Influence of water and accelerated aging on the shear fracture properties of glass/epoxy composite

The degradation of interlaminar shear strength and shear fracture toughness of glass/epoxy composites due to uptake of distilled water and sea water has been studied. The composites were immersed in water for up to eight months at temperatures up to 70 °C. Unreinforced matrix resin samples were also immersed for periods up to 2 years. Sea water was absorbed less rapidly than distilled water. Weight gains below 1% did not influence the shear strength while higher weight gains reduced shear strength up to 25%. The loss in apparent interlaminar shear strength was uniquely related to specimen weight gain. Mode II fracture toughness, G _IIc, also decreased with increasing immersion time after an initial incubation period, but the accelerated tests were found to reduce G _IIc less than the room temperature tests at comparable weight gains.     

Compact optical millimetre-wave source using a dual-modesemiconductor laser

The authors demonstrate the optical generation of extremely narrow linewidth millimetre-wave signals between 40 and 60 GHz using a single-chip semiconductor laser. A dual-mode long-cavity multisection DFB semiconductor laser is driven at a subharmonic of the free-running-mode beat signal frequency to produce phase-locked millimetre waves with a 3 dB linewidth of less than 10 Hz and a 3 dB locking range of ~500 MHz     

The peeling of flexible probabilistic fasteners

Probabilistic fasteners are attachment devices consisting of two elements each of which is covered by an array of outgrowths or protuberances which interact or interlock with those on the opposing surface to form a bond which can be made and detached many times. A number of peel tests are described in which the behaviour of such bonds, specifically those formed by Velcro® hooks and loops and Dual Lock®, has been explored. The value of the specific energy of detachment of such mechanically latched systems can be related to the geometry and material properties of the individual fixing elements. Similar arguments can be applied, both qualitatively and quantitatively, to some natural systems such as the spines on some cacti.     

Distribution of alpha 1A, alpha 1B and alpha 1E voltage-dependent calcium channel subunits in the human hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus

The distribution of voltage-dependent calcium channel subunits in the central nervous system may provide information about the function of these channels. The present study examined the distribution of three alpha-1 subunits, alpha 1A, alpha 1B and alpha 1E, in the normal human hippocampal formation and parahippocampal gyrus using the techniques of in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. All three subunit mRNAs appeared to be similarly localized, with high levels of expression in the dentate granule and CA pyramidal layer. At the protein level, alpha 1A, alpha 1B and alpha 1E subunits were differentially localized. In general, alpha 1A-immunoreactivity was most intense in cell bodies and dendritic processes, including dentate granule cells, CA3 pyramidal cells and entorhinal cortex pre-alpha and pri-alpha cells. The alpha 1B antibody exhibited relatively weak staining of cell bodies but stronger staining of neuropil, especially in certain regions of high synaptic density such as the polymorphic layer of the dentate gyrus and the stratum lucidum and radiatum of the CA regions. The alpha 1E staining pattern shared features in common with both alpha 1A and alpha 1B, with strong immunoreactivity in dentate granule, CA3 pyramidal and entorhinal cortex pri-alpha cells, as well as staining of the CA3 stratum lucidum. These findings suggest regions in which particular subunits may be involved in synaptic communication. For example, comparison of alpha 1B and alpha 1E staining in the CA3 stratum lucidum with calbindin-immuno-reactivity suggested that these two calcium channels subunits may be localized presynaptically in mossy fibre terminals and therefore may be involved in neurotransmitter release from these terminals.     

Transient conduction in a slab with chemical reaction

The heat-balance integral technique is used to analyse a one-dimensional transient conduction process. Heat is transferred by convection to the surface of a slab and when the surface temperature reaches a certain value, an endothermic reaction is triggered which propagates as an isothermal front in the same direction as the conduction front. Two possible routes to the fully developed heat transfer condition are treated in a way which allows the approximate temperature distribution in the slab to be predicted as a function of the main process variables.     

Designer deletion strains derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288C: a useful set of strains and plasmids for PCR-mediated gene disruption and other applications

A set of yeast strains based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288C in which commonly used selectable marker genes are deleted by design based on the yeast genome sequence has been constructed and analysed. These strains minimize or eliminate the homology to the corresponding marker genes in commonly used vectors without significantly affecting adjacent gene expression. Because the homology between commonly used auxotrophic marker gene segments and genomic sequences has been largely or completely abolished, these strains will also reduce plasmid integration events which can interfere with a wide variety of molecular genetic applications. We also report the construction of new members of the pRS400 series of vectors, containing the kanMX, ADE2 and MET15 genes.     

Conduction block in vasculitic neuropathy

Vasculitis involving peripheral nerves usually presents as an acute asymmetrical axonal neuropathy. We report a 67-year-old man with a symmetrical subacute neuropathy in which nerve conduction studies showed prominent conduction block, a finding indicative of demyelination. Sural nerve biopsy showed a vasculitic neuropathy with invasion of blood vessel walls by inflammatory cells and a mixture of nerve fiber loss and demyelination. The demyelination in this case was presumably a consequence of subinfarctive nerve ischemia.     

Spinal effects of bicuculline: modulation of an allodynia-like state by an A1-receptor agonist, morphine, and an NMDA-receptor antagonist

Single-unit recordings were made in the intact anesthetized rat of the responses of dorsal horn neurons to C-, Adelta-, and Abeta-fiber stimulation. The postdischarge and windup responses of the same cells along with responses to innocuous stimuli, prod and brush, also were measured. The effects of (-)-bicuculline-methobromide (0.5, 5, 50, and 250 microg) were observed on these neuronal responses. The C- and Adelta-fiber-evoked responses were facilitated significantly in a dose-dependent manner. The input was facilitated, but as the final overall response was not increased by the same factor, windup appeared to be reduced. However, postdischarge, resulting from the increase in the excitability produced by windup, tended to be facilitated. After doses of >/=5 microg bicuculline, stimulation at suprathreshold Abeta-fiber-evoked activity caused enhanced firing, mainly at later latencies corresponding to Adelta-fiber-evoked activity in normal animals. Few cells responded consistently to brush and so no significant change was observed. Responses evoked by innocuous pressure (prod) always were observed in cells that concurrently responded to electrical stimulation with a C-fiber response. This tactile response was facilitated significantly by bicuculline. The effects of N6-cyclopentyladenosine (N6-CPA), an adenosine A1-receptor agonist, was observed after pretreatment with 50 microg bicuculline, as were the effects of morphine and 7-chlorokynurenate (7-CK). N6-CPA inhibited prod, C- and Adelta-fiber-evoked responses as well as the initial and overall final response to the train of C-fiber strength stimuli. Inhibitions were reversed with 8(p-sulphophenyl) theophylline. Morphine, the mu-receptor agonist, also inhibited the postbicuculline responses to prod, C-, and Adelta-fiber responses and initial and final responses to a train of stimuli. Inhibitory effects of morphine were reversed partly by naloxone. 7-CK, an antagonist at the glycine site on the N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor complex, inhibited the responses to C- and Adelta-fiber-evoked activity as well as prod. The postdischarges were inhibited by this drug. Again both the initial and overall responses of the cell were inhibited. To conclude, bicuculline caused an increase in the responses of deep dorsal horn cells to prod, Adelta-fiber-evoked activity, increased C-fiber input onto these cells along with the appearance of responses at latencies normally associated with Adelta fibers, but evoked by suprathreshold Abeta-fiber stimulation. These alterations may be responsible for some aspects of the clinical phenomenon of allodynia and hyperalgesia. These altered and enhanced responses were modulated by the three separate classes of drugs, the order of effectiveness being 7-CK, N6-CPA, and then morphine.