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Ever since it first appeared in 1935, the famous paper by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen, questioning the completeness of quantum mechanics as a theory, has courted controversy. The initial arguments with Bohr have never been forgotten or gone away; the ideas of Bell have remained; many experiments have been performed purporting to support the stance of Bohr. More recently, however, an experiment performed by a group in Basel has questioned this accepted position and, theoretically, this new perspective has received support from at least two sources. It is the work behind these two sources, especially the second, together with the experimental work at Basel, which form the basis for this examination of the present position as far as this extremely important position for physical science is concerned. Needless to say, considering the views expressed in these two approaches, it is also necessary and appropriate to consider some possible consequences if this new view becomes accepted. Due to the fact that the recent support for the Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen argument makes use of results in iso-mathematics, iso-mechanics and iso-chemistry, these possible consequences include the exact representation of nuclear data, the achievement of an attractive force between identical valence electrons with the ensuing exact representation of molecular data, the prediction of new clean energies and the prediction of the possible recycling of nuclear waste via stimulated decay—none of which is allowable utilising traditional quantum mechanics. Hence here, as well as discussing the resolution of the long standing issue provoked by the well-known Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen article, some of these consequences will be discussed with a view to provoking more general, open-minded discussion within the scientific community.

It is often claimed that Maxwell’s electromagnetic equations were originally written in terms of quaternions. Once returned to that form and treated with left and right hand operators as in the mathematics of P. M. Jack, a new seventh scalar electromagnetic field component emerges with possible relations to clean energy extraction and gravitation. It is the purpose here to examine this approach afresh and see how it might link up with other fairly recent, but little known, work in the field. Again, as with the usual form of Maxwell’s equations, a new scalar wave equation is derived but, on this occasion, due to the presence of the scalar component of the quaternion, that equation exhibits a wave speed greater than the speed of light. Historical and present uses within military and humanitarian contexts are considered briefly.

The TALON/nPower learning object suite, developed by Arjuna Multimedia, is a set of 39 repurposeable learning object templates based on styles of teaching and learning that are designed to allow instructors and designers to create substantive learning objects without changing any of the source code. The instructor or designer can use the templates to design a new learning object without writing or changing any source code. The templates are simple enough that instructors with little or no programming experience can create their own learning objects. This paper examines the experiences of two professors’ use of the templates to create interactive exercises for their courses.

Experimental evidence has accumulated to suggest that biologically efficacious informational effects can be derived mimicking active compounds solely through electromagnetic distribution upon aqueous systems affecting biological systems. Empirically rigorous demonstrations of antimicrobial agent associated electromagnetic informational inhibition of MRSA, Entamoeba histolytica, Trichomonas vaginalis, Candida albicans and a host of other important and various reported effects have been evidenced, such as the electro-informational transfer of retinoic acid influencing human neuroblastoma cells and stem teratocarcinoma cells. Cell proliferation and differentiation effects from informationally affected fields interactive with aqueous systems are measured via microscopy, statistical analysis, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and other techniques. Information associated with chemical compounds affects biological aqueous systems, sans direct systemic exposure to the source molecule. This is a quantum effect, based on the interactivity between electromagnetic fields, and aqueous ordered coherence domains. The encoding of aqueous systems and tissue by photonic transfer and instantiation of information rather than via direct exposure to potentially toxic drugs and physical substances holds clear promise of creating inexpensive non-toxic medical treatments.

Graft wall pulsation amplitude sensing can provide a measure of functional status, e.g. in hemodialysis access grafts. Current implantable graft monitoring sensors require graft modification and direct bloodstream contact. We propose a new class of piezoresistive flexible pulsation sensors which can be wrapped around the graft to measure wall movement. These sensors must be highly flexible to prevent graft constriction; typical strain sensors are too rigid and the strain sensing range is too limited for this application. We describe a novel additive manufacturing (AM) method for printing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with an internal porous structure, such that material compliance may be tuned anisotropically for a given sensor geometry. Prototype flexible pulsation sensors (FPS) consisting of structured PDMS with an embedded conductive PDMS sensor layer were fabricated and tested. Initial tests demonstrated reliable sensor response to 1-Hz cyclic elongation of 20%, and a sensor gauge factor of 1.0.

