The conceptual design of compliant mechanisms is generally performed using one of two methods: topology optimization or the Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model. In this paper, we present a conceptual design methodology which utilizes a building block approach. The concept of the instant center is developed for compliant mechanisms and is used to characterize the building blocks. The building block characte...

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SERVICES To DESCRIBE THE mechanical engineering services of the Nuffield College without to some extent involving the Royal College of Surgeons, Building Phase I, would be similar to giving a description of the human body minus the head. The writer may therefore be forgiven if he sometimes encroaches on the mechanical services of Building Phase I, particularly the boilerh...

Building families through adoption of children has been supported by human society throughout history. The ethical appropriateness of patients donating embryos to other patients for family building, or for research, is well established and is affirmed by this body. The use of the term "adoption" to embryos is inaccurate and should be avoided. This document replaces the ASRM Ethics Committee sta...

The present work aims to introduce an efficient set of high spatial resolution (HSR) images in order to more fairly evaluate building detection algorithms. The introduced images are chosen from two recent HSR sensors (QuickBird and GeoEye-1) and based on several challenges of urban areas encountered in building detection such as diversity in building density, building dissociation, building sha...

Many animals from different phyla use structures bearing arrays of hairs to perform a variety of important functions, such as olfaction, gas exchange, suspension feeding and locomotion. The performance of all these functions depends on the motion of water or air around and through these arrays of hairs. Because organisms often move such hair-bearing appendages with respect to their bodies or th...

The diffusive motion of a colloidal particle trapped inside a small cavity filled with fluid is reduced by hydrodynamic interactions with the confining walls. In this work, we study these wall effects on a spherical particle entrapped in a closed cylinder. We calculate the diffusion coefficient along the radial, azimuthal, and axial direction for different particle positions. At all locations t...

In this investigation of developmental changes in the coordination of perceived optical flow and postural responses, 4 age groups of infants (5-, 7-, 9-, and 13-month-olds) were tested while seated on a force plate in a "moving room." During each trial the walls oscillated in an anteroposterior direction for 12 s, and the postural sway of the infant was measured. The results revealed that infan...

Gravity-dominated systems have a negative specific heat. We investigate the negative specific heat of self-gravitating systems enclosed in a spherical container with reflecting walls by means of N-body simulations. To simulate nonequilibrium processes, a particle reflected at a nonadiabatic wall is cooled to mimic energy loss by reflecting walls, while an adiabatic wall is employed for microcan...

The equilibrium density distribution and thermodynamic properties of a Lennard-Jones fluid confined to nanosized spherical cavities at a constant chemical potential was determined using Monte Carlo simulations. The results describe both a single cavity with semi-permeable walls as well as a collection of closed cavities formed at the constant chemical potential. The results are compared to calc...