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In this letter, we present the performance of a $100~\mu\mathrm{m}\times 400~\mu\mathrm{m} \times 40~\mathrm{nm}$ tungsten (W) Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) with a critical temperature of 40 mK. This device has a measured noise equivalent power (NEP) of $1.5\times 10^{-18}\ \mathrm{W}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$, in a bandwidth of $2.6$ kHz, indicating a resolution for Dirac delta energy depositions of $40\pm 5~\mathrm{meV}$ (rms). The performance demonstrated by this device is a critical step towards developing a $\mathcal{O}(100)~\mathrm{meV}$ threshold athermal phonon detectors for low-mass dark matter searches., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication at AIP Advances

Interviews identified that most small-scale maize farmers in central Uganda and in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania plant home-saved seed of landraces or seed derived from various open-pollinated and hybrid varieties. Some farmers also bought a portion of their seed, either certified seed, locally traded seed or even maize sold for consumption. Selection for home-saved seed was generally among harvested cobs. Big cobs with many, regularly arranged, large, white, flint kernels were preferred. A maize cob may bear several hundred seeds, so a farmer needs to save

Prior studies have suggested that the risk of testicular cancer among dizygotic twins may exceed that among monozygotic twins or the general population. Cryptorchidism is associated with testicular cancer and twinship, and therefore might potentially explain the findings of the prior studies. In 1993-1994, when they were 66 to 77 years of age, 14,326 twin individuals in the National Academy of Sciencies-National Research Council Twin Registry were interviewed by telephone. A history of testicular cancer was reported by 5 (0.08%) of 5951 monozygotic twins and 11 (0.16%) of 6992 dizygotic twins. Follow-up interviews concerning testicular cancer risk factors and treatment were able to be administered to 4 of the monozygotic and 9 of the dizygotic twins reporting testicular cancer. A history of cryptorchidism was reported in the follow-up interview by only one dizygotic twin. Our data agree with the results of prior studies reporting a more frequent occurrence of testicular cancer among dizygotic than monozygotic twins. Although somewhat limited by small numbers, our study also suggests that the findings of increased testicular cancer in dizygotic twins are not explained simply by increased occurrence of cryptorchidism in twins.

The role of genetic and shared environmental influences in the association of alcohol with mortality was studied by using the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council World War II-veteran male twin registry. An epidemiologic questionnaire administered from 1967 through 1969 permitted identification of twin pairs discordant for alcohol consumption. The subsequent 24 years of mortality follow-up yielded data on time and cause of death. Analyzing the first or only death in drinking-discordant pairs, we observed 27 deaths in abstainer twins and 14 deaths in their light- to moderate-drinker cotwins (relative risk [RR] = 1.93). Excess mortality in twin abstainers was also indicated for deaths from cardiovascular diseases (RR = 2.0) and other causes of death excluding cancers (RR = 3.2). The protective effect, however, of light to moderate drinking did not persist in twins who were smokers at baseline.

This work investigates the application of evolutionary search for training candidate hidden units in cascade-correlation learning architectures. A hybrid evolutionary search algorithm which implements techniques from evolutionary programming and evolution strategies is proposed. This approach is evaluated on selected low-dimensional examples which are non-linearly separable. (AN)

The survival experience of 46,000 Veterans Administration (VA) male cancer patients was analyzed and compared with the results of three other studies. In the VA data, no significant differences were found between white and black patient cancer survival rates except for bladder cancer; this observation differs from those in other studies. In the VA, all patients receive the same treatment with no distinctions whereas most U. S. hospitals place their patients into categories based on ability to pay. This factor probably accounts for the lack of racial differences in survival rates in the VA and the existence of racial or socioeconomic differences in survival rates in the other studies.

1. The dry-season population of Zonocerus in southern Nigeria oviposits in dense aggregations under single or clumped woody plants or on the edge of tall continuous stands of vegetation. No egg pods were found oviposited singly. 2. The vegetation under which oviposition occurs is the most common available at the time of the year. There seems to be no selection of particular species of plants so long as they provide good low shade. 3. Oviposition can take place in a wide range of gravelly soils. 4. Topography is not important as long as the oviposition site is on high ground away from damp areas subject to flooding. 5. There was a mean of 618 pods per oviposition site from forty-one sites which were dug up, and there was a significant correlation between the area of a site and the number of pods. 6. There was a marked tendency for oviposition sites to be found close to cassava. At two localities of approximately 20 ha each 90% of the sites were found within 30 m of cassava. 7. It is suggested that permanent shade is the most important factor in the selection of a site and this is probably related to the survival of the eggs during their 6–7 months development.

Comparison of self-admitted drug use and urinalysis for opiates, sedatives, and stimulants in a population of 896 males arrested for felonies shows substantial inconsistencies for certain subgroups...

