bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unsteadiness in a large turbulent separation bubble
Authors: Mohammed-Taifour Abdelouahab , Weiss Julien
Published: June 2016

The unsteady behaviour of a massively separated, pressure-induced turbulent separation bubble (TSB) is investigated experimentally using high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) and piezo-resistive pressure sensors. The TSB is generated on a flat test surface by a combination of adverse and favourable pressure gradients. The Reynolds number based on the momentum thickness of the incoming boundary layer is 5000 and the free stream velocity is$25~\text{m}~\text{s}^{-1}$. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is used to separate the different unsteady modes in the flow. The first POD mode contains approximately 30 % of the total kinetic energy and is shown to describe a low-frequency contraction and expansion, called ‘breathing’, of the TSB. This breathing is responsible for a variation in TSB size of approximately 90 % of its average length. It also generates low-frequency wall-pressure fluctuations that are mainly felt upstream of the mean detachment and downstream of the mean reattachment. A medium-frequency unsteadiness, which is linked to the convection of large-scale vortices in the shear layer bounding the recirculation zone and their shedding downstream of the TSB, is also observed. When scaled with the vorticity thickness of the shear layer and the convection velocity of the structures, this medium frequency is very close to the characteristic frequency of vortices convected in turbulent mixing layers. The streamwise position of maximum vertical turbulence intensity generated by the convected structures is located downstream of the mean reattachment line and corresponds to the position of maximum wall-pressure fluctuations.
Stability of multiclass queueing networks under longest-queue and longest-dominating-queue scheduling
Authors: Pedarsani Ramtin , Walrand Jean
Published: June 2016

We consider the stability of robust scheduling policies for multiclass queueing networks. These are open networks with arbitrary routeing matrix and several disjoint groups of queues in which at most one queue can be served at a time. The arrival and potential service processes and routeing decisions at the queues are independent, stationary, and ergodic. A scheduling policy is called robust if it does not depend on the arrival and service rates nor on the routeing probabilities. A policy is called throughput-optimal if it makes the system stable whenever the parameters are such that the system can be stable. We propose two robust policies: longest-queue scheduling and a new policy called longest-dominating-queue scheduling. We show that longest-queue scheduling is throughput-optimal for two groups of two queues. We also prove the throughput-optimality of longest-dominating-queue scheduling when the network topology is acyclic, for an arbitrary number of groups and queues.
A stationary distribution associated to a set of laws whose initial states are grouped into classes. An application in genomics
Authors: Martínez Servet
Published: June 2016

Let I be a finite set and S be a nonempty strict subset of I which is partitioned into classes, and let C(s) be the class containing s ∈ S. Let (Ps: s ∈ S) be a family of distributions on IN, where each Ps applies to sequences starting with the symbol s. To this family, we associate a class of distributions P(π) on IN which depends on a probability vector π. Our main results assume that, for each s ∈ S, Ps regenerates with distribution Ps' when it encounters s' ∈ S ∖ C(s). From semiregenerative theory, we determine a simple condition on π for P(π) to be time stationary. We give a similar result for the following more complex model. Once a symbol s' ∈ S ∖ C(s) has been encountered, there is a decision to be made: either a new region of type C(s') governed by Ps' starts or the region continues to be a C(s) region. This decision is modeled as a random event and its probability depends on s and s'. The aim in studying these kinds of models is to attain a deeper statistical understanding of bacterial DNA sequences. Here I is the set of codons and the classes (C(s): s ∈ S) identify codons that initiate similar genomic regions. In particular, there are two classes corresponding to the start and stop codons which delimit coding and noncoding regions in bacterial DNA sequences. In addition, the random decision to continue the current region or begin a new region of a different class reflects the well-known fact that not every appearance of a start codon marks the beginning of a new coding region.
A Galton–Watson process with a threshold
Authors: Athreya K. B. , Schuh H.-J.
Published: June 2016

In this paper we study a special class of size dependent branching processes. We assume that for some positive integer K as long as the population size does not exceed level K, the process evolves as a discrete-time supercritical branching process, and when the population size exceeds level K, it evolves as a subcritical or critical branching process. It is shown that this process does die out in finite time T. The question of when the mean value E(T) is finite or infinite is also addressed.
A note on a generalized Ehrenfest urn model: another look at the mean transition times
Authors: Lathrop Eve D. , Goldstein Isaac H. , Chen Yung-Pin
Published: June 2016

This note is motivated by Blom's work in 1989. We consider a generalized Ehrenfest urn model in which a randomly-chosen ball has a positive probability of moving from one urn to the other urn. We use recursion relations between the mean transition times to derive formulas in terms of finite sums, which are shown to be equivalent to the definite integrals obtained by Blom.
Generalized Efron's biased coin design and its theoretical properties
Authors: Hu Yanqing
Published: June 2016

