The impact of network convergence on telecommunications software

This describes a converged network architecture and then discusses why it needs to be open and programmable and how this can be accomplished. A discussion of two approaches to open/programmable networks-JAIN and Parlay-is provided to highlight the key ideas. The converged network is a key player in e-business and the next-generation applications currently being developed for the growing digital economy. We discuss the role of telecommunications bandwidth trading and application integration in next-generation applications (NGAs) and their relevance to converged networks. Some of the challenges software engineers and programmers can expect to encounter while trying to build these networks are also discussed     

EXTRACTION OP MANGANESE(II) BT MIXTURES OP DIDODECYLNAPHTHALENESOLFONIC ACID AND r-BUTYL- CYCLOHEXANO-15-CROWN-5: SPECTRAL EVIDENCE FOR THE FORMATION OF A MANGANESE(II) - CROWN ETHER COMPLEX

Addition of t-butylcyclohexano-15-crown-5 (tBC-15C5) induces a synergistic effect in the extraction of Mn²⁺ ion with didodecylnaphthalenesulfonic acid (HDDNS). This synergism is the result of the inner-sphere complexation of the crown ether to the manganese(II) ion. The formation of this complex, first suggested by distribution studies, has been confirmed by FTIR experiments. The C-O-C stretching bands for the crown ether ligand shift to lower frequency when Mn²⁺ ion is extracted into a CC14 solution of HDDNS and tBC15C5. A similar C-O-C Btretching band is observed for the crystalline complex [Mn(15C5 ) (Bu₃CS0₃)₂] (where 15C5 = 15-crown-5 and Bu = n-butyl).Formation of analogous complexes is not observed for Fe³⁺, co²⁺,N²⁺,cu²⁺, or zn²⁺ under similar conditions.     

Thermal stability study of a new guanidine suppressor for the next-generation caustic-side solvent extraction process

Cesium stripping performance of thermally stressed solvent worsens slowly over time in batch tests of the Next-Generation Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (NG-CSSX) process. NG-CSSX is currently used in full-scale equipment at the Savannah River Site for the selective removal of caesium from high-level salt waste. Recently, a new guanidine, N,N’,N”-tris(3,7-dimethyloctyl)guanidine (TiDG), was chosen for use as the suppressor, a lipophilic organic base needed for stripping, and the present study was undertaken to address the question of its stability. The NG-CSSX process solvent was evaluated for a period of three months under a variety of temperature and storage conditions. The performance of the solvent was tested at 30-day increments using an extraction, scrub, strip and extraction (ES₂S₃E) sequence. The results provide insights into the effects of storage and process conditions, the stripping behaviour of TiDG and the stability of the new solvent composition.     

Finite element methodology for elastic-plastic fracture problems in three dimensions

The governing finite element system for elastic-plastic analysis of fracture specimens in three dimensions is formulated. The formulation accounts for mixed material hardening, finite strains, finite rotations and plastic incompressibility. The implementation of these aspects into a computational formula is presented and alternative formulations are compared. Small strain theory is recovered as a special case of the present formulation. Analysis is performed on a finite thickness centre-cracked specimen. The grid characteristics required for converged solutions are discussed. The effects of material hardening model and specimen thickness are studied. The local yield state is examined as a gauge of the local deformation processes. The implications for the fracture behaviour of the specimen are discussed. Local surface displacements are compared to experimentally measured yield surfaces. The formulation is shown to predict extremely accurate local deformation in the neighbourhood of the crack front. Contrary to the few three-dimensional fracture studies carried out to date, this analysis concentrates on the local deformation behaviour which ultimately controls fracture. Accurate resolution of this behaviour is essential before meaningful fracture criteria in three dimensions can be developed.     

