The west and the rest

TOPICS
European exploration of the Orient
Oriental ism
Orientalist art
Early European views of Muslims
Universal values versus cultural relativism
The clash of civilisations
The emergence and function of rogue states
The axis of evil and the war on terror
Future predictions

Projections to the preoptic area from the paraventricular nucleus, acuate nucleus and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are unlikely to be involved in stress-induced suppression of GnRH secretion in sheep

Stress compromises reproductive function and the major physiological system activated during stress is the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Corticotrophin-releasing hormone and arginine vasopressin (AVP), which are produced in neurones of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), drive the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and are also implicated in the suppression of the reproductive axis. We used retrograde tracing and Fos labelling to map the projections from the PVN to the preoptic area (POA) where most gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurones are found. Fluorogold (FG) injections were made into the POA of gonadectomised male and female sheep (n = 5/sex), the animals were stressed and the brains recovered for histochemistry. All animals responded to stress with an increase in the number of Fos-labelled nuclei in the PVN. Few retrogradely labelled cells of the PVN were activated by stress. Dual labelling showed that very few FG-labelled cells also stained for corticotrophin-releasing hormone, none for AVP or enkephalin. Dual labelling for FG and Fos in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the arcuate nucleus showed that no FG-labelled cells in the BNST and only few in the ARC were activated by stress. No sex differences were observed in the activation of FG-labelled cells in any of the nuclei examined. We conclude that, although cells of the PVN, BNST and/or arcuate nucleus may affect reproduction via the GnRH cells of the POA, this is unlikely to involve direct input to the POA. If cells of these regions are involved in GnRH suppression during stress, this may occur via interneuronal pathways.

Dynamic characteristics and efficiency of a fluidized bed heat treatment process

The dynamic characteristics of gas bubbles in fluidized beds are important to determine the heat and mass transfer rates at component surfaces and the treated profiles of components. They also have great impact on the components’ structural, mechanical and physical properties. However, it has been very difficult to monitor those characteristics dynamically. In this paper, a specifically designed fluidized bed was introduced to facilitate the capturing of its dynamic characteristics and a new video image processing and analysis algorithm was developed. The algorithm is robust and adaptive in terms of locating both bubbles and components in beds with a single or multiple components. It has many advantages in dynamic characterization of gas bubbles and monitoring component treatment. By using this algorithm, the properties of gas bubbles over any period of time can be accurately obtained. This technology will provide a potential on-line dynamic monitoring and quality control system for the chemical heat treatment processes with fluidized beds.

Lateral strength of zero bond masonry walls subjected to wind loads

Masonry walls are usually laid with the individual masonry units along a course overlapping units in the course below. Commonly, the perpend joints in the course occur above the mid-points of the units below to form a ‘half-bond’ or above a third point to form a ‘third-bond’. The amount of this overlap has a profound influence on the strength of a wall supported on three or four sides, where lateral pressures from wind cause combined vertical and horizontal flexure. Where masonry units are laid with mortar joints, the torsional shear bond resistance between the mortar and overlapping units largely determines the horizontal flexural strength. If there is zero bond strength between units, then the horizontal flexural strength is derived from the frictional resistance to torsion on the overlapping bed-faces of the units. This thesis reports a theoretical and experimental investigation into the frictional properties of overlapping units when subjected to combinations of vertical and horizontal moments and vertical axial compression. These basic properties were used to develop a theory to predict the lateral strength of walls supported on two, three or four sides. A plastic theory of behaviour was confirmed by experiment. The theory was then used to determine maximum unbraced panel sizes for particular boundary conditions. Design charts were developed to determine temporary bracing requirements for panels during construction.