In clinical trials with two treatment arms, Efron's biased coin design, Efron (1971), sequentially assigns a patient to the underrepresented arm with probabilityp> ½. Under this design the proportion of patients in any arm converges to ½, and the convergence rate isn-1, as opposed ton-½under some other popular designs. The generalization of Efron's design toK≥ 2 arms and an unequal target allocation ratio (q1, . . .,qK) can be found in some papers, most of which determine the allocation probabilitiesps in a heuristic way. Nonetheless, it has been noted that by using inappropriateps, the proportion of patients in theKarms never converges to the target ratio. We develop a general theory to answer the question of what allocation probabilities ensure that the realized proportions under a generalized design still converge to the target ratio (q1, . . .,qK) with raten-1.
SECULAR CHANGES IN BIRTH WEIGHTS AND WOMEN’S BODY SIZE IN KRAKÓW AND POZNAŃ (POLAND) DURING THE LAST CENTURY
Authors: Kryst Łukasz , Bilińska Inez
Published: June 2016

Changing socioeconomic conditions over the last century have left their mark on neonatal size and final body size of individuals born in those days. The main aim of this study was to investigate how the historical, political and economic changes occurring from the late 19th century to the 2000s have affected the birth weight of newborns. Additionally, changes in weight and body height in the case of young women (potential mothers) were analysed. Data were from two cities in Poland (Kraków and Poznań) covering 15,884 newborns and 3612 women aged 18 years, derived from 1900 to 2010. Despite short-term fluctuations, the results showed significant increasing trends in all studied features. Changes in birth weight were similar in both cities: in Kraków it increased by 184 g (males) and 206 g (females), and in Poznań by 216 g (males) and 120 g (females). Changes in women’s body size were also significant, but the level was different depending on place of residence. In the last century, women’s body height increased by 8.2 cm in Kraków and by 10.2 cm in Poznań, and their body weight increased by 1 kg and 5 kg respectively. The considered period covered the years of socioeconomic change that occurred as a result of the political system transformation. Crises, periods of prosperity and other factors that determine standard of living and health care have influenced the development of the Polish population’s physical features.
Morphometric and molecular data of the two digenean species Lasiotocus lizae Liu, 2002 (Monorchiidae) and Paucivitellosus vietnamensis sp. n. (Bivesiculidae) from mullet fish in Tonkin Bay, Vietnam
Authors: Atopkin D.M. , Besprozvannykh V.V. , Ngo H.D. , Van Ha N. , Van Tang N. , Ermolenko A.V. , Beloded A.Y.
Published: June 2016

Adults of Lasiotocus lizae Liu, 2002 (Monorchiidae) were found in the mullet Liza longimanus (Günther) from Tonkin Bay, near Cat Ba Island, Vietnam. In this region, flukes belonging to the genus Paucivitellosus (Bivesiculudae) were found in Liza subviridis (Valenciennes), Liza engeli (Bleeker) and Valamugil seheli (Forskåi). Results of investigations showed that morphological features of L. lizae (like L. glebulentus Overstreet, 1971) do not meet the criteria of the genus Lasiotocus. In addition, L. lizae is highly differentiated from other species of Lasiotocus from which molecular data were obtained, including L. arrhichostoma Searle, Cutmore et Cribb, 2014 and L. typicum (Nicoll, 1912). Phylogenetic analyses revealed that L. lizae differs considerably from other species of the genus Lasiotocus presented in the GenBank database. We have identified a new species of the genus Paucivitellosus–P. vietnamensis sp. n. – from L. subviridis, which differs from P. fragilis Coil, Reid et Kuntz, 1965 by metrical and molecular (18S rRNA) data, and from P. hanumanthai Mani, 1989 by metric features. Our results also show considerable molecular differentiation between P. vietnamensis sp. n. and Paucivitellosus spp. recovered from L. engeli and V. seheli in Vietnam.
Chrono-nutrition: a review of current evidence from observational studies on global trends in time-of-day of energy intake and its association with obesity
Authors: Almoosawi S. , Vingeliene S. , Karagounis L. G. , Pot G. K.
Published: June 2016

The importance of the circadian rhythm in regulating human food intake behaviour and metabolism has long been recognised. However, little is known as to how energy intake is distributed over the day in existing populations, and its potential association with obesity. The present review describes global trends in time-of-day of energy intake in the general population based on data from cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal cohorts. Evidence of the association between time-of-day of energy intake and obesity is also summarised. Overall, there were a limited number of cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal cohorts that provided data on time-of-day of energy intake. In the identified studies, a wide variation in time-of-day of energy intake was observed, with patterns of energy distribution varying greatly by country and geographical area. In relation to obesity, eight cross-sectional surveys and two longitudinal cohorts were identified. The association between time-of-day of energy intake and obesity varied widely, with several studies reporting a positive link between evening energy intake and obesity. In conclusion, the current review summarises global trends in time-of-day of energy intake. The large variations across countries and global regions could have important implications to health, emphasising the need to understand the socio-environmental factors guiding such differences in eating patterns. Evidence of the association between time-of-day of energy intake and BMI also varied. Further larger scale collaborations between various countries and regions are needed to sum data from existing surveys and cohorts, and guide our understanding of the role of chrono-nutrition in health.
Prize-Problem Partridge
Authors: Green Jonathon
Published: June 2016