Multimedia learning objects are an essential component of high quality, technology-mediated instruction. Learning objects allow the student to use the content learned in a particular part of a course and; 1. demonstrate mastery of the content, 2. apply that knowledge to solving a problem, and 3. use the content in a critical thinking exercise that both demonstrates mastery and allows the student to place the content within the context of the larger topic of the course. The difficulty associated with the use of learning objects on a broad scale is that they require programming skills most professors and instructors do not possess. Learning objects also tend to be custom productions and are defined in terms of the programming and code terminology, further limiting the professor’s ability to understand how they are created. Learning objects defined in terms of styles of learning and teaching allow professors and instructors to develop a deeper understanding of the learning objects and the design process. A set of learning objects has been created that are designed for some of the important styles of learning and teaching. They include; visual learning, writing skills, critical thinking, time-revealed scenarios, case studies and empirical observation. The learning objects are designed and described in terms that the average instructor can readily understand , redesign and incorporate into their own courses. They are also designed in such a way that they can readily be repurposed for new applications in other courses and subject areas, with little or no additional programming. (Authors' abstract)

Ideally, all chronic wounds would be prevented as they can become life threatening complications. The concept that a wound produces a ‘current of injury’ due to the discontinuity in the electrical field of intact skin provides the basis for the concept that electrical stimulation (ES) may provide an effective treatment for chronic wounds. The optimal stimulation waveform parameters are unknown, limiting the reliability of achieving a successful clinical therapeutic outcome. In order to gain a more thorough understanding of ES for chronic wound therapy, systematic evaluation using a valid in vivo model is required. The focus of the current paper is development of the flexible modular surface stimulation (MSS) device by our group. This device can be programed to deliver a variety of clinically relevant stimulation paradigms and is essential to facilitate systematic in vivo studies. The MSS version 2.0 for small animal use provides all components of a single-channel, programmable current-controlled ES system within a lightweight, flexible, independently-powered portable device. Benchtop testing and validation indicates that custom electronics and control algorithms support the generation of high-voltage, low duty-cycle current pulses in a power-efficient manner, extending battery life and allowing ES therapy to be delivered for up to 7 days without needing to replace or disturb the wound dressing.

In recent years, more and more problems have arisen over the usual interpretation of the observed redshift. Much of this originated with observations made by Halton Arp but the questions raised by his work, although dismissed perfunctorily by many at the time and since, have not disappeared; the questions still demand answers. On top of this worry for orthodox astrophysics/cosmology, more and more questions seem to be arising concerning the observed presence of magnetic fields and electric currents in space. The latter questions are being addressed by laboratories working on experimental plasma physics but, considering the work of many years by such as Anthony Peratt, it might be wondered if all this work is necessary or, indeed, if much of it has been done already?

Tracking Student Pathways to Competency in Online Geoscience Learning Currently, more than 100,000 college students take introductory geology courses in online or blended learning formats. For the most part, these courses utilize a “competency-based” assessment rubric. Many geology professors contend that tracking students’ knowledge of subject material via competency-based testing may not be well suited to the geological sciences. One concern is that students can “guess” their way through exercises and produce the “appearance” of competency without actually gaining sufficient knowledge of the material.

Irreversible thermodynamic processes in ideal gases are investigated by computer simulations of the compound piston. A hard‐sphere model of the gas on either side of a compound piston shows that damping occurs naturally without invoking extraneous mechanisms such as friction. Inter‐particle collisions are identified as being responsible, as these redistribute the particle energies by altering all the components of momentum. In collisions with the piston, on the other hand, only the component of particle momentum in the direction of the piston motion is affected. Thus inter‐particle collisions effectively dissipate the energy of the piston. These ideas are then incorporated into a simpler, one dimensional model based on kinetic theory in which all the particles have the same initial energy and inter‐particle collisions are simulated by randomly adjusting the energy distribution. Varying the rate of energy redistribution alters the rate of decay of the piston motion. In addition, this simple model allows thermal interactions with the walls of the vessel to be simulated easily, and we observe a second mechanism of damping due to delayed heating and cooling. These ideas lead directly to a macroscopic formulation of thermodynamics in terms of rate equations. The models give an insight into the micro‐dynamical origins of irreversibility in ideal gases and allow the thermodynamics of these irreversible processes to be investigated. We find surprisingly simple relationships between the volume changes and characteristic pressures in the system. Finally, we apply these idea s to the Carnot cycle and show that a dynamic cycle is executed if the piston is allowed to move under alternately ideal isothermal and adiabatic conditions. In this dynamic Carnot cycle not only is work done but power is developed through the motion of the piston. The implications for classical thermodynamics are discussed briefly.

