AFM observation of polyethylene single crystals: selective handedness of screw dislocations in a chair type

The three-dimensional morphology of polyethylene single crystals grown from dilute solution has been examined by atomic force microscopy. Single crystals were deposited on a soft ground of aqueous solution of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to avoid the collapse of thin lamellar crystals with thickness of 10 nm. The observation of single crystals on dried PVA clarifies the morphology of a chair type crystal as well as well-known hollow pyramidal type. It has been confirmed that the screw dislocations in the chair type follow a selection rule of the handedness in a manner to relieve the distortion in the chair type.     

Photoinduced Formation of Small Gold Particles in Silica Gels

AuCl⁻₄ ions in sol-gel-derived silica gels (Au/silica gels) were photoreduced by ultraviolet light irradiation at room temperature. In the presence of ethylene glycol in the silica gels, small Au particles were effectively formed by the irradiation. When the storage temperature of the gels was increased in the dark after the irradiation, the surface plas-mon resonance absorption peak of the Au particles was shifted to longer wavelengths, indicating that the Au particles became large. At a storage temperature below 9°C, Au particles could not be observed in the silica gels. The apparent activation energy of Au particle formation was estimated to be 17. 3 kcal·tmol⁻¹.     

Iodine-123-BMIPP myocardial washout and cardiac work during exercise in normal and ischemic hearts

Due to the changes in the frequency of penicillin-resistant strains of S. pneumoniae, it is necessary to perform surveillance studies of bacterial resistance. Isolates from the upper respiratory tract of asymptomatic children have been useful. There is no information about the difference between isolates from children with and without upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). The objective of the authors in this paper is to establish the prevalence of carrier-state, serotype and antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae isolates from children with and without acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in a rural area in Mexico. A cross-sectional comparative study was performed in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Children from one month 5 years of age were included. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained. Identification was done by international microbiology standards. Serotyping was done by the capsular Quellung test. The susceptibility testing was performed by the agar dilution method. Four-hundred and fifty patients were included. S. pneumoniae was isolated in 134 children (29.7%). Frequency of carriers was greater in patients with URTI (107/323) than without URTI (27/127) (33.1% vs. 21.1% p = 0.012, OR 1.84, IC 95% 1.1-3.08). The six most frequent serotypes were: 6B (16.4%); 19F (11.9%); 19A (6.7%); 14, 23F, and 35 (5.2% each), with no difference among the groups. Only 3% of the strains had high level resistance to penicillin, and 12.6% had intermediate resistance, and for ampicillin 4%, amoxicillin 4%, amoxicillin-clavulanate 4%, ceftriaxone 3%, cefotaxime 1.5%, erythromycin 6%, miocamycin 3%, chloramphenicol 4%, and vancomycin 0%. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance was very high (42%). In conclusion, colonization is higher in children with URTI. Five of the most frequent serotypes identified in this study were the same as those identified in patients with S. pneumoniae invasive diseases in Mexico City. In Tlaxcala, Mexico, beta-lactams could be the drug of choice for the treatment of S. pneumoniae lower respiratory tract infections. It is necessary to perform clinical assays to evaluate the efficacy of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole due to the high resistance in vitro.     

Augmentation of boiling heat transfer from horizontal cylinder to liquid by movable particles

This paper presents a series of experimental results on a passive augmentation technique of boiling heat transfer by supplying solid particles in liquid. A cylindrical heater 0.88 mm in diameter is placed in saturated water, in which a lot of mobile particles exist, and the nucleate and film boiling heat transfer characteristics are measured. Particle materials used were alumina, glass, and porous alumina, and the diameter ranged from 0.3 mm to 2.5 mm. Particles are fluidized by the occurrence of boiling without any additive power, and the heat transfer is augmented. The maximum augmentation ratio obtained in this experiment reaches about ten times the heat transfer coefficient obtained in liquid alone. The augmentation ratio is mainly affected by the particle material, diameter, and the height of the particle bed set at no boiling condition. The augmentation mechanism is discussed on the basis of the experimental results. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(1): 28–41, 2002     

Breakdown characteristics of oil and paper insulation for a very fast transient voltage

This paper describes the dielectric breakdown characteristics of oil and oil‐impregnated paper for very fast transient (VFT) voltages. Blumlein circuits generate VFT voltages of 60 and 300 ns in a pulse width that simulates disconnecting switching surges in gas‐insulated switch gears. We measured the breakdown voltages of needle‐to‐plane, plane‐to‐plane oil gaps and several pieces of paper between plane electrodes for VFT and lightning impulse voltages. The measured data were formulated in V‐t characteristics and Weibull probability distributions. The inclination n of V‐t characteristics of insulating paper is 150, which is less than n = 13.7 of the plane‐to‐plane oil gap in the VFT time range. The shape parameters of Weibull distribution obtained in this study show that the scattering of breakdown voltages of paper is much less than that of oil. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 141(4): 16–24, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10043     