Writing in Slang To-day and Yesterday (1933), his pioneering history of the lexical subset that would become his life's work, Eric Partridge, who in time would become the 20th century's leading expert in its lexis, pondered the etymology of the word ‘slang’. It was, he confessed, a ‘prize-problem word’. 82 years on, and 36 since the death at 85 of the man whose many fans would nickname him ‘The Word King’, it is hard to avoid feeling that in terms of his work and the reputation it brought him, it was Partridge too who represents a ‘prize problem.’
3. On the Effect of Oil on a Stormy Sea
Authors: Aitken John
Published: June 2016

The calming effect of oil on troubled waters is so well known and so often referred to, that we might have expected there would, by this time, have been a considerable amount of written information on the subject. This calming effect of oil is not only well known, but it has also become so stereotyped by constant repetition, that it seems to have acquired the stamp of classical antiquity upon it, yet one is surprised to find that reference to it in early writers is strangely conspicuous by its absence. Our knowledge of the subject seems to have lived almost entirely in tradition.
1. On the so-called Bicipital Ribs
Authors: Turner William
Published: June 2016

In this paper an anatomical peculiarity was described which is occasionally found both in Man and the Cetacea. It is not due to a bifurcation of the shaft of a single rib at its vertebral end into two heads, but to the fusion of what ought to have been the shafts of two distinct ribs into a common body, and it invariably occurs at the apex of the thorax. Although the author had long been familiar with dried specimens from the human body in the Anatomical Museum of the University of Edinburgh, two cases which he now describes were the first that he had seen in the subject itself in the course of nearly thirty years' experience as a teacher of anatomy, and it is remarkable that they should both have occurred within a few months of each other. A third specimen occurred in a skeleton in the possession of one of his pupils, Mr Minas S. P. Aganoor.
1. On the Impossibility of Inverted Images in the Air
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

It is narrated that a physician, having given cogent reasons to show that there could be no recovery, and somewhat disconcerted by the return of sound health, yet maintained the cogency of his pathological arguments. The present may be a new edition of the same story; however, we shall advance the arguments, and leave it to futurity to tell whether there be any patient at all.
1. On some Laboratory Arrangements
Authors: Gibson John
Published: June 2016

This apparatus will be best understood by a reference to the figures. The bell-jar A (fig. 1) rests, during filtration, on a square block of hard wood c, 25 cm. square by 25 mm. thick, over which is laid a sheet of vulcanised rubber d of good quality, and not less than 3 mm. thick. In the centre is a circular disk e also of hard wood, 13 cm. in diameter and about 20 mm. thick, which is held in position by four strong brass screws which pass down through the rubber into the square block below.
2. On the Measurement of Resistance to Electrolytes
Authors: Knott Cargill G.
Published: June 2016

The difficulties attending the measurement of the electrical resistance of electrolytes are well known, the rapid growth of the polarisation of the electrodes especially preventing the application of the ordinary Wheatstone Bridge method. The polarisation may be kept down by using alternating currents, as was done by Kohlrausch; and this method is no doubt the most general and most accurate which has yet been applied.
3. Note on the Compressibility of Water, Sea-Water, and Alcohol, at High Pressures
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

The apparatus employed was of a very simple character, similar to that which was used last autumn in the “Triton.”
1. An Essay upon the Limitations in Time of Conscious Sensations
Authors: Haycraft John B.
Published: June 2016

I propose to describe in this essay some experiments which I have conducted upon the limits in time of separate tactile and thermal sensibilities. I shall endeavour to account for the variations seen in the limitations in conscious sensation of the different senses; and also to formulate a general proposition as to the effect on consciousness of stimuli increasing gradually in rapidity of application.
1. On the Change in the Peltier Effect due to Variation of Temperature
Authors: Campbell Albert , Tait
Published: June 2016

The object of this short paper is to give the results of some further experiments made with a view to determine the variation in the Peltier Effect due to change of temperature. These experiments are the continuation of a set of similar experiments described in a paper read to the Society in summer 1882.
2. On the Problem of the Lathe-Band, and on Problems therewith connected
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

That of the lathe-band is one of those simple-looking problems in elementary mechanics which present serious difficulties to the investigator. The problem is this—“So to arrange the several diameters on the fly-wheel and pulley cone of the turning-lathe, as that the same band may suit for all.” The solution consists of two steps converse to each other, the one being “to compute the length of the band from given diameters,” the other “to compute new diameters which may suit the length so found.”
1. On Distant Vision
Authors: Maddox E. E. , Brown Crum
Published: June 2016

I believe it is universally assumed by English physiologists that the zero of accommodation is naturally associated with parallel visual axes as in the “Primary Position” of Helmholtz, Listing, &c.

