Modification of NASA urine collecting system Final report, 1 May 1966 - 1 Apr. 1968

Development of urinary collection system for orbiting astronaut

Quick calculation method for fluid flow through duct systems

Conditions for subsonic compressible flow through duct systems are quickly and easily calculated using compact series of curves showing dimensionless parametric functions of Mach number and specific heat ratio. Method is directly applicable to analysis and design of compressible flow systems in industrial fields or processes

Flight to Quality in Cryptocurrencies

The topic of cryptocurrencies has been on the forefront of investors’ minds as they have seen ridiculous returns from the volatile swings in price. Its value highly debated because the asset is not backed by a hard asset. If we look back at the beginning of our country, we see how each state had its own currency and the difficulties that users faced around who would accept that as legal tender. The birth of a federal currency was accepted because it served as a medium of exchange and was backed by gold through the U.S. government. The final evolution of the U.S. dollar was moving away from the gold standard to a fiat currency backed only by the confidence in the U.S. government’s word. Today, we live in a globalized world where there is significant communication between countries around the globe that it seems that we have almost come to the same crossing point that our country saw when it first adopted a federal currency. For cryptocurrencies to be adopted as the standard around the world, we must first discuss why they would carry the same value as the current federal currencies that are already set in place and why there may be a shift. The paper will be investigating the reasons that cryptocurrencies may gain popularity first as a flight to quality asset before a widespread adoption throughout business and individuals. This carries great importance as the adoption of cryptocurrencies would mark a new era of untested, autonomous free markets around the globe. We will look at current debt levels, different asset class correlations, perceived stable currencies, and if cryptocurrencies can act as an alternative asset. The current idea of flight to quality assets is moving away from more risky assets like equities or unstable currencies to fixed income or stable currencies like the USD but what if investors lose faith in some of the U.S. denominated assets

Declining Unionization: Do Fringe Benefits Matter?

This study examines whether there is a relationship between benefits and private sector unionization in the US. In their regression analysis, the authors use FRINGE in their as an explanatory variable. The dependent variable is UNIZ, the fraction of the private, non-farm labor force that is unionized. The changing nature of compensation has affected union density. In the private sector, as fringe benefits have become a more prominent component of workers' pay, ceteris paribus, union density has declined nationwide. Over the fifty-year period 1948-1997, at least 12% of the drop in unionization can be attributed to the growing role of non-wage benefits. For the private sector in general and manufacturing in particular, the authors have established that unionization is related to the composition of pay. Yet the influence of non-wage benefits may vary across industries or even different subsectors of manufacturing. It remains to be seen whether there are similar findings for other sectors.

Novel Microelectromechanical Systems Image Reversal Fabrication Process Based on Robust SU-8 Masking Layers

This paper discusses a novel fabrication process that uses a combination of negative and positive photoresists with positive tone photomasks, resulting in masking layers suitable for bulk micromachining high-aspect ratio microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. MicroChem\u27s negative photoresist Nano™ SU-8 and Clariant\u27s image reversal photoresist AZ 5214E are utilized, along with a barrier layer, to effectively convert a positive photomask into a negative image. This technique utilizes standard photolithography chemicals, equipment, and processes, and opens the door for creating complementary MEMS structures without added fabrication delay and cost. Furthermore, the SU-8 masking layer is robust enough to withstand aggressive etch chemistries needed for fabrication research and development, bulk micromachining high-aspect ratio MEMS structures in silicon substrates, etc. This processing technique was successfully demonstrated by translating a positive photomask to an SU-8 layer that was then utilized as an etching mask for a series of trenches that were micromachined into a silicon substrate. In addition, whereas the SU-8 mask would normally be left in place after processing, a technique utilizing Rohm and Haas Microposit™ S1818 as a release layer has been developed so that the SU-8 masking material can be removed post-etching

General description and operation of the agro-environmental system: Crop management modeling

Input for a data management system to provide farmers with information to improve crop management practices in Virginia requires monitoring of control crops at field stations, crop surveys derived from remotely sensed aircraft data, meteorological data from synchronous satellites, and details of local agricultural conditions. Presently models are under development for determining pest problems, water balance in the soil, stages of plant maturity, and optimum planting date. The status of the Cerospora leafspot model for peanut crop management is considered. Other models under development planned relate to Cylindtocladium Blackrot and Sclerotinia blight of peanuts, cyst nematode (Globerdena solanacearum) of tobacco, and red crown rot of soybeans. A software for program for estimating precipitation and solar radiation on a statewise basis is also being developed

Anolis bahorucoensis

Number of Pages: 3Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Evaluation of urinary collection device Final report, 18 Aug. 1969 - 18 Apr. 1970

Field tests for acceptability of formfitted device for in-flight urinary collectio