systems including two proteins demonstrate that the accuracy and reliability of the SHAPE method are comparable to the SHAKE method, but with much more applicability and efficiency.

18. Unified Creep Plasticity Damage (UCPD) Model for Rigid Polyurethane Foams.

SciTech Connect

Neilsen, Michael K.; Lu, Wei-Yang; Scherzinger, William M.; Hinnerichs, Terry D.; Lo, Chi S.

2015-06-01

Numerous experiments were performed to characterize the mechanical response of several different rigid polyurethane foams (FR3712, PMDI10, PMDI20, and TufFoam35) to large deformation. In these experiments, the effects of load path, loading rate, and temperature were investigated. Results from these experiments indicated that rigid polyurethane foams exhibit significant volumetric and deviatoric plasticity when they are compressed. Rigid polyurethane foams were also found to be very strain-rate and temperature dependent. These foams are also rather brittle and crack when loaded to small strains in tension or to larger strains in compression. Thus, a new Unified Creep Plasticity Damage (UCPD) model was developed and implemented into SIERRA with the name Foam Damage to describe the mechanical response of these foams to large deformation at a variety of temperatures and strain rates. This report includes a description of recent experiments and experimental findings. Next, development of a UCPD model for rigid, polyurethane foams is described. Selection of material parameters for a variety of rigid polyurethane foams is then discussed and finite element simulations with the new UCPD model are compared with experimental results to show behavior that can be captured with this model.

19. Non-rigid alignment in electron tomography in materials science.

PubMed

Printemps, Tony; Bernier, Nicolas; Bleuet, Pierre; Mula, Guido; Hervé, Lionel

2016-09-01

Electron tomography is a key technique that enables the visualization of an object in three dimensions with a resolution of about a nanometre. High-quality 3D reconstruction is possible thanks to the latest compressed sensing algorithms and/or better alignment and preprocessing of the 2D projections. Rigid alignment of 2D projections is routine in electron tomography. However, it cannot correct misalignments induced by (i) deformations of the sample due to radiation damage or (ii) drifting of the sample during the acquisition of an image in scanning transmission electron microscope mode. In both cases, those misalignments can give rise to artefacts in the reconstruction. We propose a simple-to-implement non-rigid alignment technique to correct those artefacts. This technique is particularly suited for needle-shaped samples in materials science. It is initiated by a rigid alignment of the projections and it is then followed by several rigid alignments of different parts of the projections. Piecewise linear deformations are applied to each projection to force them to simultaneously satisfy the rigid alignments of the different parts. The efficiency of this technique is demonstrated on three samples, an intermetallic sample with deformation misalignments due to a high electron dose typical to spectroscopic electron tomography, a porous silicon sample with an extremely thin end particularly sensitive to electron beam and another porous silicon sample that was drifting during image acquisitions. PMID:27018779

20. Rigidity of transmembrane proteins determines their cluster shape

Jafarinia, Hamidreza; Khoshnood, Atefeh; Jalali, Mir Abbas

2016-01-01

Protein aggregation in cell membrane is vital for the majority of biological functions. Recent experimental results suggest that transmembrane domains of proteins such as α -helices and β -sheets have different structural rigidities. We use molecular dynamics simulation of a coarse-grained model of protein-embedded lipid membranes to investigate the mechanisms of protein clustering. For a variety of protein concentrations, our simulations under thermal equilibrium conditions reveal that the structural rigidity of transmembrane domains dramatically affects interactions and changes the shape of the cluster. We have observed stable large aggregates even in the absence of hydrophobic mismatch, which has been previously proposed as the mechanism of protein aggregation. According to our results, semiflexible proteins aggregate to form two-dimensional clusters, while rigid proteins, by contrast, form one-dimensional string-like structures. By assuming two probable scenarios for the formation of a two-dimensional triangular structure, we calculate the lipid density around protein clusters and find that the difference in lipid distribution around rigid and semiflexible proteins determines the one- or two-dimensional nature of aggregates. It is found that lipids move faster around semiflexible proteins than rigid ones. The aggregation mechanism suggested in this paper can be tested by current state-of-the-art experimental facilities.