It is self-evident that when even in actual life a body is viewed at infinite distance the visual axes must be parallel. It is also well known that the nervous connection between convergence and accommodation is a most delicate and susceptible one, and is none the less so naturally because it is capable of being overcome for a time by various conditions. It is therefore quite reasonable to suppose that when the ciliary muscle is at rest the converging mechanism should be so likewise; and to expect that the invariable association of the visual actions of a life-time should be impressed, if not at birth, as Porterfield suggested, “by an original, connate, and immutable law,” at least by “dint of habit,” upon the very constitution of the governing ganglia.
2. On the Formation of Small Clear Spaces in Dusty Air
Authors: Aítken John
Published: June 2016

In the introduction a few remarks are made on the growing interest in everything connected with dust, whether it be the organic germs floating in the air, or the inorganic particles that pollute our atmosphere. Professor Tyndall's observations on the dark plane seen over a hot wire are referred to, Lord Rayleigh's recent discovery of the dark plane formed under a cold body is described, and attention called to Dr Lodge's experiments, detailed in a letter to Nature, vol. xxviii. p. 297.
3. An Electro-Magnetic Declinometer
Authors: Tanakadaté A. , Ewing J. A.
Published: June 2016

The terrestrial magnetic field will in general be disturbed in the neighbourhood of an electric circuit; but if the circuit be a plane set at right angles to the terrestrial lines of force, the direction of the field will remain unchanged at all points in the plane of the circuit. To determine the magnetic meridian, we have only to place a plane circuit in such a direction that, when a current in the circuit is started and stopped, no change takes place in the position of a small magnet hung at a point in the plane of the circuit, and free to turn in azimuth. The plane of the circuit will then lie magnetically east and west.
3. An Integrating Hygrometer
Authors: Smith C. Michie
Published: June 2016

This instrument consists essentially of a cryophorus, one bulb of which is kept wet by the same arrangement as is used for a wetbulb thermometer, while the other bulb is left dry. For convenience, the wet bulb is made spherical, and the dry bulb is made cylindrical, and is graduated. The difference of temperature between the two bulbs produced by evaporation causes a transference of water from the dry bulb to the wet bulb, and the amount of water thus transferred in any period of time, taken along with the mean temperature, will give a measure of the average hygrometric condition during that time. Preliminary observations with this instrument show that even in comparatively moist weather the total evaporation during twenty-four hours is great enough to be easily measured.
3. Note on a New Form of Galvanometer
Authors: Blyth James
Published: June 2016

This instrument consists of a close spiral of insulated copper wire bent into the form of an anchor ring, so as to form an endless solenoid. The spiral is placed in a rectangular groove turned on the edge of a wooden or brass ring of suitable thickness and diameter. Short lengths of wire at both ends of the copper spiral are left straight. These, after being well insulated, are twisted together and led to two terminals, which serve as electrodes. The ring containing the spiral is fixed on a base board with its plane vertical, and at right angles to the magnetic meridian, when the instrument is in use. A short magnet, rigidly attached at right angles to the lower end of a stiff wire, is suspended from a silk fibre, so that its centre is in the circular centre line of the anchor ring.
1. Sur la Réduction des Intégrales Hyperelliptiques, extrait d'une lettre adressée à M, le Professeur Chrystal, par M, Herroite
Authors: Chrystal  , Hermite M.
Published: June 2016

J'ai montré dans mon Cours d'Analyse de l'École Polytechnique, comment le procédé élémentaire d'intégration des fractions rationelles peut-être modifié de manière à donner l'intégrale lorsqu'elle est algébrique et ne contient pas de logarithmes, sans avoir d'équations a résoudre, Une question toute semblable se pose à l'égard des intégrales de la forme ou P, Q, R, sont des polynômes entiers en x, et j'en ai exposé la solution dans un article du Bulletin des Sciences Mathématiques de M. Darboux (C. vii. 1883). Mais la méthode que j'ai donnée peut être présentée sous une forme plus facile et plus simple; c'est ce que je me propose de montrer, et avant d'aborder les intégrates hyperelliptiques, je considérerai d'abord celles des fractions rationelles .
3. Second Note on the Remarkable Sunsets
Authors: Aitken John
Published: June 2016

When I communicated my first note on this subject on the 21st of January last, the only definite conclusion I had then arrived at was that the very remarkable and brilliant colour effects, lately seen in the heavens at sunrise and sunset, were due to the presence of an unusual amount of dust at the time floating in our atmosphere.This atmospheric dust acts as a sifting medium, breaks up the white light into its components, and reflects all the different colours to us from different parts of the sky.
4. Thermometer Screens
Authors: Aitken John
Published: June 2016

In meteorological observations the temperature of the air is of the first importance, and it is a subject to which a great deal of attention is given, thousands of temperature observations being made and recorded every day. It is therefore desirable that these observations shall be as correct as possible. At first sight nothing seems more simple than to take the temperature of the air. All that appears necessary is to hang up a correct thermometer of any construction, anywhere out of the sun, and the thermometer will then indicate the temperature of the air where the instrument is placed. We shall presently see that this is very far from being the case; and not only so, but we shall find that it is difficult to get two thermometers which will give the same readings, when hung near each other in the open air, even though they agree perfectly with each other when placed in water.
1. A Problem on Point-Motions for which a Reference-Frame can so exist as to have the Motions of the Points, relative to it, Rectilinear and Mutually Proportional
Authors: Thomson James
Published: June 2016

