The acoustic impedance of the subglacial material beneath 7.2 km profiles on four ice streams in Antarctica has been measured using a seismic technique. The ice streams span a wide range of dynamic conditions with flow rates of 35–464 m a–1. The acoustic impedance indicates that poorly lithified or dilated sedimentary material is ubiquitous beneath these ice streams. Meanacoustic impedance across each profile correlates well with basal shear stress and the slipperiness of the bed, indicating that acoustic impedance is a good diagnostic not only for the porosity of the subglacial material, but also for its dynamic state (deforming or non-deforming). Beneath two of the ice streams, lodged (non-deforming) and dilated (deforming) sediment coexist but their distribution is not obviously controlled by basal topography or ice thickness. Their distribution may be controlled by complex material properties or the deformation history. Beneath Rutford Ice Stream, lodged and dilated sediment coexist and are distributed in broad bands several kilometres wide, whileon Talutis Inlet there is considerable variability over much shorter distances; this may reflect differences in the mechanism of drainage beneath the ice streams. The material beneath the slow-moving Carlson Inlet is probably lodged but unlithified sediment; this is consistent with the hypothesis that Carlson Inlet was once a fast-flowing ice stream but is now in a stagnant phase, which could possibly be revivedby raised basal water content. The entire bed beneath fast-flowing Evans Ice Stream is dilated sediment.

The present study was undertaken to examine whether the presence of antral follicles (AFs) affects the survival, growth and steroidogenesis of preantral follicles (PFs) and compare the maturation and developmental competence of buffalo oocytes derived from in vivo developed and in vitro cultured AFs. Two experiments were carried out. In experiment I, PFs (200–250 μm) were isolated and cultured with or without AFs (3–5 mm) in TCM-199 medium that contained 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 1% insulin transferin selenium (ITS), 20 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF), 0.5 μg/ml follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and 100 ng/ml insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I. In experiment II, in vitro developmental competence was compared for the cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) recovered from in vivo developed and in vitro cultured AFs. Survival, growth, development of antrum, accumulation of estradiol and progesterone was (P < 0.05) higher when PFs were co-cultured with AFs. Developmental competence of both types of follicular oocytes did not differ significantly in terms of maturation and cleavage rate, but morula and blastocyst production rate were (P < 0.05) higher with in vivo developed AFs as compared with the in vitro cultured antral follicular oocytes. In conclusion, co-culture of PFs with AFs supports long-term survival and growth of buffalo PFs and this co-culture system plays a dual role for in vitro production of embryos as well as understanding the relationship between developing PFs and AFs.

Unsteady laminar compressible boundary-layer flow with variable properties at a three-dimensional stagnation point for both cold and hot walls has been studied for the case when the velocity of the incident stream varies arbitrarily with time. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. Computations have been carried out for two particular unsteady free-stream velocity distributions: (i) an accelerating stream and (ii) a fluctuating stream. The results indicate that the variation of the density-viscosity product across the boundary layer, the wall temperature and the nature of stagnation point significantly affect the skin friction and heat transfer.

The effect of large mass injection on the following three-dimensional laminar compressible boundary-layer flows is investigated by employing the method of matched asymptotic expansions: (i) swirling flow in a laminar compressible boundary layer over an axisymmetric surface with variable cross-section and (ii) laminar compressible boundary-layer flow over a yawed infinite wing in a hypersonic flow. The resulting equations are solved numerically by combining the finite-difference technique with quasi-linearization. An increase in the swirl parameter, the yaw angle or the wall temperature is found to be capable of bringing the viscous layer nearer the surface and reducing the effects of massive blowing.

The unsteady laminar compressible boundary-layer flow in the immediate vicinity of a two-dimensional stagnation point due to an incident stream whose velocity varies arbitrarily with time is considered. The governing partial differential equations, involving both time and the independent similarity variable, are transformed into new co-ordinates with finite ranges by means of a transformation which maps an infinite interval into a finite one. The resulting equations are solved by converting them into a matrix equation through the application of implicit finite-difference formulae. Computations have been carried out for two particular unsteady free-stream velocity distributions: (i) a constantly accelerating stream and (ii) a fluctuating stream. The results show that in the former case both the skin-friction and the heat-transfer parameter increase steadily with time after a certain instant, while in the latter they oscillate, thus responding to the fluctuations in the free-stream velocity.

We have grown lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (PMN–PT) single crystals, using the high-pressure vertical Bridgman (HPVB) technique, around the stoichiometric composition of 0.7 PMN–0.3PT [0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 + 0.3(PbTiO3)]. The final ingot (about 50-mm diameter, 25-mm long) was machinable using an inner diameter saw. The room-temperature x-ray diffraction on the starting powders and the final single crystal revealed a desirable perovskite structure. The natural growth direction in most of the crystals, as determined using orientation image microscopy, was (110). Examination of the final microstructures and phases/inclusions had been done using optical and infrared microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and x-ray backscatter techniques. Microstructural characterizations of the final ingots have revealed the presence of pores filled with Mg–Si–O-rich impurity phase, usually found along the cell boundary–like structures, in all the growths. We have measured some piezoelectric properties including d33 (1200 pC/N), k33 (0.85), kt (0.5), and the dielectric constant at the Curie temperature.

A multichannel loss system with heterogeneous servers operating in parallel is analyzed. The sum of the service rates of all servers is assumed constant. The optimal service rates that minimize the probability of losing a customer are obtained, and are shown to be different from each other. The percentage reduction in the probability of losing a customer in the homogeneous and the best heterogeneous system for a few representative values are included.

Mills(7), Gordon(5), Birnbaum(1), and the author(6) have studied the ratio of the area of the standardized normal curve from x to ∞ and the ordinate at x. Des Raj (4) established the monotonic character of, and obtained lower and upper bounds for this ratio for the standardized type III population. This ratio, as shown by Cohen (2) and Des Raj (3), has to be calculated for several values of x when solving approximately the equations involved in the problem of estimating the para-meters of type III populations from truncated samples. When the areas and ordinates are small, either this ratio cannot be obtained from existing tables prepared by Salvosa(8) or that very few significant digits are available for its calculation. The object of this note is to obtain an upper bound which could satisfactorily locate this ratio over the range x > −1.

nHr denotes the number of n × n matrices with non-negative integral entries, with row-sums and column-sums all equal to r. Kenji Mano [3] investigated the number nHr in which n distinct objects each replicated r times can be distributed in equal numbers among n cells. He gives an intricate formula for the case r = 2. Recently, Anand et al. [1], making use of partitions, extended it to 3Hr and stated a plausible formula for nHr.