1. Non-rigid, but not rigid, motion interferes with the processing of structural face information in developmental prosopagnosia.

PubMed

Maguinness, Corrina; Newell, Fiona N

2015-04-01

There is growing evidence to suggest that facial motion is an important cue for face recognition. However, it is poorly understood whether motion is integrated with facial form information or whether it provides an independent cue to identity. To provide further insight into this issue, we compared the effect of motion on face perception in two developmental prosopagnosics and age-matched controls. Participants first learned faces presented dynamically (video), or in a sequence of static images, in which rigid (viewpoint) or non-rigid (expression) changes occurred. Immediately following learning, participants were required to match a static face image to the learned face. Test face images varied by viewpoint (Experiment 1) or expression (Experiment 2) and were learned or novel face images. We found similar performance across prosopagnosics and controls in matching facial identity across changes in viewpoint when the learned face was shown moving in a rigid manner. However, non-rigid motion interfered with face matching across changes in expression in both individuals with prosopagnosia compared to the performance of control participants. In contrast, non-rigid motion did not differentially affect the matching of facial expressions across changes in identity for either prosopagnosics (Experiment 3). Our results suggest that whilst the processing of rigid motion information of a face may be preserved in developmental prosopagnosia, non-rigid motion can specifically interfere with the representation of structural face information. Taken together, these results suggest that both form and motion cues are important in face perception and that these cues are likely integrated in the representation of facial identity. PMID:25737056

2. 21 CFR 886.5918 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products... contact lens care products. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens care product is a... rigid gas permeable contact lens. This includes all solutions and tablets used together with rigid...

3. 21 CFR 886.5918 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products... contact lens care products. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens care product is a... rigid gas permeable contact lens. This includes all solutions and tablets used together with rigid...

4. 21 CFR 886.5918 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products... contact lens care products. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens care product is a... rigid gas permeable contact lens. This includes all solutions and tablets used together with rigid...

5. 21 CFR 886.5918 - Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Rigid gas permeable contact lens care products... contact lens care products. (a) Identification. A rigid gas permeable contact lens care product is a... rigid gas permeable contact lens. This includes all solutions and tablets used together with rigid...

6. Variational necessary and sufficient stability conditions for inviscid shear flow

PubMed Central

Hirota, M.; Morrison, P. J.; Hattori, Y.

2014-01-01

A necessary and sufficient condition for linear stability of inviscid parallel shear flow is formulated by developing a novel variational principle, where the velocity profile is assumed to be monotonic and analytic. It is shown that unstable eigenvalues of Rayleigh's equation (which is a non-self-adjoint eigenvalue problem) can be associated with positive eigenvalues of a certain self-adjoint operator. The stability is therefore determined by maximizing a quadratic form, which is theoretically and numerically more tractable than directly solving Rayleigh's equation. This variational stability criterion is based on the understanding of Kreĭn signature for continuous spectra and is applicable to other stability problems of infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems. PMID:25484600

7. Geothermal resource requirements for an energy self-sufficient spaceport

SciTech Connect

Kruger, P.; Fioravanti, M.; Duchane, D.; Vaughan, A.

1997-01-01

Geothermal resources in the southwestern United States provide an opportunity for development of isolated spaceports with local energy self-sufficiency. Geothermal resources can provide both thermal energy and electrical energy for the spaceport facility infrastructure and production of hydrogen fuel for the space vehicles. In contrast to hydrothermal resources by which electric power is generated for sale to utilities, hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal resources are more wide-spread and can be more readily developed at desired spaceport locations. This paper reviews a dynamic model used to quantify the HDR resources requirements for a generic spaceport and estimate the necessary reservoir size and heat extraction rate. The paper reviews the distribution of HDR resources in southern California and southern New Mexico, two regions where a first developmental spaceport is likely to be located. Finally, the paper discusses the design of a HDR facility for the generic spaceport and estimates the cost of the locally produced power.

8. [Vitamin-antioxidant sufficiency of winter sports athletes].

