Relaxational dielectric anomaly in the ferroelectric phase of K2ZnCl4

The temperature dependence of dielectric constant of K₂ZnCl₄ was measured at 10, 20, 40 and 100 kHz in the temperature range between 120 and 250 K. A relaxational dielectric anomaly was observed near 210 K for the first time. It is ascribed to domain wall pinning induced by ferroelastic micro-domains which begin to form around 200 K and behave as defects. The dielectric anomaly disappeared after several thermal cycles of heating and cooling. This may be due to the remnant ferroelastic matrix in the ferroelectric phase.     

Thermosensitivity control of polyethlyenimine by simple acylation

Branched polyethylenimine (b-PEI), an amine-rich polymer, can obtain thermosensitivity by a simple acylation reaction. The resulting N-acylated b-PEI derivatives showed a similar lower critical solution temperature (LCST) transition as their linear correspondent, poly(N-alkyloxazoline). Three acyl groups (propionyl, and isobutyryl, and n-butyryl) were introduced and resulted in LCSTs ranging from 10 °C to 90 °C depending on the structure and environment. The hydrophobicity of N-acylated b-PEI can be controlled by varying the acyl group and degree of acylation. Because the LCST transition is determined by the delicate balance between the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of the polymers, an increase of the hydrophobicity in N-acylated b-PEI lowers the transition temperature. Also, N-acylated b-PEI contains tertiary amines as well as unacylated primary or secondary amines which can be protonated during acidification from a pH of 7.4 to a pH of 5.5. The LCST transition was observed at elevated temperatures due to the increase of hydrophilicity by the protonation in the acidic environment. The LCST was also influenced by the salt concentration. A decrease of the LCST was observed as the NaCl concentration increased, probably due to the dominance of the salting-out effect. The very simple introduction of thermosensitivity into pre-existing polymers can be easily applied for the development of various dual or multiple signal-sensitive polymer systems.     

Departure process of a single server queueing system with Markov renewal input and general service time distribution

The independence of processes in queueing systems is generally assumed when developing queueing models. However, real systems often involve several process dependencies, and failure to take these into consideration can lead to serious underestimation of the performance measures. We consider herein a single server queueing system with a Markov renewal process (MRP) for its arrival process and a general service time distribution, and derive the distribution function and correlation coefficient of the departure process. Since the departure process also often corresponds to an arrival process in downstream queues, the results obtained here can be used to derive a better approximation of the performance measures of a non-product form general queueing network.     

Monte Carlo simulation-compatible stochastic field for application to expansion-based stochastic finite element method

In order to endow the expansion-based stochastic formulation with the capability of representing the characteristic behavior of stochastic systems, i.e., the non-linear dependence of the response variability on the coefficient of variation of the stochastic field, a Monte Carlo simulation-compatible stochastic field is suggested. Through a theoretical comparison of displacement vectors in the Monte Carlo method and an expansion-based scheme, it is found that the stochastic field adopted in the expansion-based scheme is not compatible with that appearing in the Monte Carlo simulation. The Monte Carlo simulation-compatible stochastic field is established by means of enforcing the compatibility between the stochastic fields in the expansion-based scheme and the Monte Carlo simulation. Employing the stochastic field suggested in this study, the response variability is reproduced with high precision even for uncertain fields with a moderately large coefficient of variation. Furthermore, the formulation proposed here can be used as an indirect Monte Carlo scheme by directly substituting the numerically simulated random fields into the covariance formula. This yields a pronounced reduction in the computation cost while resulting in virtually the same response variability as the Monte Carlo technique.     

Overexpression of phospholipase C-gamma1 in rat 3Y1 fibroblast cells leads to malignant transformation

Phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1) mediates signals from various extracellular origins to evoke cellular events such as mitogenesis. Previously, we reported that PLC-gamma1 was highly expressed in colorectal cancer and familial adenomatous polyposis, suggesting that PLC-gamma1 might be oncogenic. In this study, we have established rat 3Y1 fibroblasts that overexpress whole PLC-gamma1 and src homology 2 (SH2)-SH2-SH3 domain of PLC-gamma1. These cells showed a transformed phenotype and were tumorigenic when transplanted into nude mice. These results indicate that overexpression of PLC-gamma1 could transform rat fibroblasts, and the transformation is mediated by SH2-SH2-SH3 domain of PLC-gamma1.     