In a paper read in this Society on the 3rd of March last, “On the Law of Inertia,” &c., I had occasion to adduce for consideration a problem to the following effect:—
2. On the Increase of Electrolytic Polarization with Time
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

In a paper communicated to this Society last Session I described some preliminary experiments on this subject, which led to the approximate empirical formula connecting current-strength and time
3. On the Distribution of Temperature in the Antarctic Ocean
Authors: Buchanan J. Y.
Published: June 2016

In the regions of the Antarctic Ocean where icebergs are numerous, and where in winter the sea-water freezes, the distribution of temperature in the deeper layers of water is peculiar. The facts are detailed in the Challenger Narrative (vol. i.). The general result of her observations went to show that, from the edge of the ice-pack, a wedge of cold water stretches northwards for more than 12° of latitude, underlying and overlying strata at a higher temperature than itself (p. 418).
1. Note on a Formula for Δn0i/ni when n, i are very large Numbers
Authors: Cayley A.
Published: June 2016

The following formula

is given by Laplace (Theorie Analytique des Probabilités, 2 ed. Paris, 1814, p. 195) as an approximate value of Δn0i/ni, when n and i are very large numbers, and is applied immediately afterwards to the case where i is of the order n log n.
2. On the Probability that a Marriage entered into by a Man of any Age, will be Fruitful
Authors: Sprague T. B.
Published: June 2016

In a paper which I read before the Society in 1879, I gave the results of an investigation I had made with the object of determining the probability, that a man marrying at any age over 40, will, or will not, have children; and I have now extended the same enquiry to men of all ages. The statistics upon which my former conclusions rested, related to- 339 marriages entered into by peers and their near relations, above the age of 40, and were extracted from Lodge's Peerage for the year 1871. For all statistical enquiries this work is, in my opinion, greatly preferable to any of the other works that give records of the British Peerage. The principal ground for this opinion is, that Lodge usually gives the dates of birth of the daughters of each family, as well as those of the sons; whereas other Peerages generally omit those dates, and place the names of the daughters (without any dates) after the names of the sons, so that it is impossible to tell whether they are older or younger than their brothers. In the case of a few families this practice is also adopted in Lodge, presumably by special desire of the head of the family; and it is a matter of regret that this, together with other circumstances to be presently mentioned, diminishes the value of the book for statistical purposes.
5. On some Vapour Densities at High Temperatures
Authors: Scott Alexander
Published: June 2016

The apparatus used in the following determinations is that of Victor Meyer, modified as described in a paper published in 1879, “On the Vapour Densities of Potassium and Sodium,”* by Professor Dewar and the author. In the experiments here described, the platinum vessel was further protected by a casing of iron, and the intervening space filled with magnesia, the iron casing being embedded in sand enclosed between two crucibles.
5. On some Glass Globes with Internal Cavities produced during Cooling
Authors: Bottomley J. T.
Published: June 2016

The object of this communication is to exhibit and describe to the Royal Society a number of flint-glass globes having remarkable internal cavities produced during cooling. Along with these globes there is exhibited for comparison one globe having no perceptible internal cavity.

The making of these globes was shown to me by Mr John Griffin, manager of the St Rollox Flint Glass Works, Glasgow.

The globe having no internal cavity is marked A. A set of globes, four in number, are marked B1 B2, B3, B4, and the sixth globe is marked C.
6. On the Constitution of Dielectrics
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

In this paper the author pointed out that the experiments detailed in his preceding paper on Transition-resistance and Polarisation, show that, whatever be the ultimate nature of Dielectrics, any insulator upon which a film of gas is condensed must exhibit the phenomena of electric absorption and residual discharge.
4. On the Mean Free Path, and the average Number of Collisions per particle per second in a Group of Equal Spheres
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

There is general agreement as to the value of the quantity nv, which expresses the fraction of the whole group whose members have speeds from v to v + dv; and as to the corresponding Mean Path pv,. The “mean,” in this case, is found according to the definition given by De Morgan:—
7. Preliminary Note on New Determinations of the Electric Resistance of Liquids
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

In this paper Mr Peddie described some preliminary experiments made on the resistance of dilute solutions of sulphuric acid (ordinary commercial). The solution is enclosed in a glass tube, which passes through a metal vessel containing water. Each end of the tube dips into a separate vessel containing some of the acid solution, and a platinum electrode is placed in each vessel. This apparatus is joined in circuit with a Helmholtz tangent galvanometer and a Brush dynamo. The current from the dynamo is then passed through the arrangement, and the water surrounding the tube is stirred constantly until its temperature ceases to rise. The temperature of the water, the temperature of the air, and the current strength are then noted, and the resistance is obtained by the application of Joule's Law, the rate of loss of heat being known.
4. On the Four Surfaces of an Aplanatic Objective
Authors: M'Laren Hon. Lord
Published: June 2016

The art of figuring the lenses of a telescopic objective consists in correcting the spherical aberration by successive trials, until approximately aplanatic curves are obtained.
6. On the Malpighian Tubules of Libettula depressa
Authors: Griffiths A. B.
Published: June 2016