This paper reports the development of a biologically-inspired, variable-modulus nanocomposite material for mechanically dynamic biomedical microsystems. This nanocomposite is comprised of a poly(vinyl acetate) matrix polymer that is reinforced with rigid cellulose nanofibers, and becomes very flexible when exposed to water. A direct-write CO 2 laser was used to pattern structures in this chemical- and temperature-sensitive material. Tensile testing of laser-cut, micron-scale nanocomposite beams was performed using a custom-built tensile tester. These samples displayed a significant reduction in Young's modulus from 4.1 GPa to 6.1 MPa when the nanocomposite was exposed to phosphate buffered saline. Additionally, the modulus change was observed to be reversible upon drying of soaked tensile samples. As a well-suited application of this nanocomposite, cortical probes utilizing this material as a substrate were fabricated. Gold-coated, dual-shank cortical probes utilizing this nanocomposite as a substrate were shown to record action potentials from a single neuron in a cockroach brain.

Web-based distance learning is hampered in many cases by a failure to deliver material in a manner consistent with the ways in which students learn and instructors teach best in traditional environments (Samoriski, 2002). Excellent teachers are successful because of the ways in which they mediate content and place the content within the context of the subject matter. It is not the specific content or images the successful teacher presents, but rather the manner in which they are presented and framed within the scope of the topic area. Excellent teachers teach by presenting the content and then providing the students with substantive opportunities to apply the content to real-world problems in an effort to promote critical thinking on the part of the student. This is a highly interactive process with much information being transmitted between the student and the instructor. The interchange between the instructor and the student helps the student build a knowledge base with the assistance of the instructor’s experience and expertise in the topic area. The exact nature of the interchange is not predetermined and depends to a great extent on the creativity and breadth of experience of the instructor. The successful instructor adjusts his or her interaction with the students to the learning styles best suited to them. How do we provide the learner with this important component of traditional classroom education in asynchronous distance education or technology-mediated traditional classes? Web-based instruction is rapidly becoming the preferred mode of distance education, and we must adapt our instructional interaction styles to this medium. Our students now expect more interactive and immersive materials in Web-based learning than that typically provided in the traditional classroom or correspondence distance education (Samoriski, 2002). The TALON learning object system is a series of repurposeable learning object templates based on styles of teaching and learning as described by Dunning et al. (2003). These flash-based templates allow instructors to design and execute interactive learning objects in approximately 10% of the time required to create them from first principles, because the use of them requires little or no alteration of existing source code or writing of additional code (Abtar, Dunning, Harvinder, & Halimatolhanin, 2004; Dunning et al., 2004). The fact that the learning objects are based on the successful learning styles experienced in the traditional classroom ensures that the student is both engaged and allowed to build a knowledge base about the content being covered.

This paper reports the development of a mechanically-flexible microfabricated flat interface nerve electrode using polynorbornene (PNB) as the structural material. The device consists of two electrode arrays each fabricated on a photolithographically-defined PNB base with thin film Pt electrodes and a photolithographically patterned PNB capping layer. The two arrays are inserted into a silicone housing designed to create a flat interface between the electrodes and the nerve bundle. Electrical tests showed that the resistance of the Pt electrode interconnect traces are unaffected by flexing around a 1.8 mm radius. Electrical testing in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) shows that resistance of the traces is about 3 kOmega. A 10 day leakage current test in PBS did not produce a detectable change in leakage current. These and other tests indicate that a PNB multilayer system may be viable for microfabricated electrodes.

This paper reports on the development of a mechanically-flexible microfabricated flat interface nerve electrode using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and polynorbornene (PNB) as the structural materials. The device consists of two electrode arrays each fabricated on a LCP base with thin film Pt electrodes and a photolithographically patterned PNB capping layer. The two arrays are inserted into a silicone housing designed to create a flat interface between the electrodes and the nerve bundle. Electrical tests showed that the resistance of the thin film Pt electrode interconnect traces are unaffected by flexing around a 1.5 mm radius. Electrical testing in PBS shows that the resistance of the traces is about 1 kOmega. A 10 day leakage current test in PBS indicates that the PNB absorbs moisture but still maintains its insulating behavior. These and other tests indicate that the LCP/PNB multilayer may be a viable material system for microfabricated electrodes.