Imaginative application of basic and applied research into wood and plywood application has provided the designer with a series of related structural units involving plywood in combination with other materials. These plywood structural components—stressed skin panels, curved panels, folded plates, box beams–are designed according to sound engineering principles. They offer the architect and engineer considerable freedom in achieving striking and unusual architecture and at the same time staying within the bounds of efficient structural design. Design methods have been proven and published and are available upon request. Fabrication specifications have been established and an industry-wide inspection and laboratory testing program polices them. A chain of fabricators well scattered throughout the United States are reliable sources of factory produced units. Detailed information is available from Plywood Fabricator Service, 1119 A St., Tacoma, Washington 98401.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SILENT, VIBRATION-FREE PILING MACHINE IS DESCRIBED FROM THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT TO THE MACHINE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MACHINE IS GIVEN AND THE PROCEDURE ON SITE IS OUTLINED. THE VARIOUS USES AND THE ECONOMICS OF USING THIS SYSTEM ARE REVIEWED AND POSSIBLE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS INDICATED. /RRL/A/

Detailing for ductility in reinforced concrete earthquake-resistant structures and the risk of non-ductile failure at lap splices of the larger sizes of reinforcing bars have resulted in increasing use of full-strength butt welds of reinforcing bars. The benefits to be gained from eliminating long lengths of lapping bars and reducing serious congestion are overshadowed, however, by the time and cost (both direct and indirect) involved in making arc welds on site and the necessity for special supervision and testing of the work.

Mortality odds ratios (MORs) comparing veterans with Vietnam service who died in New York State to veterans of the Vietnam era with no Vietnam service were estimated (N = 1,496). The most elevated MORs and their confidence intervals were non-motor vehicular injuries of transport (MOR = 2.18, (1.19, 3.96)), other accidents and burns (MOR = 1.37, (0.95, 1.98)), and homicide (MOR = 1.59, (0.86, 2.94).

Structural dynamics for integrity assessment and condition monitoring of electrical power station plant can be approached using a variety of methods combining theoretical modelling with experimental measurements. In recent years experimental approaches have broadened to include non-contacting full-field response measurement techniques using laser holography and more recently, stress pattern analysis from thermal emission (SPATE) to obtain dynamic stress information. This paper presents two examples of the application of a SPATE 8000 camera system to the determination of the dynamic stress distributions on nuclear reactor components. In the first project a Magnox reactor compensating bellows unit was dynamically tested in the laboratory using an electromagnetic shaker to excite resonances in the frequency range 300 to 400Hz. The dynamic stress data collected is compared with finite element model prediction. The second example describes a similar modal response investigation performed on an AGR gas circulator inner casing ring which is designed to isolate the stress concentrations present. This test was carried out in the power station maintenance facility during a routine reactor overhaul.

The SPATE 8000 stress measurement system was purchased primarily to determine dynamic stresses on operational electrical power generating plant where difficulties have arisen in using conventional methods of stress measurement. In this context this paper describes some of the requirements to enable this system to be used to obtain the minimum resolvable stress level on a steel bellows unit vibrating at a resonant frequency of 372Hz. The influence of a range of parameters including, (i) surface coatings, (ii) liquid nitrogen level, (iii) high acoustic noise (108dB at 372Hz) and (iv) environmental conditions, on the measured stresses are discussed. Problems relating to laboratory and on site calibration of the system are also presented. Finally the modal analysis capabilities of SPATE are compared with conventional modal analysis techniques using a vibrating steel plate as an example.© (1987) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Structural dynamics for integrity assessment and condition monitoring of electrical power station plant can be approached using a variety of methods combining theoretical modelling with experimental measurements. In recent years experimental approaches have broadened to include non-contacting, full-field response measurement techniques using laser holography and more recently, stress pattern analysis from thermal emission (SPATE) to obtain the dynamic stresses. This paper presents the use of thermoelastic techniques for modal evaluation. The modal shapes of a welded 'T' section laboratory specimen obtained from the SPATE 8000 camera system are compared with results of finite element modelling, frequency response function and pulsed holographic techniques. In addition a compensating bellows unit taken from the gas circuit of a nuclear power station was dynamically tested in the laboratory using an electromagnetic shaker to excite resonances in the frequency range 300Hz to 400Hz. The dynamic stress data as recorded by the SPATE 8000 camera was compared with finite element model predictions. A further example describes a similar modal response investigation performed during a routine overhaul on an Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor gas circulator inner casing ring which is designed to isolate the stress concentrations present.

Hospital trend data may be affected by changes in diagnostic coding schemes. We studied the change from ICDA-8 (I-8) to ICD-9-CM (I-9) in a sample of roughly 13,600 double-coded Veterans Administration hospital diagnoses. Comparability ratios were computed and used to adjust trend data which overlap the time period when the shift from I-8 to I-9 occurred. With this adjustment for change in diagnostic coding scheme, apparent diagnostic trends are substantially altered.

Plywood Fabricator Service (PFS), a nonprofit affiliate of the American Plywood Association, serves as a testing agency for the plywood structural component industry. Fabricators of stressed skin panels, curved panels, folded plates, and box beams are licensed to put the PFS "Quality Tested" trademark on production which meets industry specifications as indicated by the plant inspection and laboratory testing conducted under this program. Each plant is required to have a quality control department meeting PFS standards and the work of this department is "audited" by the PFS staff. All laboratory testing is carried out in PFS operated laboratories.