Small Research Laboratories Research Articles

MODIFICATION OF Mg2+ REQUIREMENTS BY SKELETAL MYOFIBRIL ATPASE FOLLOWING ENDURANCE TRAINING

Small Animal Research Laboratory, Department of Physical Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2119.

A solar cell characteristics plotter

This paper describes a solar-cell characteristics plotter with its associated sample holder. The plotter has facilities for both manual and auto-plotting with built-in current limit against damage of the solar cell under test. Either current or power output can be plotted as a function of terminal voltage and there is provision for marking the maximum power point on the curve. The sample holder allows the temperature of the solar cell to be varied over a range from approximately -188 to 250 degrees C and permits investigation of other properties of materials used in the making of the solar cell, e.g. the antireflection layer. If temperature variation is not required the holder can be water cooled to prevent overheating of the solar cell during test. The plotter can also be used for the investigation of other semiconductor devices, and is ideal for use in small research and development laboratories.

An Economical Photomask Processing Scheme for the Small Laboratory

A system for the rapid and economical production of small quantities of precision masks for photolithography is outlined. The techniques described are especially suited to the wide range of device designs encountered in the small research or teaching laboratory.

PROTEUS-A Versatile Vehicle for Open-Water Hydrodynamics Research

Abstract : The design requirements and philosophy are described for a small, stable, high-powered craft for use as an experimental hydrodynamics research facility. The design concept evolved from requirements peculiar to the experience, environment, and resources of a small research laboratory and the result is a unique facility, tailored primarily for high-speed marine propulsion experiments, but with potential for much broader application. It is capable of operating at slow speeds as a displacement boat, at moderate speeds in a planing mode and at high speeds as a hydrofoil craft. Principal design characteristics, predicted performance, model tests, and instrumentation plans are reviewed. PROTEUS (Propulsion Research and Open-Water Testing of Experimental Underwater Systems) is currently under construction and is expected to be complete in 1971. (Author)

Family interaction and schizophrenia. An approach to the experimental study of family interaction and schizophrenia.

THE APPLICATION of experimental methods to the study of intrafamilial interaction is an important recent development in the study of families of schizophrenics. The hallmarks of these methods adapted from the small group research laboratory, include the use of control group research designs, standard stimulus situations, observation and tape recording of family discussions, and the statistical analysis of coded and quantified data. Published reports from such studies contain accounts both of methods and findings. 1-10 This paper describes a study, in progress for the past three years, that is a particularly comprehensive and systematic example of this approach. The focus is on the methodological approach of the study; reports on findings are now in preparation. * Methodological decisions—on research design, measurement, and analysis—reflect theoretical considerations about the relevance of certain variables to the central questions under investigation. In this study, these questions are whether, how, and in

Investigation of the flow of rubber-like polymers by constant-rate stretching

When raw rubbers and vulcanized rubber mixtures are processed (mastication, blending, milling, calendering and so on) they are subjected to complex deformations, the predominant form being shear. The shear testing method is usually used to study the rheological properties of polymers. Such methods are complicated and require special apparatus. At the moment plastimeters are used for rapid tests where the material is mainly subjected to compression. The draw-backs to these methods are well known as they do not give the firm and full characteristics of the raw rubbers for vulcanized rubber mixtures [1]. A simpler and easier method is that of tensile strain, and such tests can be carried out in small research and testing laboratories. As demonstrated in [2], tensile tests of rubber mixtures are necessary in order to find out the plasto-elastic properties of these materials. In this work it will be demonstrated that a tensile testing method can be used to determine the yield point of the material, and that the yield point is in a certain relation to the rheological properties of polymers subjected to shear deformation.

Selecting Research and Development Personnel for a Small Laboratory

In today's competitive labor market, it is not always a simple task to obtain research and development personnel. The engineering graduates from our colleges and universities are not sufficient to meet the staggering demands of American industry today. Providing the most competition to the smaller research laboratories for urgently needed scientific manpower are large industrial and governmental organizations. Even so, if both salary and working conditions are favorable, personnel can be procured for these smaller organizations. This presentation discussed these important factors in developing a research and development program: 1) What areas of research and development do you wish to follow, 2) what kinds of research and development workers should you employ, and 3) where should you get your manpower?

Studies of urinary 17-ketosteroid excretion by means of a new micro-chromatographic fractionation procedure.

I. INTRODUCTION IN THE extensive studies reported by other workers (1–8) and in previous communications from this laboratory (9–11), it is clearly evident that neutral urinary 17-ketosteroid excretion may undergo important qualitative as well as quantitative alterations under certain circumstances. At times definite qualitative changes occur in the absence of significant variations in total urinary 17-ketosteroid output. Hence, determination of the composition of steroids excreted in the urine may be expected to yield considerable information in addition to that provided by simple measurements of total output. To date most of the urinary steroid fractionation studies have been performed with the aid of extensive procedures involving the use of large pooled specimens of urine and the availability of highly trained personnel. These factors rendered these procedures unsuitable for use in most small clinical and research laboratories. In a recent publication, Dingemanse, Veld and Laat described a simplified p...

Small Industrial Research Laboratory

Small Industrial Research Laboratory

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYERS TO PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES

Any discussion of the relationships between employers and their professional employees must be approached with a recognition that the relationship is not a one-way street. Many situations are governed by the size and prosperity of the employers, competitive conditions, supply and demand, tax policies, the impact of labor rates upon costs, and the economic health of the general economy. However, despite all these, there is much that can be said and needs saying. THE general recognition by the public of the professions of chemistry and chemical engineering began during the previous World War. Prior to that time, the big chemical industries had relatively small research laboratories which were recognized as only a minor part of the company organization. The attitude of management changed when the demand for many new chemicals arose. The research laboratories in the chemical companies became essential and after the close of the war, excluding the period of sharp decline ...

Training for the Small Industrial Research Laboratory

Training for the Small Industrial Research Laboratory

Avalanche Research in Switzerland

DURING the War of 1914-18 the number of avalanche fatalities among the armies in alpine regions was very high ; in the period between the two wars, the influx of winter visitors to the Alps was followed by an alarming increase in accidents due to inexperience in snow-craft. It became obvious that a proper study of snow and avalanches was needed. There followed the private research work of individuals in many parts of Central Europe, who in turn were succeeded by more elaborately organized groups. In 1934 the Swiss authorities inaugurated a small research laboratory on the Weissfluhjoch close to the upper end of one of the Davos funiculars at a height of 8,500 ft. Under the direction of Dr. H. Bader, a crystallographer, and Dr. M. Haefeli, a civil engineer, much valuable work was carried out ranging from the purely scientific to the severely practical. The former has given us a^great deal of new knowledge of the structure and behaviour of ice crystals, such as their rearrangement into regular order under stress with its clearly defined metallurgical analogy. Among the latter were such tests as the reaction of different types of snow to varying meteorological conditions and the resulting tendency to increase or decrease avalanche danger. The drawing together of the many threads of research followed and the results, combined with the investigations of practical men in the mountains, have been of the greatest value in bringing about a closer understanding of, and so mitigating, avalanche dangers. An excellent publication of some 340 pages was produced in 1939 recounting the field and laboratory work up to the end of 1938, and subsequent publications have also appeared.