In this memoir details are given which prove the true renal functions of the Malpighian tubules in the Libellulidæ.
1. The Mechanism of the Separation of the Placenta and Membranes during Labour
Authors: Hart D. Berry
Published: June 2016

During labour the membranes and placenta become separated and expelled, but while the expulsion of these takes place after the child is born, the entire separation does not occur at any one period. During the first stage of labour the membranes in the lower portion of the uterus, in the part termed the lower uterine segment, become detached. The placenta, if placed partly in this segment, a condition known as placenta prsevia, becomes also separated. The rest of the membranes and placenta do not become separated until after childbirth, and this is followed by their expulsion as a whole.
4. On the Action of Carbonic Acid Water on Olivine
Authors: Johnstone Alexander
Published: June 2016

In a paper, entitled “On the Action of Carbonic Acid Water on Minerals and Kocks,” read before the Edinburgh Geological Society on the 18th February 1886, and subsequently published in their Transactions for that year (vol. v. part ii. p. 282), I gave some account of the simple experiments made with a view to elucidate the action of carbonated water on various minerals, which up to that period I had been able to carry through.
9. Alternants which are constant Multiples of the Difference-Product of the Variables
Authors: Anglin
Published: June 2016

In a recent paper on “Certain Theorems mainly connected with Alternants (II.),” the possible generalization of the series of theorems (I.)1 (II)1, (III)1, &c, is referred to in § 6. The object of the present communication is to endeavour to effect this generalization, considering for the present Integral functions only.
Abstract of the Results of an Inquiry into the Causation of Asiatic Cholera
Authors: Macleod Neil , Milles Walter J. , Woodhead
Published: June 2016

This inquiry was commenced in Shanghai at the end of 1884, soon after Koch had published some of his results, and as he was then almost the only worker in the bacteriological field of whom it could be said that he had not published anything, subsequently upset, attention was directed at once to the“comma bacillus.”

Slightly alkaline peptonised meat jelly on plates was used for purposes of cultivation, this being kept at a temperature of 60° to 70° Fahr. by means of an ice chest in hot weather.

The investigators worked independently, but the majority of the cases of cholera under observation were investigated by both.
Preliminary Remarks on the Homologies of the Mesenteries in Antipatharia and other Anthozoa
Authors: Brook George
Published: June 2016

The mesenteries of many Anthozoa are usually regarded as being arranged in pairs, the members of a pair being adjacent mesenteries. The common shore Anemones, belonging to the Hexactiniæ, show this arrangement very well. In a typical case, the mouth and stomodæum are elongated, and the pairs of mesenteries are arranged in multiples of six. There are six primary pairs passing from the body-wall to the stomodæum, which are complete; six secondary pairs, which may also reach the stomodæum ; twelve pairs of a third series, which are not complete; forty-eight incomplete pairs of a fourth series, and so on.
Strophanthus hispidus: its Natural History, Chemistry, and Pharmacology
Authors: Fraser Thomas R.
Published: June 2016

(Abstract.)

In February 1870, the author made a communication to this Society on the Kombe Arrow-Poison of Africa, a product of the Strophanthus hispidus plant. In that communication the nature of its action on the various structures of the body, and the chemical composition of the seeds of the plant, which are the most active part, were described. It was pointed out that the action is chiefly exerted upon the heart and upon the muscles of the body, and that the seeds contain a crystalline active principle of the nature of a glucoside, to which the name Strophanthin was given
A New Type of Dimorphism found in certain Antipatharia
Authors: Brook George
Published: June 2016

A more or less elaborate system of polymorphism is of frequent occurrence in certain groups of colonial Coelenterata. For example, in many Hydroids certain individuals perform the nutritive functions for the colony, others are specialised for reproductive purposes, and so on. The variously modified individuals are connected together by a general coenenchyma, which enables the nutriment elaborated by the gastrozooids to be utilised by other members of the colony. Perhaps some of the most interesting and complex cases of polymorphism are to be found amongst the Siphonophora
On the so-called “Liver ”of Carcinus mœnas
Authors: Griffiths A. B.
Published: June 2016

This memoir details a continuation of the author's investigations on the physiology of the Invertebrata. At this point we consider the physiological functions of the so-called “liver ” of the Brachyura.

Was it not M. Letourneau, in his La Biologie, who said, “Does the pancreas exist in the invertebrates? This is a question of comparative physiology which still waits for a reply. We have seen that we do not begin clearly to recognise the pancreas except in fishes, and then only in a rudimentary state.” From the recent researches of Krukenberg, Frederieq, Jousset de Bellesme, Plateau, Hoppe-Seyler, as well as those of the author, the problem now requiring solution is the following:-Does a true liver exist in the Invertebrata? The pancreas appears to be the chief digestive organ (other than a true stomach) of the earlier forms of animal life.
Additional Remarks on the Virial of Molecular Force
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

(Abstract.)