PubMed

Beketova, N A; Kosheleva, O V; Pereverzeva, O G; Vrzhesinskaia, O A; Kodentsova, V M; Solntseva, T N; Khanfer'ian, R A

2013-01-01

The sufficiency of 169 athletes (six disciplines: bullet shooting, biathlon, bobsleigh, skeleton, freestyle skiing, snowboarding) with vitamins A, E, C, B2, and beta-carotene has been investigated in April-September 2013. All athletes (102 juniors, mean age--18.5 +/- 0.3 years, and 67 adult high-performance athletes, mean age--26.8 +/- 0.7 years) were sufficiently supplied with vitamin A (70.7 +/- 1.7 mcg/dl). Mean blood serum retinol level was 15% higher the upper limit of the norm (80 mcg/dl) in biathletes while median reached 90.9 mcg/dl. Blood serum level of tocopherols (1.22 +/- 0.03 mg/dl), ascorbic acid (1.06 +/- 0.03 mg/dl), riboflavin (7.1 +/- 0.4 ng/ml), and beta-carotene (25.1 +/- 1.7 mcg/dl) was in within normal range, but the incidence of insufficiency of vitamins E, C, B2, and carotenoid among athletes varied in the range of 0-25, 0-17, 15-67 and 42-75%, respectively. 95% of adults and 80% of younger athletes were sufficiently provided with vitamin E. Vitamin E level in blood serum of juniors involved in skeleton and biathlon was lower by 51 and 72% (p < 0.05), than this parameter in adult athletes. Vitamin A, C and B2, and beta-carotene blood serum level did not significantly differ in junior and adult athletes. Women were better supplied with vitamins C, B2, and beta-carotene: a reduced blood serum level of these micronutrients in women was detected 2-3 fold rare (p < 0.10) than among men. Blood serum concentration of vitamin C (1.20 +/- 0.05 mg/dl) and beta-carotene (32.0 +/- 3.9 mcg/dl) in women was greater by 15 and 54% (p < 0.05) than in men. In general, the biathletes were better provided with vitamins compared with other athletes. The vast majority (80%) were optimally provided by all three antioxidants (beta-carotene and vitamins E and C). In other sports, the relative quantity of athletes sufficiently supplied with these essential nutrients did not exceed 56%. The quota of supplied with all antioxidants among bullet shooters (31.1%) and

9. Nonpetroleum mobility fuels and military-energy self-sufficiency

SciTech Connect

Freiwald, D.A.; Barattino, W.J.

1981-01-01

Nonpetroleum hydrocarbon fuels will likely serve as transition fuels for a few decades after petroleum sources become scarce. But nonpetroleum hydrocarbon fuels are ultimately either nonrenewable (e.g., coal and oil shale synfuels) or are inefficient to produce. Nuclear sources (supplemented by solar, geothermal, etc., as available) for electric power generation and hydrogen production provide a combination that can be used for military energy needs including mobility fuels, namely liquid hydrogen. This approach can give the military energy self-sufficiency for stationary needs as well as ground vehicles, ships, and aircraft. System integration concepts are discussed, and concepts for a methodology to evaluate source-to-use pathways for different classes of military bases are outlined.

10. Authoritarianism, cognitive rigidity, and the processing of ambiguous visual information.

PubMed

Duncan, Lauren E; Peterson, Bill E

2014-01-01

Intolerance of ambiguity and cognitive rigidity are unifying aspects of authoritarianism as defined by Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford (1982/1950), who hypothesized that authoritarians view the world in absolute terms (e.g., good or evil). Past studies have documented the relationship between authoritarianism and intolerance of ambiguity and rigidity. Frenkel-Brunswik (1949) hypothesized that this desire for absolutism was rooted in perceptual processes. We present a study with three samples that directly tests the relationship between right wing authoritarianism (RWA) and the processing of ideologically neutral but ambiguous visual stimuli. As hypothesized, in all three samples we found that RWA was related to the slower processing of visual information that required participants to recategorize objects. In a fourth sample, RWA was unrelated to speed of processing visual information that did not require recategorization. Overall, results suggest a relationship between RWA and rigidity in categorization. PMID:25280165
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