Pappadums in paradise? : journeys of Indian migrant women to Australia

The blue glass is always the hardest to find. On the beach you catch the waves bringing back the glass from forgotten tossed bottles, frosted green, clear, or mottled pale brown. But the blue glass - that's the real thing. I search for days without finding any. Sometimes there are slivers; other days, small chunks. Like a beachcomber, I comb the sands for it. I take the glass home and make some into jewellery and touchstones for people to hang on to; pour essential oils on others so the scents waft heavenward and meld together with the glass to form a bond. Words are like that. They can fuse with each other and ignite, or just quietly combine, On sunny days, I take my books with me to the beach. I toss words back and forth in my mind, like churning waves. I cobble them together, A phrase here. A sentence there. The water. The sun. The sand. The glass. The words. The paper. The Connection. I find myself enveloped in it all. The glass is from bottles tossed into the surf by unthinking people - picnickers, vacationers, those who don't have to return here and live with the remnants of their actions. Over time, the broken glass is ground and moulded by the action of the waves; the sharp edges are softened and etched by the sand and water, The sea glass is washed up on shore and picked up by beachcombers. Some recycle it for other uses like me; others just keep it as a reminder of a day at the beach. The words I sift through as I sit on the sand are measured in the sea glass. I pick each word up and look through it to see how much light shines through. What use do 1 have for it? A poem? An essay? A fragment of a sentence, for something to be said in the future? I watch the sun rest uneasily on its bed of water and slide slowly, farther down. I know the hot summer is coming to a close and I am loath to let go of the closeness I feel with nature. I live to find the blue glass, and sometimes it just happens. My search for Indian migrant women was like my quest for the blue glass. It was not an easy task. It became a process of rummaging through other people's lives, searching for fragments and relics. Eventually I was able to fit pieces together to form a mosaic of their lives in that other time, that other place. And also in this present time, in this place they now call home, Australia.

Computational simulation of gas flow and heat transfer near immersed object in fluidised bed

To improve the understanding of the heat transfer mechanism and find a reliable and simple heat-transfer model, the gas flow and heat transfer between fluidised beds and immersed object surfaces was numerically simulated based on a double particlelayer and porous medium model. The velocity field and temperature distribution of gas were discussed to analyse the heat transfer process.

Heat and mass transfer in fluidised-bed heat-treatment furnaces

The mechanisms of heat and mass transfers between heat-treatment fluidised beds and immersed workpiece were studied by using computational simulation and experimental validation. A model called Double Particle-layer and Porous Medium was developed to simulate the gas flow and heat transfer between fluidised beds and immersed workpiece.

Fluidised bed nitrocarburising of tool steels

The work examines how ferritic nitrocarburising, a common heat treatment process for steels, can be adapted to the fluidised bed furnace. The effect of fluidising powder contamination on repeatability, composition of the reactive gas mixture, the development of nitrocarburised tool steel microstructure and resulting wear properties were investigated.

Pulse-lavage brushing followed by hydrogen peroxide-gauze packing for bone-bed preparation in cemented total hip arthroplasty : a bovine model

To compare the effectiveness of pulse-lavage brushing followed by hydrogen peroxide-gauze packing with either technique alone or normal-saline irrigation in bone-bed preparation for cemented total hip arthroplasty. 44 fresh-frozen ox femoral canals were prepared for cemented total hip arthroplasty using 4 techniques: normal-saline irrigation, pulse-lavage brushing, hydrogen peroxide-soaked gauze packing, and a combination of the latter 2 techniques. The maximum tensile pull-out force required to separate the prosthesis from the femoral canal was measured as an indicator of the strength of the cement-bone interface. The mean pull-out force to separate the prosthesis from the femoral canal was significantly higher in specimens prepared with pulse-lavage brushing followed by hydrogen peroxide-soaked gauze packing or pulse-lavage brushing alone than those prepared with normal-saline irrigation or hydrogen peroxide-soaked gauze packing alone 300(p<0.001). Pulse-lavage brushing is more effective at cleansing the femoral canal and increasing mechanical strength at the cement-bone interface than preparation with normal-saline irrigation or hydrogen peroxide-soaked gauze packing.