Past earthquake rupture models used to explain paleoseismic estimates of coastal subsidence during the great A.D. 1700 Cascadia earthquake have assumed a uniform slip distribution along the megathrust. Here we infer heterogeneous slip for the Cascadia margin in A.D. 1700 that is analogous to slip distributions during instrumentally recorded great subduction earthquakes worldwide. The assumption of uniform distribution in previous rupture models was due partly to the large uncertainties of then available paleoseismic data used to constrain the models. In this work, we use more precise estimates of subsidence in 1700 from detailed tidal microfossil studies. We develop a 3‐D elastic dislocation model that allows the slip to vary both along strike and in the dip direction. Despite uncertainties in the updip and downdip slip extensions, the more precise subsidence estimates are best explained by a model with along‐strike slip heterogeneity, with multiple patches of high‐moment release separated by areas of low‐moment release. For example, in A.D. 1700, there was very little slip near Alsea Bay, Oregon (~44.4°N), an area that coincides with a segment boundary previously suggested on the basis of gravity anomalies. A probable subducting seamount in this area may be responsible for impeding rupture during great earthquakes. Our results highlight the need for more precise, high‐quality estimates of subsidence or uplift during prehistoric earthquakes from the coasts of southern British Columbia, northern Washington (north of 47°N), southernmost Oregon, and northern California (south of 43°N), where slip distributions of prehistoric earthquakes are poorly constrained.

The perovskite‐like layer‐structured (PLS) Nd2Ti2O7 and La2Ti2O7 have possibly the highest Curie points of any materials. To pole these ceramics, highly textured, dense ceramics with high DC electrical resistivity are required. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of lead‐free Nd2Ti2O7 and La2Ti2O7 grain‐oriented ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering using a two‐step method are reported. The Tc of Nd2Ti2O7 and La2Ti2O7 are 1482±5° and 1461±5°C, respectively. The measured piezoelectric constant of the textured La2Ti2O7 was d33=2.6 pC/N. These results now open up the possibility of studying the ferroelectric/piezoelectric properties of the PLS family of ceramics with super‐high Curie points.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate heart rate and blood pressure responses to a commercially available source of ma-haung, a natural source of the sympathomimetic substance, ephedrine, and to evaluate the pharmacokinetic properties of the product in normotensive, healthy adults. On day 1, twelve study participants were monitored with an ambulatory blood pressure device between hours 7 and 20. On day 2, they ingested four capsules of powdered ma-huang at hours 8 and 17 while again wearing the monitor between hours 7 and 20. Serial plasma samples were obtained and concentrations of ephedrine were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Pharmacokinetic parameters of ephedrine were determined from plasma concentration-time profiles. The ephedrine alkaloid content of each capsule was also determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Six participants experienced a statistically significant increase in heart rate, but the effects on blood pressure were variable. The half-life, volume of distribution, clearance, and maximum concentration in plasma of ephedrine in the ma-huang product were similar to values previously reported for a 20 mg, immediate-release ephedrine tablet. Values for the absorption rate were considerably lower and time to reach maximum concentration was longer for the capsules, compared with the standard tablet. Variability in alkaloid content of ephedrine was low and yielded a mean dose of ephedrine at 19.4 mg; pseudoephedrine at 4.9 mg; and methylephedrine at 1.2 mg for a four-capsule dose. In summary, ma-haung had variable effects on blood pressure and increased heart rate in healthy, normotensive adults. Pharmacokinetic parameters for ephedrine were in agreement with those previously reported; however, the absorption rate was much slower after ingestion of ma-huang.

This article reports on the follow‐up study of a two‐part project designed to study the decision‐making process underlying how academic researchers select documents retrieved from online databases, consult or read, and cite documents during a research project. The participants are 15 of the 25 agricultural economics users who participated in the original study of document‐selection conducted in 1992. They were interviewed about subsequent decisions on documents considered relevant and selected in 1992, as well as documents cited in their written products but not in the original searches. Of particular interest in this article are the decision criteria and rules they apply to documents as they progress through the project. The first study in 1992 emphasized the selection processes and resulted in a document selection model; the 1995 study concentrates on the reading and citing decisions. The model derived from this project shows document use as a decision‐making process with decisions occurring at three points or stages during a research project: selecting, reading, and citing. It is an expansion of the document selection model developed in the 1992 study, identifies more criteria, and clarifies the criteria and rules that are in use at each stage. The follow‐up study not only found that all but one of the criteria identified in selection re‐occur in connection with reading and citing decisions, but also identified 14 new criteria. It also found that decision rules applied in selection decisions are applied throughout the project.

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Dense and predominantly single‐phase samples of Cr2AlC, together with a trace amount of Cr7C3, were fabricated by hot pressing of a mixture of chromium, aluminum, and graphite powders at 1400°C for 1 h. The hardness, Young's modulus, flexural strength, and compressive strength of Cr2AlC samples were 5.2, 288 GPa, 483±29, and 1159±23 MPa, respectively, which are comparable with those of Ti3AlC2 and Nb2AlC. The material exhibits good damage tolerance. For indentation loads up to 50 N, the post‐indentation flexural strengths decrease by approximately 10% and by 31% for a load of 100 N. The flexural strengths of Cr2AlC samples quenched from 300°C to room temperature decrease from 483 to 455 MPa, while the retained strengths decrease quickly to 199 MPa when the quench temperature increases to 500°C. A further increase in quench temperature to 700°, 900°, and 1100°C results in a small reduction of strength.

[1] The 2008 M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China, caused water level to oscillate and undergo sustained changes in Taiwan, $2000 km away from the epicenter. Here we use the responses in three wells recorded at high sampling rate (1 Hz) and the broadband seismograms from a nearby station to document, for the first time, that the major water-level responses associated with Rayleigh waves were preceded by small oscillations that occurred concurrently with S waves and Love waves. We also show that the groundwater flow associated with these small oscillations may be strong enough to remove blockades from sediment pores to enhance aquifer permeability and to facilitate the later major responses.