A review on the synthesis of in situ aluminum based composites by thermal,mechanical and mechanical–thermal activation of chemical reactions

The aim of the present paper is to review the recent progress in the synthesis of in situ particle reinforced aluminum composites using thermal, mechanical and combined mechanical-thermal activation of aluminothermic reduction reactions. The combination of combustion synthesis (CS) and mechanosynthesis (MS) is the most recent development in the processing of advanced materials like micro and nano aluminum based composites. The combined mechanical thermal synthesis (MTS) has widened the possibilities for both CS and MS. MTS holds great potential for commercial viability and offers exciting processing route for the synthesis of advanced materials. Enhanced reaction kinetics and extended concentration limits in MTS are demonstrated by illustrating the synthesis of aluminum based nanocomposite involving Al–CeO₂.     

Tunable circular patch antennas

A method to control the resonant or operating frequencies of circular patch antennas has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. It consists of the placement of passive metallic or tuning posts at approximate locations within the input region of the antenna. Comparison of measured and analytical results seems to establish the validity of a theoretical model proposed to determine the input performance of such circular patch antennas.     

The integrated academic information management system at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Over the past seven years, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center has been planning and implementing an integrated academic information management system. Accomplishments to date include establishing an institutional information architecture, installing a campus-wide network of workstations, recruiting the staff needed to develop and implement the system, and developing various applications. This paper presents the rationale and steps involved in these accomplishments, as well as data on use of the system so far.     

Modular synchronization in distributed, multiversion databases:version control and concurrency control

A version control mechanism is proposed that enhances the modularity and extensibility of multiversion concurrency control algorithms. The multiversion algorithms are decoupled into two components: version control and concurrency control. This permits modular development of multiversion protocols and simplifies the task of proving the correctness of these protocols. A set of procedures for version control is described that defines the interface with the version control component. It is shown that the same interface can be used by the database actions of both two-phase locking and time-stamp concurrency control protocols to access multiversion data. An interesting feature of the framework is that the execution of read-only transactions becomes completely independent of the underlying concurrency control implementation. Unlike other multiversion algorithms, read-only transactions in this scheme do not modify any version-related information, and therefore do not interfere with the execution of read-write transactions. The extension of the multiversion algorithms to a distributed environment becomes very simple     

Mössbauer Study of the Influence of Fe-Si-N Liquid in the Synthesis of β-Si3N4 from Silica

Mössbauer spectra of the products obtained by carbothermal reduction and distribution of silica in the presence of iron in the temperatures range 1200^o to 1540^o were studied. The preponderance of β- Si₃N₄ over the α form at a higher reaction temperature were assumed to be related to the formation of an Fe-Si-N liquid. The liquid did not alter its composition with the variation of reduction-temprature, Iron had no effect on the reaction mechanism below 1300^oC.     

An analytical expression for the power coefficient of an ideal horizontal-axis wind turbine

The paper shows that an analytical evaluation of the power coefficient C_p for an ideal horizontal-axis wind turbine can be made via an expression giving the direct relationship of C_p and the axial induction factor a. The results obtained agree closely with those obtained numerically from the usual integral expression involving several variables.     

Differential c-fos expression in the nucleus of the solitary tract and spinal cord following noxious gastric distention in the rat

c-Fos has been used as a marker for activity in the spinal cord following noxious somatic or visceral stimulation. Although the viscera receive dual afferent innervation, distention of hollow organs (i.e. esophagus, stomach, descending colon and rectum) induces significantly more c-Fos in second order neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract and lumbosacral spinal cord, which receive parasympathetic afferent input (vagus, pelvic nerves), than the thoracolumbar spinal cord, which receives sympathetic afferent input (splanchnic nerves). The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of sympathetic and parasympathetic afferent input to c-Fos expression in the nucleus of the solitary tract and spinal cord, and the influence of supraspinal pathways on Fos induction in the thoracolumbar spinal cord. Noxious gastric distention to 80 mmHg (gastric distension/80) was produced by repetitive inflation of a chronically implanted gastric balloon. Gastric distension/80 induced c-Fos throughout the nucleus of the solitary tract, with the densest labeling observed within 300 microns of the rostral pole of the area postrema. This area was analysed quantitatively following several manipulations. Gastric distension/80 induced a mean of 724 c-Fos-immunoreactive nuclei per section. Following subdiaphragmatic vagotomy plus distention (vagotomy/80), the induction of c-Fos-immunoreactive nuclei was reduced to 293 per section, while spinal transection at T2 plus distention (spinal transection/80) induced a mean of 581 nuclei per nucleus of the solitary tract section. Gastric distension/80 and vagotomy/80 induced minimal c-Fos in the T8-T10 spinal cord (50 nuclei/section), but spinal transection/80 induced 200 nuclei per section. Repetitive bolus injections of norepinephrine produced transient pressor responses mimicking the pressor response produced by gastric distension/80. This manipulation induced minimal c-Fos in the nucleus of the solitary tract and none in the spinal cord. It is concluded that noxious visceral input via parasympathetic vagal afferents, and to a lesser extent sympathetic afferents and the spinosolitary tract, contribute to gastric distention-induced c-Fos in the nucleus of the solitary tract. The induction of c-Fos in the nucleus of the solitary tract is significantly greater than in the viscerotopic segments of the spinal cord, which is partially under tonic descending inhibition, but is not subject to modulation by vagal gastric afferents. Distention pressures produced by noxious gastric distention are much greater than those produced during feeding, suggesting that c-Fos induction in the nucleus of the solitary tract to noxious distention is not associated with physiological mechanisms of feeding and satiety. The large vagal nerve-mediated induction of c-Fos in the nucleus of the solitary tract following gastric distension suggests that parasympathetic afferents contribute to the processing of noxious visceral stimuli, perhaps by contributing to the affective-emotional component of visceral pain.     

TES modeling for analysis of a video multiplexer

The transport of video images is likely to be a major application of high-speed networks of the future. These applications are capable of utilizing the high bandwidths that will become available with the advent of B-ISDN. In this paper, we propose a new methodology (called TES) for modeling the frame bitrate stream generated by compressed video sources. The main characteristic of this method is that it can model an arbitrary marginal distribution and approximate the autocorrelation structure of the random bitrate process generated by compressed frames. We present a modeling example utilizing this method, based on data from a video coding algorithm employing a layering technique. Using the source model, we develop a simulation model of a multiplexer of video sources. We show that this model can be used to address a number of design issues that arise in this class of problem. In particular, we show that for a layered video coding algorithm, it is possible to have a gain in the number of sources multiplexed at the cost of some loss of low priority packets.     

Multi purpose research reactor

At present Dhruva and Cirus reactors provide the majority of research reactor based facilities to cater to the various needs of a vast pool of researchers in the field of material sciences, physics, chemistry, bio sciences, research & development work for nuclear power plants and production of radio isotopes. With a view to further consolidate and expand the scope of research and development in nuclear and allied sciences, a new 20 MWt multi purpose research reactor is being designed. This paper describes some of the design features and safety aspects of this reactor.     

Analysis of D.C Parameters of Short-Channel Heterostructure Double Gate Junction-Less MOSFET Circuits Considering Quantum Mechanical Effects

Silicon - In this article, the electrical behavior of short channel SiGe Heterostructure Junction-Less DG-MOSFET have been studied by incorporating the quantum mechanical effect and short channel...