The ps/hr gene (B5R open reading frame homolog) of rabbitpox virus controls pock color, is a component of extracellular enveloped virus, and is secreted into the medium

Wild-type rabbitpox virus (RPV) produces red hemorrhagic pocks on the chorioallantoic membranes (CAMs) of embryonated chicken eggs. Like the crmA (SPI-2) gene of cowpox virus, disruption of the RPV ps/hr gene results in a mutant which produces white pocks on the CAMs. An examination of the properties of the RPV(ps/hr) mutant in cell culture also reveals a significantly reduced host range, defined as the inability to form plaques, compared with wild-type virus. One of several cell types on which RPV(ps/hr) mutants fail to produce plaques is chicken embryo fibroblasts, cells which have been traditionally used to propagate spontaneously arising white pock mutants isolated from CAMs. The inability of the RPV(ps/hr) mutant to form plaques in chicken embryo fibroblasts correlates with a failure of a low multiplicity of infection to spread to neighboring cells and to form extracellular enveloped virus (EEV), although the formation and yields of infectious intracellular naked virus appear relatively normal. The gene product of the ps/hr gene, initially synthesized as a 45-kDa glycoprotein, is found as a component of EEV, but not intracellular naked virus, and as a smaller, secreted soluble protein of 35 kDa. Production of the secreted 35-kDa protein was found to be independent of any viral morphogenesis, suggesting two distinct pathways for release of the ps/hr gene product from the cell, i.e., as a component of the EEV particle and as a separately secreted glycoprotein.     

Acute non-A-E hepatitis in the United States and the role of hepatitis G virus infection. Sentinel Counties Viral Hepatitis Study Team

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relation of the newly discovered hepatitis G virus (HGV) to the cause and clinical course of acute and chronic viral hepatitis. METHODS: We selected patients from a surveillance study of acute viral hepatitis in four U.S. counties who had acute disease during 1985 to 1986 or 1991 to 1995. Serum samples were tested for HGV RNA by the polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: HGV RNA was detected in 4 of 45 patients with a diagnosis of non-A-E hepatitis (9 percent), 23 of 116 patients with hepatitis C (20 percent), 25 of 100 patients with hepatitis A (25 percent), and 32 of 100 patients with hepatitis B (32 percent) (P<0.05 for the comparison of hepatitis B with hepatitis non-A-E or C). The clinical characteristics of the acute illness were similar for patients with HGV alone and those with hepatitis A, B, or C with or without HGV infection. During a follow-up period of one to nine years, chronic hepatitis did not develop in any of the patients with HGV alone, but 75 percent were persistently positive for HGV RNA, as were 87 percent of those with both hepatitis C and HGV infection. The rates of chronic hepatitis were similar in patients with hepatitis C alone (60 percent) and those with both hepatitis C and HGV infection (61 percent). CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from this surveillance study does not implicate HGV as an etiologic agent of non-A-E hepatitis. Persistent infection with HGV was common, but it did not lead to chronic disease and did not affect the clinical course in patients with hepatitis A, B, or C.     

The effects of message framing on mammography utilization.

This experiment compared the effectiveness of gain- versus loss-framed messages to persuade women to obtain mammography screening. One hundred and thirty-three women 40 years and older and not adhering to current guidelines for obtaining mammography screening were assigned randomly to view either gain-framed (emphasizing the benefits of obtaining mammography) or loss-framed (emphasizing the risks of not obtaining mammography) persuasive videos that were factually equivalent. Attitudes and beliefs were measured before and immediately following the intervention. Mammography utilization was assessed 6 and 12 months later. Consistent with predictions based on prospect theory, women who viewed the loss-framed message were more likely to have obtained a mammogram within 12 months of the intervention. These findings suggest that loss-framed messages may have an advantage in the promotion of detection behaviors such as mammography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dodecyl acetate,a second pheromone component of the cabbage looper moth,Trichoplusia ni

Dodecyl acetate was identified as a second component of the sex pheromone ofTrichoplusia ni (Hübner). Dodecyl acetate comprised 9.6% by weight of the total pheromone [(Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate plus dodecyl acetate] extracted from glands and 7.3% by weight of the total pheromone evaporated from the surfaces of glands. Dodecyl acetate appears to function as a short-range pheromone component. Evaporation at female release rates of a 1090 mixture of dodecyl acetate and (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate in the field caused a significantly greater percentage of males to land on the pheromone source, increased significantly the time they spent on the source, but decreased significantly the time they spent searching for the source when within 50 cm, as compared to (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate alone.Lepidoptera: Noctuidae.