In my paper, read Jan. 21, I stated that I would not “for the present, insist on this point [the value of β] further than to say that the main effect is merely to alter the value of the disposable quantity A, below.”
On the Geographical Distribution of some Tropical Diseases, and their Relation to Physical Phenomena
Authors: Felkin R. W.
Published: June 2016

The subject of the present paper has occupied my attention for some years, but I may state that what follows is the outcome of notes prepared for lectures to my students and is only a preliminary attempt to focus our present knowledge of the geographical distribution of some tropical diseases, and to indicate as far as possible the knowledge which we at present possess of those physical phenomena which influence the production of these diseases and the area of their distribution. Why, for instance, some diseases are confined to limited areas of distribution, whereas others are endemic in extensive districts, and others again periodically extend their ravages throughout clearly defined, though widespreading, regions.
Quaternion Note on a Geometrical Problem
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

The problem referred to is that of inscribing in a sphere a closed n-sided polygon, whose sides shall pass respectively through n given points which are not on the surface. Hamilton evidently regarded his solution of this question as a very tough piece of mathematics (see his Life, vol. iii. pp. 88, 426). In preparing a new edition of my Quaternions, I was led to a mode of treating this question which enables us to dispense with the brilliant feats of analysis which seem to be required in Hamilton's method.
On the Coagulation of Egg and Serum Albumen, Vitellin, and Serum Globulin, by Heat
Authors: Haycraft John Berry , Duggan C. W.
Published: June 2016

A large number of proteid substances, when in solution, are coagulable by heat. As the temperature of such a fluid is raised, faint opalescence at first appears, and then, at a higher temperature, masses (flocculi) of albumen separate out, in most cases, suddenly, from the fluid. It is generally held that each coagulable albumen is so affected at a definite temperature peculiar to itself; thus, egg albumen is said to become opalescent at 60° C, and to separate out in flocculi at 63° C. Unfortunately, hardly two observers agree as to the exact temperature at which opalescence and coagulation occur; thus, keeping to the example, egg albumen, Wurtz puts the coagulation point at 73° C, and Henrijean at 60° to 61° C.
The Theory of Determinants in the Historical Order of its Development
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

With Grunert it is necessary to take a long step backward. Although the memoirs of Bezout, Vandermonde, and Laplace were known to him, in addition to those of Hindenburg, Rothe, and Scherk, he advances only a short distance into the subject; his aim, indeed, is little more than the establishment of Cramer's rule for the solution of a set of simultaneous linear equations.His mode of presenting the subject, however, is fresh and interesting, the method of “undetermined multipliers” being taken to start with.
Continued Observations on the Progression and Rotation of Bivalve Molluscs and of detached Ciliated Portions of them
Authors: M'Alpine D.
Published: June 2016

(Abstract.)

In the fresh-water mussel the general results are much the same as in Mytilus. Movement of the animal is as a whole right-handed and slightly forward, though this is not invariably the case.

The movement appears to be brought about by the contraction and expansion of the foot, which is wedge-shaped, and larger in proportion than in the sea-mussel. When portions are detached, however, the same four parts, or pieces of them, exhibit decided movement as in the sea-mussel. The palps rotate, the gills and mantle-lobes also move, but remarkably slowly, while the ventral margin of the foot is pre-eminently active; it is par excellence the highly motile detached portion. Where not otherwise stated, the palps, gills, and mantle-lobes are always laid out with their inner surface uppermost, and for convenience of diagrammatic representation, as well as for clearness of explanation, the palps are always supposed to start from the half-round of the clock face. Thus right-handed rotation will have the successive positions of quarter to, hour, quarter past, ending with original position at half past.
Note on Cayley's Demonstration of Pascal's Theorem
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

The demonstration referred to is given in the Cambridge Mathematical Journal, vol. iv. pp. 18–20. It opens with the enunciation of a lemma to the effect that the intersection of the planes

the intersection of

and the intersection of

will be in the same plane if
On Evolution and Man's Place in Nature
Authors: Calderwood
Published: June 2016

My aim in this paper will be to present as concisely as possible the problems involved in Man's Place in Nature, and to consider briefly how far an evolution theory contributes towards the solution of these problems.

Needful preliminaries can be disposed of briefly. We are agreed that evolution is “a change from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity, through continuous differentiations and integrations.” We are agreed that this process is to be taken as applicable in the history of matter and motion, and afterwards in the history of organised existence, raising the whole problem of biology. We do not require here to linger over the transition from the one to the other, as all requirements are met by accepting life and its laws as facts, and acquiescing in Darwin's hypothesis of one or more primordial germs.
On the Segmentation of the Nucleus of the Third Cranial Nerve
Authors: Bruce Alexander
Published: June 2016

The circumstance that the oculomotor or third cranial nerve supplies no fewer than seven, muscles of the eye, two of them intrinsic and five extrinsic, and the fact that these muscles may be paralysed either singly or in groups as the result of central lesions, naturally suggest that each muscle is represented in the nucleus by a separate group of nerve cells. Hitherto, however, the anatomical text-books have been content with figuring the nucleus as a small indefinite group of cells lying in the anterior portion of the grey matter surrounding the aqueduct of Sylvius.
Synthesis of Sebacic Acid
Authors: Brown Crum , Walker James
Published: June 2016

Potassium ethyl adipate was prepared by adding the calculated quantity of alcoholic potash to an alcoholic solution of adipic ether, and boiling. After the alcohol had been driven off on the waterbath, the residue, when shaken up with water and ether, yielded an aqueous solution which after concentration was used for electrolysis.