A Web-Based Knowledge Network for Supporting Emerging Internet Applications

Although the Internet and the World Wide Web technologies have gained a tremendous amount of popularity among people and organizations, the network that these technologies created is not much more than a multimedia data network. It provides tools and services for people to browse and search for data but does not provide the facilities for automatically delivering the relevant information for supporting decision–making to the right people or applications at the right time. Nor does it provide the means for users to enter and share their knowledge that would be useful for making the right decisions. In this work, we introduce the concept of a Web–based knowledge network, which allows users and organizations to publish, not only their multimedia data, but also their knowledge in terms of events, parameterized event filters, customizable rules and triggers that are associated with their data and application systems. Operations on the data and application systems may post events over the Internet to trigger the processing of rules defined by both information providers and consumers. The knowledge network is constructed by a number of replicable software components, which can be installed at various network sites. They, together with the existing Web servers, form a network of knowledge Web servers.     

Exercise barrier severity and perseverance of active youth with physical disabilities.

Purpose: The authors investigated perceived exercise and physical activity barriers of active youth with physical disabilities. Research Method/Design: A 46-item exercise barrier instrument was administered to 145 youth (117 boys and 28 girls, 12 to 19 years of age). Using the Rasch model, the authors estimated barrier severity and youths' exercise perseverance. Model-data fit was determined by Infit and Outfit statistics (≥ 0.5 and ≤ 1.5). Results: Except for 1 item, the model fit the data well. The most difficult barriers that youth with physical disabilities faced were lack of time and pain or discomfort. The older youth demonstrated higher exercise perseverance than the younger youth. There were no differences in youths' exercise perseverance scores by gender or National Wheelchair Basketball Association classification. Implications: Removing severe barriers should be a part of future exercise and physical activity interventions targeting this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Morphological control of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> particles via glycothermal process

Acicular magnetite (Fe₃O₄) powders were synthesized through new glycothermal dehydration by using crystalline α-FeOOH as precursor and glycols as solvent. When ethylene glycol was used as solvent, the phase was in-situ transformed from acicular α-FeOOH to α-Fe₂O₃ and finally to Fe₃O₄ at 270 °C for 6 h without morphological change. When water was added as a co-solvent in glycothermal reaction, Fe₃O₄ powders were synthesized through dissolution–recrystallization process at 230 °C for 3 h. The volume ratio of ethylene glycol to water (E/W) in the reaction has a strong effect on the morphology of the synthesized Fe₃O₄ particles. The particle shape of Fe₃O₄ particles changed from needle to sphere when the water content in E/W volume ratio increased from 0.5 to 1 mL in mixed glycothermal condition. When the water were added by more than 10 ml, the particle shape of Fe₃O₄ changed from sphere to octahedron truncated with the {100} faces and finally distinct octahedron with only {111} faces. Also, it is demonstrated that the size of Fe₃O₄ particles can be controlled from 1–2 μm to 100–200 nm by varying the reaction conditions such as the volume ratio of water to ethylene glycol and additive in glycothermal reaction.     

Preparation and characterization of polyacrylamide cryogels produced from a high‐molecular‐weight precursor. I. Influence of the reaction temperature and concentration of the crosslinking agent

A new type of cryogel was prepared through a reaction of high‐molecular‐weight polyacrylamide (viscosity‐average molecular weight ≈ 3 × 10⁶ Da) with glutaraldehyde in a moderately frozen aqueous medium. The influence of the crosslinking agent concentration and temperature of the reaction on the gel fraction yield, swelling characteristics, and morphology of the cryogels was investigated. The dependence of the gel fraction yield on the reaction temperature was bell‐shaped. The recognized regularities of the formation of this new type of polyacrylamide cryogel based on a high‐molecular‐weight precursor were very similar to those observed earlier for polyacrylamide cryogels synthesized through the cryopolymerization of monomeric precursors. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Benchmarking temporal database models with interval-based and temporal element-based timestamping

Starting from mid 1980s, there has been a debate about what data model is most appropriate for temporal databases. A fundamental choice one has to make is whether to use intervals of time or temporal elements to timestamp objects and events with the periods of validity. The advantage of using interval timestamps is that Start and End columns can be added to relations for treating them within the framework of classical databases, leading to quick implementation. Temporal elements are finite unions of intervals. The advantage of temporal elements is that timestamps become implicitly associated with values, tuples, and relations. Furthermore, since temporal elements, by design, are closed under set theoretical operations such as union, intersection and complementation, they lead to query languages that are natural. Here, we investigate the ease of use as well as system performance for the two approaches to help settle the debate.