The purpose of this study was to measure tactile discrimination ability of foil thickness and propose sensory information processing mechanisms for such discrimination processes. In Experiment 1, difference thresholds for the thickness were measured using stainless foils. The difference thresholds were 5.9, 6.1, 6.4, 7.5, 9.0, and 10 μm for a foil thickness of 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 μm, resp...

In this article, free vibration analysis of variable stiffness composite laminate (VSCL) plates with flat and folded shapes is studied. In order to consider the concept of variable stiffness, in each layer of these composite laminated plates, the curvilinear fibers are used instead of straight fibers. The analysis is based on a semi-analytical finite strip method which follows classical laminat...

During vessel evolution in angiosperms, scalariform perforation plates with many slit-like openings transformed into simple plates with a single circular opening. The transition is hypothesized to have resulted from selection for decreased hydraulic resistance. Previously, additional resistivity of scalariform plates was estimated to be small – generally 10% or less above lumen resistivity – ba...

A simple globular-shaped liquid (octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, OMCTS) was placed between two solid plates at variable spacings comparable to the size of this molecule and the linear shear viscoelasticity of the confined interfacial film was measured. Strong monotonic increase of the shear relaxation time, elastic modulus, and effective viscosity were observed at spacings less than about 10 mole...

The Companhia Siderúrgica Paulista – COSIPA is an integrated steel plant of the Usiminas System located in the municipality of Cubatão, in the coastal region of the São Paulo state, Brazil. This works produces 4.5 millions tons of steel per year; 1.0 million tons of this output are delivered as rolled plates, which meet a wide range of uses, such as those in agricultural implements, industrial ...

Planetary topography can either be modeled as a load supported by the lithosphere, or as a dynamical effect due to lithospheric flexure caused by mantle convection. In both cases the response of the lithosphere to external forces can be calculated with the theory of thin elastic plates or shells. On one-plate planets the spherical geometry of the lithospheric shell plays an important role in th...