The electrolysis was conducted in precisely the same manner as in our former syntheses. A colourless oil was observed to collect on the top of the solution. After completion of the electrolysis, the contents of the crucible used as cathode were extracted by ether, which was subsequently distilled off and the residual oil kept for some hours at 120°. When hot this oil smells of melted butter, but on cooling the fatty odour disappears, a very slight smell resembling melons being left.
On the Relation of Optical Activity to the Character of the Radicals united to the Asymmetric Carbon Atom
Authors: Brown Crum
Published: June 2016

It is obvious that the amount of the optical activity of a given compound containing an asymmetric atom of carbon depends upon the amount of difference in character among the four radicals united to the asymmetric carbon atom, so that if two of them are very nearly equal we come very near to a compound of a symmetric carbon atom, in which the optical activity is zero. The question suggests itself, How are we to measure this difference of character ? We shall assume that there is a function, capable of numerical representation, derivable from the composition and constitution of the radical and the temperature of the substance, and that it is the difference between the values of this function in the case of two radicals which gives us the difference of character referred to. For the sake of brevity, we may call this function the K of the radical. The object of this paper is to show that, if there be such a function, there are methods by means of which we may hope to ascertain its value in each case.
Researches on Micro-Organisms, &c. Part III
Authors: Griffiths A. B
Published: June 2016

Dr P. W. Latham, in the Harveian oration at the Koyal College of Physicians, on October 17, 1888, supported my own researches (which have already been published in the Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xiv. pp. 97–106, and vol. xv. pp. 33–63), on the subject of “disease germs.” He says:—” “We might hope to find that the action and growth of the bacilli [of phthisis] might be inhibited by certain substances, and then, by injecting these substances into the blood, disease might be prevented, or if disease existed it might be arrested or cured.”
Closing Address
Authors: M'Laren
Published: June 2016

As the Chairman for this evening, I have been asked by the Council to lay before you a brief summary of the events of the session, which will conclude the public business of the session.

In this retrospective view the most interesting point is the number and variety of the papers which have been read. Of these there were in all 74 papers, of which 19 were in the department of Natural Philosophy, 16 in Mathematics, 11 in Chemistry, 1 in Geology, 9 in Zoology, 1 in Botany, 6 in Physiology, 2 in Anatomy, 5 in Meteorology, 2 in Physical Geography, and 2 in Philology.
On the Action of Metallic (and other) Salts on Carbonate of Lime
Authors: Irvine Robert , Anderson W. S.
Published: June 2016

It is well known that pseudomorphic changes take place with many minerals. These changes may be either by alteration or displacement. In the case of carbonate of lime they are generally of the former order.

Among other work conducted at the Marine Station, Granton, during the past year, a number of experiments were instituted with the view of showing how far carbonate of lime was influenced in this direction by metallic and other salts.

Corals, preferably the more porous and soft varieties, were selected for this purpose, and these were exposed to the action of solutions of the following salts:–Chloride of manganese, sulphate of iron, chloride of zinc, chloride of chromium, nitrate of nickel, nitrate of cobalt, nitrate of copper, nitrate of lead, chloride of mercury, chloride of tin, nitrate of silver, phosphate of ammonia.
Manganese Deposits in Marine Muds
Authors: Irvine Robert , Gibson John
Published: June 2016

Two theories have been put forward in order to explain the formation of manganese deposits in marine muds, and more particularly with regard to manganese nodules: one by Murray, in a paper read before this Society in 1876, the other by Buchanan in 1888. Murray assumes the gradual oxidation of carbonate of manganese resulting ultimately in the formation of hydrated peroxide of manganese.
The Influence of High Winds on the Barometer at the Ben Nevis Observatory
Authors: Buchan Alexander
Published: June 2016

The question of the effect of wind on the readings of the barometer was first examined by Sir Henry James in a paper read to the Society on March 15, 1852. The observations were made during the succession of gales from the south-west which occurred in January and February of that year, at his house in Granton, with an aneroid barometer, laid horizontally in succession on the table of his room in the cottage, on the seat of the open summerhouse, and on the surface of the ground close to the summer-house, all at the same level. The anemometer employed was of a very simple construction, being on the same principle as the instrument used for weighing letters, the weight or pressure being indicated by the compression of a spiral spring in a tube. A table of results is added, giving the depression of the barometer in decimals of an inch for the velocity of the wind from 14 to 40 miles per hour. At 14 miles the barometric depression was 0.010 inch, and increased gradually to a depression of 0.045 inch at 40 miles per hour. Unfortunately, the number of observations on which the depression for each wind-velocity has been deduced are not given, and the observations in the cottage and those at the open summer-house are combined into one result.