Phase diagrams calculated for Fe-rich Fe-Si-Co and Fe-Si-Al ordering alloy systems

Theoretical analysis based on the calculation of phase diagrams was employed for Fe-Si-Co and Fe-Si-Al ordering systems to clarify the necessity for the occurrence of phase separation in Fe-base ternary ordering systems. The free energy of Fe-base ternary ordering alloys where B2 and D0₃ ordered structures are formed is evaluated statistically using a pairwise interaction approximation up to second nearest neighbours, taking into account not only the atomic interaction but also the magnetic interaction, based on the Bragg-Williams-Gorsky model. The calculated phase diagrams are consistent with the experimentally obtained ones. The phase diagram calculation in this work is useful to predict the equilibrium states of the ternary ordering systems. The phase separation in ordering alloys is caused by the contribution of excess free energies due to ordering. The influences of ferromagnetism on the two-phase regions are also demonstrated.     

Wide-span optical frequency comb generator for accurate opticalfrequency difference measurement

An optical frequency comb (OFC) generator was realized for accurate optical frequency difference measurement of 1.5 μm wavelength semiconductor lasers by using a high frequency LiNbO₃ electrooptic phase modulator which was installed in a Fabry-Perot cavity. It was confirmed that the span of the OFC was wider than 4 THz. By using semiconductor lasers whose spectrum linewidths were narrowed to 1 kHz and a sensitive optical balanced-mixer-receiver for measuring beat signal between the sideband of the comb and the laser, we demonstrated a frequency difference measurement up to 0.5 THz with a signal-to-noise ratio higher than 61 dB, and a heterodyne optical phase locking with a heterodyne frequency of 0.5 THz in which the residual phase error variance was less than 0.01 rad². The maximum measurable frequency difference, which was defined as the sideband frequency with the signal-to-noise ratio of 0 dB, was estimated to be 4 THz     

A novel brain-derived member of the epidermal growth factor family that interacts with ErbB3 and ErbB4

The availability of an analgesic compound devoid of the side effects associated with the commonly used opioid and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs would be useful during the perioperative period. Although adenosine has analgesic and anesthetic-sparing properties, it also produces dose-dependent cardiovascular depression. Inhibitors of adenosine kinase may be able to provide analgesia without producing acute cardiovascular or respiratory depression. This preliminary study investigated the effects of a novel adenosine kinase-inhibiting drug, GP683, on the minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) of desflurane in dogs. Seven mongrel dogs were administered one of three different GP683 dose regimens (or the solvent) by intravenous infusion on separate occasions according to a cross-over study design. After determining the baseline desflurane MAC value, GP683 was infused at 75, 150, or 300 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) for 5 min as a loading dose, followed by 15, 30, or 60 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) for an additional 85 min to maintain a stable plasma drug level. The desflurane MAC was redetermined 30-90 min after starting the study drug or vehicle infusion, and 30-90 min and 120-180 min after termination of the infusion. Cardiovascular variables and plasma concentrations of GP683 were determined at specific intervals before, during, and after the MAC determinations. The three GP683 dose regimens produced 22%, 31%, and 50% decreases in the desflurane MAC, respectively. In addition, there was good correlation between the decrease in desflurane MAC and the plasma GP683 concentration (r = -0.78). Although the mean arterial pressure (MAP) was decreased up to 25% by the highest infusion rate of GP683, adjustments in the desflurane concentration to an equi-MAC value resulted in normalization of the MAP values. Furthermore, GP683 produced no changes in heart rate. In conclusion, the adenosine kinase-inhibiting drug, GP683, produced dose-dependent decreases in the desflurane MAC of dogs without producing untoward hemodynamic changes. IMPLICATIONS: An investigational drug (GP683) that can increase the levels of an important endogenous substance in the body (adenosine) has been found to decrease the anesthetic requirement in dogs without producing adverse effects on the cardiovascular system.     

Measurements of distribution of self-bias potential on an RF-plane electrode in plasma etching devices

The self-bias potential (V_dc) induced on an RF-powdered electrode (153 mm Ø) in a plasma is measured using electrical probes which are buried in, de-insulated from, and RF-connected to the electrode. The configuration of the probes allows to study the distribution of V_dc discretely on the electrode. The potential is homogeneous in the absence of external magnetic field. In the presence of a homogeneous magnetic field parallel to the electrode, it is reduced and a monotonous gradient takes place in its distribution due to the plasma shift induced by E × B drift. When the magnetic field is rotated along the axis of the RF-electrode at a frequency less than 50 Hz, the distribution, which is almost identical to the one in a static field, rotates with the magnetic field. On the coordinate system rotating with the magnetic field, the probes are regarded to be rotating. The potential distribution is obtained as a continuous function of the azimuthal angle. Thus the rotation of the field provides information for the experimental interpolation.