Healthy Aims: Developing New Medical Implants and Diagnostic Equipment

Healthy Aims is a 23- million, four-year project, funded under the EU's information society technology sixth framework program to develop intelligent medical implants and diagnostic systems (www.healthyaims.org). The project has 25 partners from 10 countries, including commercial, clinical, and research groups. This consortium represents a combination of disciplines to design and fabricate new medical devices and components as well as to test them in laboratories and subsequent clinical trials. The project focuses on medical implants for nerve stimulation and diagnostic equipment based on strain-gauge technology.     

Teaching severely self-abusive and aggressive autistic residents to exit to fire alarms

Fifty-two case-hardened, severely self-abusive and aggressive autistic and retarded students, living in six different community residences, were trained to exit their residences, without the presence or assistance of staff, when a fire alarm sounded at night. On a pretest, prior to an 11-week period of intensive environmental and behavioral interventions, only 25% of the students exited within 2 1/2 minutes and independent of staff assistance. At posttest, 100% exited successfully, in a mean evacuation time of 60 seconds. The study was conducted at the Behavior Research Institute (BRI).     

Origin of satellite structures of high field epr in Cd1−xMnxTe

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of Mn²⁺ in Cd_1?x Mn _x Te was examined at low temperatures and high magnetic fields with the Mn concentration ranging fromx=0.01 tox=0.65. A far infrared laser was used as a radiation source. The structure of the resonance is strongly influenced by electromagnetic propagation effects. By variation of the sample thickness it was clearly shown that the satellite structures besides the main EPR peak, formerly explained as originating from transitions in the Mn²⁺ pair energy level scheme, are solely due to interference effects.     

0.27-dB/km attenuation achieved by MSP preform process [opticalfibers]

Mechanically shaped preforms (MSP) have been demonstrated to combine economic non-CVD (chemical vapor deposition) processing and low loss, with a published value of 0.63 dB/km and a size of 30 fkm/preform. Improved processing is proposed which results in a minimum loss of 0.27 dB/km at 1550 nm. Preforms capable of yielding 150 fkm have been produced. Reboiling during preform stretching and fiber pulling is identified as the last remaining problem of the process     

Equilibrium Studies of the System'(Fe,Co)O'–(Fe,Co)3O4 by Solid-State emf Measurements in the Temperature Range 970 to 1370 K

The equilibrium reaction 3'(Fe, Co)O'( ss ) +1/2O₂ ( g ) ⇄ (Fe, Co)₃O₄( ss ) was studied in the temperature range 970 to 1370 K for seven different total compositions of molar ratios 0.5 < Fe/(Fe + Co) ≤ 1.0. The equilibrium pressures of oxygen were determined by using galvanic cells incorporating calcia stabilized zirconia as solid electrolyte and the Fe/Co ratios in the solid-solution phases by wavelength dispersive spectrometry microprobe analyses. The activities of 'FeO' in the cobaltowüstite phase were then derived from the experimental results obtained.     

A multiple-switch high-voltage DC-DC converter

Series connection of power devices has evolved into a mature technique and is widely applied in HV DC power systems. Static and dynamic voltage balance is ensured by shunting individual devices with dissipative snubbers. The snubber losses become pronounced for increased operating frequencies and adversely affect power density. Capacitive snubbers do not exhibit these disadvantages, but they require a zero-voltage switching mode. Super-resonant power converters facilitate the principle of zero-voltage switching. A high-voltage DC-DC power converter with multiple series-connected devices is proposed. It allows the application of nondissipating snubbers to assist the voltage sharing between the multiple series-connected devices and lowers turnoff losses. Simulation results obtained with a circuit simulator are validated in an experimental power converter operating with two series-connected devices. The behavior of the series connection is examined for MOSFETs and IGBTs by both experimental work with a 2 kW prototype and computer simulation. Applications can be found in traction and heavy industry, where the soft-switching power converter is directly powered from a high-voltage source     

Gasification reactivity of charcoal with CO2. Part I: Conversion and structural phenomena

The gasification reaction of fir charcoal with CO₂ was studied by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis under kinetic control. The derived reaction rate (r=dX/dt) as a function of the converted carbon mass (X) was compared with random pore model predictions and found to be much higher at elevated conversion levels than predicted by theory. Similar enhanced reaction rate behaviour was evidenced after removing the natural alkali catalyst from the charcoal by acid washing, suggesting that with untreated charcoal the late reaction rate contribution stems from both, catalytic and additional structure effects. Literature attributes the unpredicted late reaction rate behaviour to the disintegration of the porous char particle into small fragments, which, in line with percolation theory predictions, seems to occur only after a critical conversion level has been reached. However, our gasification data reveal a gradual rise in the charcoal reactivity thereafter, suggesting a breaking up (embrittlement) of the solid phase accompanied by the exposure of fresh surface area from fracturing. The original random pore model derivation given by Bhatia and Perlmutter is extended to account also for these peculiarities and the resulting kinetic relation described our reaction rate data well over the entire conversion range.